In April, 2013, John Garvey purchased a "wild and beautiful piece of land in Goshen, located on the Quabbin to Cardigan Corridor, with two brooks that feed the Goshen Ocean (Gunnison Lake)—a one hundred acre reservoir that spills into the Little Sugar River." John says, "We have cut trails that meander through the property, taking us past long forgotten stone walls, beautiful stands of birch and pine, and some breathtakingly steep banks looking down to the gurgling water." As soon as John walked the property, he made the decision to contact Ausbon Sargent to determine if this property met the criteria for protected land.

After careful review and consideration by the Land Protection Committee and the Board, it was evident that this property met the criteria and on December 20, 2013, an easement was conveyed. John has chosen to refer to the Garvey Conservation Easement as Wayne’s Woods in memory of his good friend, Wayne Hersher.

The Garvey property is undeveloped and primarily forested. It has wetlands on the property as well as Blood Brook and Baker Brook, that flow into Gunnison Lake. The easement protects over 1,000 feet of frontage on Blood Brook and over 1,900 feet of frontage on Baker Brook. Almost all of the Garvey Conservation Easement is listed as Highest Ranked Habitat or Supporting Landscapes in the 2010 Wildlife Action Plan, providing habitat for moose, bear, deer, woodland birds, fish insects, reptiles and amphibians. The property is adjacent to and near over 17,000 acres of conservation land and connects the Pillsbury Sunapee Highlands to the Sugar River Watershed Site #D2.

The William P. Wharton Trust and the Quabbin-to-Cardigan Partnership (Q2C) funded the transaction costs for this donated easement.