LEVERETT — A proposed donation of a 147-acre working forest in North Leverett, which would continue to be actively managed under town ownership and open for hunting, will be decided by voters at annual Town Meeting May 3.

With a favorable recommendation from the Town Forest Exploratory Committee following a yearlong study, the Select Board is placing the acceptance of the property, known as the Two Brothers Woodlot, on the Town Meeting warrant.

On Thursday at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, the committee is holding a public hearing so its members can answer questions from the community and provide more details about the site at 353 North Leverett Road, near the Shutesbury town line.

The committee’s executive summary states that members “believe the property offers significant environmental, recreational and educational benefits to the town that outweigh potential costs and challenges of town ownership.”

Former Leverett resident Bruce Spencer and Judy Northup-Bennett offered the woodlot as a gift in 2023, prompting the Select Board to appoint the ad hoc committee that fall to explore factors that should be considered when deciding whether to accept the land. The committee reported favorably to the Select Board in January.

Spencer, of New Salem, was the chief forester of the Quabbin Reservoir for more than 40 years and the name of the property is drawn from the active management, since 1973, by Spencer and his brother, Hartley.

The land is east of Moore’s Corner, where the Leverett Village Cop-op is located, and west of the Shutesbury town line and just downstream of Lake Wyola.

On April 27 at 2 p.m., Spencer will be leading a walk of the woodlot, with anyone interested in participating encouraged to park at the Village Co-op and then carpool to the site.

The Select Board briefly discussed the topic in October 2023, and the possible continued removal of timber, with Select Board Chairman Tom Hankinson suggesting that it could support the town’s long-discussed wood bank. At that meeting, Steve Weiss of the Rattlesnake Gutter Trust noted the possible recreational benefits from the property.

The property has mixed-age forest canopy, hiking trails, wetlands and historic stone walls and cellar holes. The land has a conservation restriction held by Franklin Land Trust and abuts a 172-acre parcel that is part of the Paul C. Jones Working Forest,. It will be actively managed with guidance from a licensed forester to ensure long-term ecological and recreational health.

Following state law, a Town Forest Committee, with three members appointed by the Select Board, would manage the land in partnership with a forester. That committee will report annually to the Select Board.

Costs are expected to be minimal, with potential for timber revenue and grant funding to offset expenses. The main future cost is long-term maintenance of a timber bridge that crosses the Sawmill River, and serves as entrance, and trail upkeep, such as maintaining the water bars.

The report notes, “The roads are surfaced in gravel and grass which support maintenance and small-scale logging equipment; water bars are placed at intervals to prevent erosion. Traversing the property from north to south, from low ground at the bridge entrance up the steep slope towards Morse Hill, the visitor passes through a range of forest types and structures. Dense, towering stands of hemlock and white pine predominate on the lower slopes where water emerges in vernal pools. Moving up the slope, impressively large red oak trees dominate the forest canopy along with scattered birches and maples. A feature of Bruce’s forest management legacy is selecting and growing the most vigorous and valuable trees by thinning out slow-growing or poorly formed competitors.”

If this gift is accepted by Leverett, Spencer intends to turn forest ownership over to the town within three to five years, and he would continue to be involved in forest management decisions for the foreseeable future. He has recommended the town work with Mike Mauri, a state licensed forester, to guide management of the property.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.