Gaw Conservation Area

Vern Gaw knows Sterling history more than anyone. Although he has moved from town in his retirement, he leaves behind a legacy as a formerly active member of the Sterling Historical Society and the Sterling Historical Commission. His family has resided in this town for generations.

Vern’s parting gift to us is an 8 acre tract, including some 1,200 feet of the beautiful Wekepeke Brook before it joins the Nashua River in Lancaster. The tract straddles the Sterling/Lancaster town line along Route 190. The Sterling Land Trust partnered with the North County Land Trust in protecting this land – with the NCLT holding a conservation restriction and the SLT holding the fee interest. The brook is flanked by a mature riparian forest and serves as an important buffer to abutting land use activities that includes gravel mining and woodland clearing. The Wekepeke’s status as an exemplary cold water stream is further protected by this generous land gift. The parcel is evenly divided by town with four acres in Sterling and four acres in Lancaster. Public access is difficult but if you are driving southbound on I190 and you take note of the Sterling/Lancaster town line sign, you can know that the wooded land on either side of that sign is permanently protected.