Andover Village Improvement Society

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The Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS) is a land preservation society in Andover, Massachusetts. Founded in 1894, AVIS is the second oldest land preservation society in the USA. Its goal is to acquire land within Andover and preserve it in its natural state.

The organization controls 22 reservations totaling about 1,000 acres (4 km²), with 30 miles (50 km) of trails for hiking, skiing, or other passive recreational use. The largest AVIS reservations are Deer Jump at 131 acres (0.5 km²), Goldsmith at 170 acres, and Rafton at 226 acres (0.9 km²). Motor vehicles, hunting, fires, or camping in these conservation lands are prohibited. Volunteer wardens are responsible for the care and oversight of each reservation.

With the rapid suburbanization and development occurring in Andover since the 1970s, AVIS has played a vital role in preserving Andover's land.

[edit] Properties

As of August 2007, AVIS owns 22 sites with approximately 1100 acres.

Name	Size (acres)	Date Acquired	Location
Baker’s Meadow[1]	59	1958
Burns Reservation[2]	5		Clark Road in Ballardvale section
Collins Reservation			Pine St. in northeast section
Deer Jump Reservation[3]	131	1960-1973	Merrimack River west of I-93
Goldsmith Woodlands[4]	170	1977	East of Foster's Pond
Greene Reservation[5]	26	1969
Hammond Reservation[6]	38
Indian Ridge Reservation[7]	40	1897	near High School
Keck Reservation[8]	40	1963-1968
Lupine Reservation[9]	2
Purdon Reservation[10]	9	1964,2001
Rafton Reservation[11]	226		NE of High Plain Road, NW of I-495, and SW of I-93.
Shawsheen River Reservation[12]	27	1963
Skug Reservation[13]	37
Smith Reservation[14]	54	1963
Spalding Reservation[15]	16	1973
Stanley Reservation[16]	8	1988
Sunset Rock Reservation	9
Taft Reservation[17]	64
Vale Reservation[18]	47
West Parish Meadow[19]	28	1992
Wilkinson Reservation[20]	23	1981