The Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS) is a private land trust in
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...
. Founded in 1894, AVIS is the second oldest land preservation society in the United States. Its goal is to acquire land within Andover and preserve it in its natural state.
The organization controls 29 reservations totaling about 1,100 acres (4 km²), with 30 miles (50 km) of trails for hiking, skiing, or other passive recreational use. The largest AVIS reservations ar
Deer Jumpat 131 acres (0.5 km²)
at , an
at 226 acres (0.9 km²). Motor vehicles, hunting, fires, or camping in these conservation lands are prohibited. Volunteer wardens are responsible for the care and oversight of each reservation.
With the rapid suburbanization and development occurring in Andover since the 1970s, AVIS has played a vital role in preserving Andover's land.
Properties
As of June 2017, AVIS owns 30 sites with approximately .
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
, -
! Reservation
! Size (acres)
! Date Acquired
! Location
, -
, Baker’s Meado
, 59
, 1958
, Argilla Road, Reservation Road
, -
, Burns Reservatio
, 5
,
, Clark Road in Ballardvale section, Chester Street (parking)
, -
, Collins Reservation
, 4.6
, 1983
, Pine St. in northeast section
, -
, Christopher and Lillian Sherman Reservatio
, 5.5
, 2004
, Haggetts Pond Rd.
, -
, Deer Jump Reservatio
, 131
, 1960-1973
, Merrimack River west of I-93
, -
, Goldsmith Woodland
, 170
, 1977
, East of Foster's Pond
, -
, Greene Reservatio
, 26
, 1969
, Bordered by Dascomb and Bannister roads and Andover Street
, -
, Hammond Reservatio
, 38
,
, Salem Street, adjacent to Skug Reservation
, -
, Indian Ridge Reservatio
, 40
, 1897
, Near Andover High School, Reservation Road
, -
, Keck Reservatio
, 49
, 1963-1968, 2008
, Route 125 opposite of State Police barracks
, -
, Lupine Reservatio
, 2
,
, Corner of Central Street and Lupine Road
, -
, Purdon Reservatio
, 9
, 1964,2001
, Central Street, Lupine Road
, -
, Rafton Reservatio
, 226
,
, NE of High Plain Road, NW of I-495, and SW of I-93.
, -
, Sakowich Reservatio
, 9
, 2011
, Oriole Drive
, -
, Sanborn Reservatio
, 26
, 1959,1966,2015
, S of Shawsheen river adjacent to I-93.
, -
, Shawsheen River Reservatio
, 27
, 1963
, Central Street, Abbot Bridge Drive
, -
, Skug Reservatio
, 75
,
, Salem Street
, -
, Smith Reservatio
, 54
, 1963
,
, -
, Spalding Reservatio
, 16
, 1973
, River Road near the Tewksbury border
, -
, Stanley Reservatio
, 8
, 1988
,
, -
, Sunset Rock Reservation
, 9
,
,
, -
, Taft Reservatio
, 62
, 1960s,1997
, Salem Street, Wildwood Road, Vine Street
, -
, Vale Reservatio
, 47
,
,
, -
, West Parish Meado
, 28
, 1992
, Reservation Road near West Parish Church
, -
, Wilkinson Reservatio
, 23
, 1981
, Woburn Street
See also
Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit orga ...
Harold Parker State Forest
Ward Reservation
External links
Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS)Trustees of Reservations Massachusetts land preservation group
Andover, Massachusetts
Protected areas of Essex County, Massachusetts
Land trusts in Massachusetts