Stepping up for the greater good at Berlin Pond

A magical place at peril

A stretch of land along Berlin Pond was Jeanne Crandall Mastriano’s childhood stomping grounds. The environs hosted an array of birds and critters. The water also nourished humans in the neighboring capital; the pond is the sole source of Montpelier’s drinking water.

All this was at peril in 2019 when several acres of wetlands and woods were subdivided and put up for sale as house lots. “So much would have been lost,” said Jeanne (pictured left).

Once part of the 200-acre Crandall family farm, the land was rich in memories for Jeanne — of summertime adventures exploring the natural world. “It’s a magical place,” she said.

The larger farm had been subdivided within the Crandall family over time. But, Jeanne explained, “my great-great-grandmother had built the right of first refusal in.” That meant that as a descendant, Jeanne had a legal right to step in when other family members put those parcels up for sale.

So in 2021, encouraged by the Berlin Conservation Commission, she and her husband, Dennis, bought a lot that was already under contract to be sold to a private buyer. Their plan was to hold the land while searching for ways to protect it as open space.

Starting a grassroots movement

Jeanne and Dennis’s leap of faith as interim buyers helped jumpstart a groundswell of support from other concerned community members. Out of this, a nonprofit, the Berlin Pond Watershed Association (BPWA) was born, which worked tirelessly for two years to raise community and financial support for the property’s protection.

We supported BPWA’s efforts, along with the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, and helped them partner with the City of Montpelier. More conservation buyers, Jerry Diamantides and Meg Denton, stepped up and purchased two other lots for interim ownership. And through the help of state and private funding, BPWA ultimately bought the remaining lot.

“It was such a grassroots thing,” says Nat Shambaugh (pictured), Chair of the BPWA. “So many different people were involved in making this happen: funding not only came from VHCB, but several other foundations, plus donations from many individuals who love the pond. And without the conservation buyers, Jeanne, and Jerry and Meg, this wouldn’t have been possible.”

In August of 2023, the City of Montpelier bought the land from the interim buyers, bringing 33 acres back into a single holding and conserving it, with conservation grant funding from the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board. Now, the land is protected forever.