Ending months of speculation and more than a decade of bitter warring over development plans - both in and out of court - the 215-acre, ecologicall

State Forest Gets Help
By JOSHUA SABATINI

The Department of Environmental Management's Division of Forests and Parks has begun to implement a new management plan for the 5,000-acre Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.

Concerned about the risk of forest fires, DEM, the state agency responsible for managing the forest, has focused its energies on clearing firebreaks or "safe zones" on the land's perimeter and interior, a plan discussed for several years.

Edgartown selectmen this week affirmed the use of fire as a land management tool as long as members of The Nature Conservancy continue to work closely with the town's fire chief.

Joel R. Carlson, a fire manager for The Nature Conservancy, came before the selectmen to answer concerns about the risk of setting fires in wooded areas. The meeting was attended by representatives of the town conservation commission and the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest.

Herring Creek Farm, the storied and richly diverse Great Plains farm in the rural coastal perimeters of Edgartown, is now set to be sold for a record price to an eclectic group that includes two nonprofit conservation organizations and two private buyers.

In a move that is expected to knock down many established barriers to the land protection movement, The Nature Conservancy announced this week that

The day was cold and clear at the old John Hoft Farm.