New Hampshire: Forest protection purchased along Piscataquog River
216 acres of donated land along the Piscataquog River in Deering
brings the total conserved land to 5,800 acres, nearly one-third of
the rural town’s total area. Two parcels of land, one in Deering and
one in Weare, will be protected from future development under separate
conservation easements through the Society for the Protection of New
Hampshire Forests.
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The property is located along Homestead Road and features scenic views
to the north, more than 2,000 acres of frontage along the Piscataquog
River, and wetlands that foster populations of moose, bear and deer.
The land is also connected to a block that’s part of the Quabbin to
Cardigan Collaborative plan, a multi-state effort to protect and
connect large areas of forest in the Monadnock Highlands of
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In addition to the easement, the
Forest Society received an $8,500 grant from the Russell Piscataquog
River Watershed Foundation for a new survey of the land. A separate
easement in Weare will preserve 68 acres that are home to one of the
town’s oldest family farms. It was purchased for a bargain price of
$496,000 through the Forest Society.
The farm, owned by Charles and Sylvia Brown, has been around for nearly 200 years and operated as a family-run dairy from 1938 to 1990. Today, the Browns grow and cut hay and lease out some of the fields. In addition to being over an aquifer that supplies several wells in Weare Village, the land features rich soil that earned a $310,000 contribution from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service toward the easement. The purchase was also funded by the town of Weare, which contributed $137,000 and holds executory interest on the land. The Russell Foundation and Mildred
Hall Trust each gave $24,000 toward the purchase.
The remaining $4,000 was picked up by the Forest Society’s Land Action Fund to help close an eleventh-hour funding gap. “This conservation project is the result of a collaborative effort,” Forest Society President Jane Difley said in a statement. “The Browns have been exceptionally patient throughout
this long process. It’s clear that the couple felt strongly about keeping their land in agriculture.” The Forest Society owns 162 reservations that total nearly 48,000 acres across the state and holds easements or deed restrictions on more than 100,000 acres.
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