Dear Neighbor,

Once again, we find ourselves at a crossroads in the history of the Barrington area’s signature commitment to open space and a country lifestyle. Many of you are aware of the continued threats by developers in our area: the very controversial Duda property (proposed Barrington Farms subdivision), the latest commercial development at Routes 59 and 72, and so many others.

Development is pushing in on us from all angles, and we believe it is our role at Barrington Area Conservation Trust to work as hard as we possibly can to prevent further poorly-planned development and to use the tools at our disposal to ensure that our remaining open lands are managed responsibly. We only have a few short years to make this effort a success for the long-term benefit of our community.

This is where we need your help. For the past five years, we have been rapidly developing programs that aid our neighbors in protecting our community. We call these programs our “conservation toolbox,” and they include conservation easements, the Saving Our Countryside land acquisition program, our Conservation Buyer Program, and Conservation@Home.

Our programs are proven tools that have worked to help save other similar areas across the country, including Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Charlottesville, Virginia; Radnor, Pennsylvania; and numerous others. But these programs require financial support and funding to make them happen.

In October, we announced the launch of the Saving Our Countryside program, which aims to purchase parcels of land that are at risk for development. BACTrust then holds the land until a conservation-minded buyer can be found. This program gives landowners who may be land-rich but cash-poor another option for selling their property—rather than simply selling to a developer. Saving Our Countryside has generated a great deal of excitement from our neighbors within the community, many of whom have stepped forward to assist us with funding.

I believe we are once again facing an historic moment in our area’s long commitment to open space. As our forefathers did in 1957, when they formed the village of Barrington Hills with five-acre zoning, it is now our turn to step up and make a real commitment to keeping our land from becoming littered with big-box stores and cookie-cutter subdivisions.  Support of land conservation programs like those shepherded by Barrington Area Conservation Trust could be the most important contribution any of us makes to the long-term future of our community, our area, and our way of life.

I hope you’ll join many of your neighbors by becoming a member of Barrington Area Conservation Trust this year. Your financial contribution—no matter how large or small—is critical to our ongoing success and to the very important mission of preserving the Barrington countryside. You may designate your membership funds specifically for the Saving Our Countryside program if you wish.

Sincerely,

Mary Bradford-White,
President

“The greatest use of a life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.--Willam James