The Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation announced this week that it had placed a small property into conservation on Moshup Trail in Aquinnah. The 1.7-acre property was purchased on Nov. 19 for $35,416, a press statement said. The seller was the family of Josephine Smalley Vanderhoop.

“The foundation gratefully acknowledges the family . . . Conserving this land will help to protect the natural habitat and scenic beauty of the land along Moshup Trail,” the statement said in part.

Situated in the extreme western perimeter of the Vineyard, Moshup Trail is an area of rare natural habitat where cranberries, highbush blueberries, black cherries and broomsedge grow amid salt-blasted heathlands. The foundation said it hoped to conserve other properties in the area and link them with a public path.

“We are really excited about this acquisition, and we are excited to study the land and learn more about the plants and animals that are living there,” said executive director Adam Moore in the statement.