The Fund has protected nearly 30,000 acres of working forestlands and wildlife habitat across New Hampshire.

Ongoing Projects

Androscoggin Valley Conservation Initiative

The Fund is working in the Androscoggin Valley to conserve wildlife habitat, working forests, public recreational access and riparian corridors in the area. We have assisted willing land owners, land trusts and state agencies in conserving river frontage, wildlife corridors and historic lands in the area. The initiative's first project was the protection of Philbrook Farm Inn in the town of Shelburne, New Hampshire (see below).

Recent Projects

The Appalachian Trail in the Mahoosuc Mountain Range

The Mahoosuc Mountains spread across New Hampshire and Maine, offering a rich forestland as well as some of the most picturesque and rugged sections of the Appalachian Trail.

In the fall of 2010, we assisted the National Park Service in conserving 4,777 acres of forestland in Success Township. The property was added to the Mahoosuc Mountain Range section of the Appalachian Trail, linking previously conserved properties and ensuring continued public access through historic side trails.  Some of the Appalachian Trail’s most rugged passages can be found in this area including the section referred to as the “toughest mile.” This famed corridor is now protected for six miles along the crest of Mahoosucs. Also protected are two prominent peaks, Bald Cap and North Bald Cap, and the famous Outlook, known for its stunning views.  The property will be managed by the White Mountain National Forest, maintaining public access, including traditional uses of hunting and fishing.

This addition to the Appalachian Trail continues our work from 2008 when we partnered with local communities, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Appalachian Mountain Club and the National Park Service to purchase Bald Cap Peak, 1,200 acres of forests and scenic lands bordering the trail, which now are protected with a conservation easement.

Our work in 2010 also includes the protection of 1,200 acres of bordering forestland in Shelburne, which has been conserved as working forest under a conservation easement. 

Both the 4,777- and 1,200-acre properties were acquired from T.R. Dillon Logging Company in the first of a three-phase agreement to conserve more than 29,000 contiguous acres in Success Township. The comprehensive goal of this multi-year effort is to protect important natural resources while ensuring working forests and sustainable economic opportunities for communities in the Berlin-Gorham area, Coos County and the White Mountain region.

Photos: The Outlook from Mahoosuc Trail (top) and North Bald Cap Mountain (bottom) both courtesy Bill Duffy.

Read about our efforts along the Appalachian Trail in Alabama

Past Projects

Philbrook Farm Inn

In 2009 we completed efforts to conserve the historic Philbrook Farm Inn and adjacent Croftie Farm. Built in 1834 and established in 1861 as an inn, Philbrook Farm is the longest operated, continuously owned family inn in the nation and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The inn and the adjacent Croftie Farm were selected for New Hampshire's "Seven to Save" historic properties in 2006. The town of Shelburne has a number of historic homesteads, farms and cemeteries that are eligible for listing on the National Historic Register, but the Philbrook Farm Inn has a special place in the community and was at risk of being sold and developed after the death of the current owner. Efforts to preserve Philbrook Farm Inn began in 2005 when the town of Shelburne contacted us to help develop a plan that would permanently protect the inn.

We worked for four years until the inn and surrounding property were protected permanently in 2009. This project involved many local partners, including the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, which provided a critical grant, and three landowners who donated conservation easements on their properties to leverage additional funding. The Shelburne Historical Commission, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, the state Fish and Game Department, the state Department of Agriculture, the Mahoosuc Initiative, the Mahoosuc Land Trust, Androscoggin Watershed Council and the Northern Forest Center all worked together to place a permanent conservation easement on the properties.

The properties together total slightly less than 1,000 acres of contiguous land with a mile of frontage on the Androscoggin River. The land also is a primary wildlife corridor across the river to the White Mountain National Forest, and there are numerous hiking trails, some of which link to the Appalachian Trail.

Northern Forestlands

In 1998 we worked with private, public and nonprofit partners to protect 300,000 acres of critical forestland in New York, New Hampshire and Vermont through a series of acquisitions, completing the largest multi-state conservation project in U.S. history.

As part of this project, with our partners we purchased 18,000 acres from Champion International Corporation in New Hampshire. This land, near the Connecticut River, represents a microcosm of the surrounding ecology. Much of the viewsheds of Blue Mountain and 12 other peaks above 3,000 feet, as well as approximately 5,800 acres above 2,700 feet, are protected by the conservation of this land. Also secured are 28 miles of stream frontage on Lyman Brook, Gore Brook, Simms Stream, Cone Brook and other smaller streams.

Numerous significant alpine areas that support native wildlife were safeguarded as well by this acquisition. The conservation plan emphasizes long-term restoration of a privately owned working forest with protected ecological reserves.