DRACUT LAND TR INC

History of the Dracut Land Trust Inc.: The property now called "The Ogonowski Memorial Field" was slated for a roadway and housing as a part of the Meadow Creek Residential Golf Course Development in 1998. A number of individuals and abutters, including John Ogonowski, formed the Dracut Land Trust and through litigation and negotiation were able to reach an agreement in 2001 providing the Dracut Land Trust the first option to purchase this parcel from the developer in 2003 for $760,500. This was the birth of DLTI. Funds for this purchase were obtained through

the work of John’s sister Carol Ogonowski, working with Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman Marty Meehan who had this purchase included in that year’s Federal Farm Bill.

We all appreciate Dracut’s natural and agricultural landscapes, which provide innumerable benefits to us all, and most of us are dismayed to see so much of our open space developed into vast stretches of housing. Dracut’s remaining beautiful farmland constitutes a local foodshed which is priceless as we all crave fresh, local products.