Landowner Stories - Chris and Bob Nutter of Maple View Farm

Chris Nutter remembers one developer who approached her husband and her a few years ago about purchasing their land in rural Orange County. “He made the mistake of saying to us, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful to sit here on your front porch and see all the beautiful houses?’” Nutter said.

“We looked at him rather blankly, I’m sure, and we said ‘No we like what we see now.’”

The Nutters have seen to it that other people will see the same bucolic scene by donating two conservation agreements to Triangle Land Conservancy. The first phase of the agreement, 107 acres donated in 1995, to protect portions of the working dairy farm. The second phase, 81 acres donated in 2001, protects woodland that is part of Pickard’s mountain, the most important Natural Heritage Program site in Orange County, which includes several properties protected by easements.

“I don’t know what will happen to it in the future, but they’ll never build houses on it,” Bob Nutter said about the 188 acres of Maple View Farm now under protected conservation agreements.

The desire to preserve natural aress, keep their land for farm uses, and lower estate taxes have all been part of the Nutters’ decision. Without the easements, Bob Nutter believes his heirs would have had no choice but to sell the land to cover the estate taxes. The Nutters have also chosen a phased approach to putting their land in conservation agreements to take maximum advantage of federal and state tax incentives for conservation.

Local Triangle people welcome the farm’s protection for many reasons. Bikers enjoy its pastoral scenes, adults and children alike frequent its thriving ice-cream business, and local retail outlets throughout the Triangle carry its freshly bottled milk.