ADAMS — It was hard for the Alibozeks to sell off 90 acres of land their family had farmed for more than 60 years. But, they say, their late relatives would be glad the property is destined for conservation. The family is parting with its large swath of land off East Mountain Road to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. The acquisition — which the state plans to use for “natural resource protection and outdoor public recreation" — will create an important physical link between Savoy Mountain State Forest and Adams through public land. The parcel is south of East Mountain Road, and DCR is proposing to buy the east side of it, leaving all of the frontage of Tophet Brook Farm in the family. Though the transaction is not yet complete, the Alibozeks say the sale could be worth around $160,000. While that part of the farm property being sold hasn’t been farmed for years, the state sees opportunity in the underdeveloped forested land. The Alibozeks see memories. Gary Alibozek, his brother Brian, and Brian’s nephew, Chad Boulger, are all involved in the family farming business, while Brian runs and manages Tophet Brook Farm. They recalled years, and multiple generations of snowmobiling through 150 yards of "s-turns," or hairpin turns going up a hill, both for recreation and to get back and forth between farms. They’re glad the public will have access to it now. “Chad is the newest generation of the Alibozeks having cattle in Adams, and he can verify, those turns are like a test,” Gary said. “You’re capable of being a snowmobiler when you make it up and down those s-turns without any help.” While the s-turn portion is relatively short, the entire trail is well over a mile. Also included in the sale of the land are picturesque waterfalls, bountiful mushrooms, a watering hole to fish, and wildlife such as deer, turkeys, bears, coyotes, bobcats. While the Alibozeks declined to share the 15 mushroom hot spots they’ve pinpointed over the years, the public will have the opportunity to find them on their own. Though Gary and Brian's grandfather, Edward, originally bought the land in 1964, Gary said family involvement dates back to 1932, when, the story goes, his wife’s grandfather won it in a poker game. “Our ancestors moved to Adams in the early 1900s because they had the money to do so,” Gary said. “Moving to Adams was a step up because it was flatter, and you could start planting in April instead of everything starting in May and June. Savoy is higher up in elevation and has a lot of stones and hills.” Gary marveled at the fact that his family initially came from Savoy to Adams, and now the state is connecting Savoy to Adams through its buying of the family land. Brian said the family started with 30 cows in 1962, which increased to around 100 cows in the 1980s and 1990s. Since then, the farm has moved away from dairy, and now sells primarily Angus beef, vegetables, loam and firewood. He says the land sale will allow the family to continue operating the farm. He and Gary tell stories of encountering snowshoers, curious coyotes, and having to find and rescue calves at remote areas on the property when cows would slip away to calve, a move to avoid predators. “One cow had a calf and panicked, and went all the way up the s-turns and had a calf there,” Brian said. “We had to go all the way up there and put her in a bucket on the tractor to bring her down.” Jennifer Soper, a land protection specialist with the DCR, said the land will be kept in its natural state, and, “We don’t plan on building anything on it.” “We also purchased it because of the habitat we can protect, namely Tophet Brook and Patton Brook, as those are cold water fisheries,” Soper said. “Trout don’t live in warm water.” The land the DCR is buying abuts land it already owns and lies to the west of the Savoy Mountain State Forest. The Alibozeks divided their larger farm property into two sections, and will be retaining the western portion, with the DCR hoping to procure the eastern portion and parts of the brooks. Gary said the sale came about when Soper contacted the family; 10 years earlier she had spearheaded the purchase of a parcel of land from the farm. “They wanted this at the time because they said it would link everything together, but at the time my mom and dad were alive, and they kept it for the cows calving and the extra pasture,” Gary said. “We later found out it didn’t fit our future plans, so it makes sense. The state now has access through East Mountain Road and through the entire Savoy Mountain State Forest.” The real estate deal is finalized. Once the DCR’s surveying work wraps up in June or July, the budget will become available, and the Alibozeks will be paid. “My father David passed on 11 years ago, but he talked for years and years about preserving that woodland,” Brian said. “We did him right. This is what he would’ve wanted.”