Nickerson Conservation Area

Bob and Kathy Nickerson, partnering with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), sold a Watershed Preservation Restriction (WPR) on 19.2 acres of woodland in 2009. In 2021 they gifted their fee interest in this protected tract to the Sterling Land Trust. This land plays an integral role in protecting the environs of Rocky Brook, a tributary to the Stillwater River and the Wachusett Reservoir. Further, it abuts and increases the 1,000 acres of undeveloped lands that comprise Sterling’s largest roadless assemblage of undeveloped forest – primarily held by DCR. Approximately 90% of this acreage is identified in the MA Biomap Core Habitat and Critical Natural Landscape coverages. (Interested in learning more about Biomap? Go to Mass.gov, the Future of Conservation in Massachusetts; Biomap Sterling.) Present access to this property is best gained by traversing abutting DCR land. A discontinued ATT buried cable right-of-way serves as a handy trail leading through the forest.