One of the factors which has contributed most to the quality of life in Watertown is its natural beauty.  We are fortunate to live in a town with such diversity of housing options, ample access to shopping and commercial services, and yet have a town that from the Bunker Hill section to Judd Farm and Bassett Roads, also contains large tracts of undeveloped land.  However, land owners today are finding it more and more difficult to retain real property in the face of mounting taxes and opportunities for sale for development purposes.

It is this threat, coupled with the fact that the town of Watertown has yet to take an active role in preserving open space that makes the activities of the Watertown Land Trust so important today.  Possible development of these open spaces would not only transform the landscape into urban sprawl, creating increased traffic on our roads, more pollution, and even larger school budgets, but it would also increase demand for town services and greatly increase the need for future tax increases.  It is not hard to see the ever encroachment of development, but do we realize just how it will affect the character of our town 10 years from now?  Do we realize that residential growth creates a drain on town services far in excess of the taxes provided by that development?

We need to step up our efforts to preserve more open space in Watertown before it is too late, and we need your help to do it!  The Land Trust is not only actively seeking donations of land, but monetary contributions as well - both of which are tax deductible.  These contributions will enable us to educate the public about the advantages of open space preservation and the cost to each taxpayer brought on by future development of our open space.  Contributions will also help us acquire parcels of land deemed necessary to help preserve parts of the town as we know them today.

We invite you to become a member and learn more about the challenge that lies ahead.  We also encourage you to think how you want Watertown to look 20 years from now and to help us preserve and protect open space both financially and with your participation.