The Nasketucket Bay Land Conservation Project has been hailed as the “largest land conservation effort completed on Buzzards Bay in a generation.”

If not for considerable work, the now protected landscape might have housed luxury homes and a golf course.

Federal, state and local officials celebrated the opening of a new trail and the protection of 416 acres of land on Nasketucket Bay Friday afternoon.

The Buzzards Bay Coalition lead the effort that raised $6 million over a four-year period to purchase the land. Those funds preserved a wide variety of habitats.

“Few of Massachuetts’ coastal bays have such rich natural resources as Nasketucket Bay, and that’s due in large part to protecting the forests, salt marshes and beaches that surround it,” said Coalition President Mark Rasmussen. “By conserving this land and creating a new public trail, we are protecting clean water…and improving the community’s access and connection with the shore.”

Rasmussen said another large conservation effort, the state’s acquisition of half of West Island, occurred 25 years ago.

Both projects will protect wildlife habitat and water quality for generations, he said.

Though the Nasketucket deal was completed last December, officials gathered on the preserved farmland for a ceremony on July 31. With stunning views of the land and bay as a backdrop, they celebrated the preservation effort.

“It took a long time, but this is for you, your children and their children.” said Brendan Annett, vice president of watershed protection for the Buzzards Bay Coalition. “It’s for everyone to enjoy….and love and appreciate forever. We did it. Just look at this place!”

Of the acres, 281 are located in Mattapoisett while the remainder are in Fairhaven. The project resulted in the expansion of the adjacent Nasketucket Bay State Reservation.

The size, scope and habitat diversity of the project is impressive not only for the state, but for the northeast.

“When I first saw the property, I said: ‘This is the coast of Massachusetts, really?” said Annett.

The project includes the preservation of 190 acres of active farmland owned by Philip DeNormandie of Fairhaven.

Discussion began 10 years ago on how to preserve the land, and more than 20 years ago developers were interested in purchasing the property.

“How many places like this have you come across since your childhood and then gone back to find they’re under buildings and pavement?” Annett asked the crowd.

State Rep. Bill Straus (D- Mattapoisett) recalled a site walk of the property he participated in during the late 1980s. Then a member of the town’s Conservation Commission, Straus said his board was investigating wetlands on the property.

“I asked the engineer who was here on behalf of the site developer where exactly we were on the map, and she said: ‘This will be the sixteenth fairway.’”

Straus said if the development plans moved forward, critical wetlands would have been lost. It also would have utilized land currently part of the bike path.

Congressman William Keating (D-Bourne) congratulated all involved for the preservation effort.

“From its stunning scenery to its rich natural resources, Nasketucket has so much to offer our community,” said Keating. “That is why I am so proud that so many individuals and organizations came together to preserve and protect this unique natural resource.”

After the ceremony, attendees were transported in hay wagons to the new trailhead located on the Mattapoisett Rail Trail, near Shaw Road in Fairhaven.

Known as the Shaw Farm Trail, it connects the bike path with the coast and the state reservation’s trail network. The new trail crosses forests, streams and meadows.

Funding for the project came from several sources.

In 2013, Mattapoisett voters appropriated $387,500 to the project and an additional $167,730 the following year.

In addition to the towns, many other governmental, nonprofit and private sources provided funding, including the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Division of Conservation Sciences.

Federal government support came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services.

Christine Clarke, a state conservationist for the conservation service, said $1.4 million was made available from the Farm and Ranch Land Protection Act for the project.

The project also received funding from the Bouchard B-120 Oil Spill Trustee Council, composed of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Additional support came from, The Nature Conservancy, the Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, the Mattapoisett Land Trust, and several private foundations and donors.

Fairhaven Selectman Robert Espindola and Mattapoisett Town Administrator Mike Gagne spoke before cutting a ribbon at the trailhead, which officially opened Shaw Farm Trail to the public.

“On behalf of the Board of Selectmen and residents we are extremely appreciative to all who were involved,” Gagne said. “This is a tremendous asset to the towns of Mattapoisett and Fairhaven.”