A Growing Conservation Corridor in Warwick
Whether it's your grassy backyard, your neighbor's colorful garden, or a poorly marked property line a surveyor meticulously examines, these are all man-made boundaries that we've imposed on the landscape. For wildlife, however, these human boundaries don’t mean a thing.
Wildlife rely on us to protect adjoining pieces of land so they can move freely across the landscape. That’s what makes large, intact swaths of undeveloped land so important. Large stretches of uninterrupted habitat help maintain the integrity of ecosystems and, like threads in a tapestry, provide the space for life to intertwine into a vibrant, interconnected fabric.
The only thing better than an already expansive, undeveloped corridor of habitat is, well, a bigger one.
That’s why today, we’re excited to announce the near-completion of a roughly 12-acre conservation project. By the end of this year, Jack Cadwell and Karro Frost will weave their 12-acre property into an existing, 1,000-acre expanse of conserved land in Warwick, MA, that includes the Arthur Iversen Conservation Area and the Warwick Wildlife Management Area. The soon-to-be conserved property – which borders Mount Grace’s Arthur Iversen Conservation Area – will expand a quickly growing block of permanently protected and critically important habitat.
An Expanding Block of Conserved Land in Warwick
Jack and Karro’s property is one of the last pieces in a landscape-scale puzzle.
All within the same neighborhood, their 12-acres of forest land is the third of four properties that are in the process of being protected. Two of those projects have already been completed – the Delfausse and Renna projects in 2021 – both of which are now permanently protected by CRs held by Mount Grace.
“When I think about this property, Karro Frost said, “I don’t want to see it get developed. It’s an area that I think is just incredible, so we both wanted to see it protected. I’m really thrilled our neighbors were also trying to protect the surrounding landscape as well.
“I also really love the plants that are here, they’re very important to me,” continued Karro, a botanist for Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife. “The mind-bending beauty of the mountain laurel that can be found here is incredible.”
Jack Cadwell, Karro’s husband of 41 years, is a woodworker who grew up on the very property they’ve now decided to protect. Jack told Mount Grace, “I’m interested in conserving the landscape in general. I think a conservation restriction is one of the best ways to do that. Why protect it? Well, I guess, the question for me is more like, why not? Why don’t you take a hammer to artwork? It’s not something that has to justify itself as a thing of value to me.”
The Importance of Connected Wildlife Habitat
Jack and Karro are keeping their property private – it won’t be for public use. Though not accessible to the public, wildlife routinely use it to navigate the broader natural landscape.
“The longest continual boundary on our property is the one that’s along Arthur Iversen,” said Karro. “The fact that we can contribute more to an already large, protected landscape is great. Just earlier today, a bobcat and three kittens crossed our road. This is bobcat territory. Our land connects good habitat and the ledges on our property are great for a variety of life.”
Their property is quite unique. Forested land rises abruptly to a series of rocky ledges that then descend into a valley within the Arthur Iversen Conservation Area. “The Valley,” as Karro describes it, is five miles long with fault lines on either side of it. Flowing through it is Hodge Brook – a creek that runs along a fault line.
The property’s rugged terrain prevented loggers from accessing some of the land’s oldest trees, and the combination of running water, rocky outcropping and old forest growth makes the property prime habitat for a variety of wildlife. Moose, bobcat, deer, opossums, flying squirrels, coyotes and foxes all call this place home.
Animals big and small, require connected habitats, also known as wildlife corridors, to move freely and maintain healthy populations. Fragmented habitats caused by human activities—such as urban development, roads, and agriculture—can isolate populations, leading to issues like limited genetic diversity, difficulty finding mates, and increased competition for resources. These corridors allow animals to migrate, find food and water, and adapt to seasonal changes or environmental pressures.
The landscape Jack and Karro are conserving is almost entirely BioMap, which means it’s categorized by the Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program as a critical natural landscape – one that provides core habitat for a number of rare species.
The land holds tremendous conservation value, but for Jack, his land also carries enormous personal value. “This place holds a lot of memories, too,” Jack said. “When I go out and walk the land, all of a sudden, memories will come to me from years ago. Being there with my children. Exploring the land when I was a kid, [or] the time my brother slept in a pine tree up on a scaffolding. The landscape holds memories.”