LCHIP Bill Clears the Senate

SB74

Matt Leahy | April 16, 2019

Tags:: LCHIP

a young hiker walks through ferns at Powder Major's Forest in Durham and Madbury, NH — A grant from the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program helped to conserve Powder Major's Forest in Durham, Madbury, and Lee, NH in 2016. Photo by Jerry Monkman/Ecophotography.

On March 28, the New Hampshire Senate approved Senate Bill 74, which proposes to increase the number of grants the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) can award. Since 2008, LCHIP grants have been supported by a $25 fee charged on four types of documents that are recorded at the County Registry Offices. SB 74 proposes to raise that fee to $35.

The Forest Society testified in support of the bill during its hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration. We expect the House Committee on Resources, Recreation and Development to vote on the bill on Tuesday, April 16. It then will most likely have a vote before the full House on April 25.

During the vote on the bill before the full Senate, Senator Bob Guida introduced an amendment that would establish a legislative study committee to look at the economic impact of land conservation. This amendment was then approved by the Senate. Section #2 of SB 74 describes the purpose of this study committee.

Unquestionably, land conservation provides significant benefits to our state as a whole and to the communities in which specific conservation projects are located. The protection of drinking water resources, the creation of outdoor recreation opportunities and the strengthening of the forest products industry are just a few of the positive results we have seen from this work.

It is therefore unfortunate that the language in SB 74 creating the study committee appears to make an automatic assumption that land protection and the development of affordable housing are inherently in conflict. A more constructive approach would have been to assume both are desired outcomes and examine how interested stakeholders can work together to further these goals.

However, despite the shortcomings with the proposed study committee, the Forest Society continues to support SB 74. Increasing the resources available to LCHIP will allow it to fully realize the vision for New Hampshire in 2050 which the program’s Board of Directors have set.

Please contact your representative in the New Hampshire House of Representatives in support of the bill. Let them know how the program has impacted your community and highlight these points:

Your connection to an LCHIP project. For example, did you donate money or volunteer your time towards its completion? Were you part of the planning effort?
The strong, local backing for the project. While LCHIP typically is one of the key pieces in any fundraising campaign, it is important to note how LCHIP leverages other sources of financial support.
How you believe the LCHIP-supported project has improved the quality of life in your community.
Over the last 10 years, 177 out of the 505 total applications received were not funded. That figure indicates that the demand and need for LCHIP continues, even 18 years after the Legislature established the program.
Most importantly, this interest in LCHIP shows how much the people of our state value our natural and historic resources and are committed to the protection of those resources.

Click here to see all past LCHIP projects listed by Town.

Some of the Forest Society's recent LCHIP-supported projects include the Manchester Water Works Project in Auburn, Mt. Major in Alton, The Merrimack Riverfront in Hooksett, Powder Major's Forest in Madbury, Durham, and Lee, and Stillhouse Forest in Canterbury.

News

Press Release: LCHIP Awards 3 Grants to Forest Society

December 14, 2022

The Forest Society has received three grant awards totaling $307,500 to support land conservation projects in Canterbury, Concord, and Middleton.

THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NH FORESTS AWARDED THREE LCHIP GRANTS

December 4, 2019

CONCORD, N.H. (Dec. 4, 2019)--The Board of Directors of the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) has announced $3.5 million dollars in matching grants awarded to thirty-three projects across the state, including the Society for the Protection of NH Forests’ (Forest Society) Ammonoosuc River Project in Bethlehem, Tuckaway Farm in Lee, and Morrill Dairy Farm in Boscawen.

The Forest Society is a private, non-profit land trust and forestry organization established in 1901. The organization has received a $300,000 grant for its Ammonoosuc River Project, which will conserve an exceptional 1.8-mile stretch of the Ammonoosuc River in Bethlehem. The Ammonoosuc is one of the largest rivers in the northern White Mountains, originating in the Lakes of the Clouds on Mt. Washington’s western slope and flowing westward to the Connecticut River in Woodsville. With scenic vistas and key coldwater fisheries in its upper reaches, the Ammonoosuc still harbors wild brook trout as well as rainbows and browns. To permanently protect important trout habitat and enhance angler access, the Forest Society will acquire 257 acres that include frontage on the main stem of the Ammonoosuc River and seven feeder streams. Please join us in making this conservation vision a reality.

Tuckaway Farm in Lee is receiving $73,000 to conserve a 36-acre property adjacent to a farm owned by Dorn and Sarah Cox and Chuck and Laurel Cox. The 200-plus acre Tuckaway Farm is under an existing conservation easement held by the Town of Lee. The Cox family has farmed the 36 acres of land for nearly 50 years and it’s an important component to their operations, so much so that they bought the land and the abutting house when it went on the market in 2018. The old historic home on the property, which will be excluded from the proposed easement, will become a farming education center. Please join us in making this conservation vision a reality.

Lastly, $85,000 was granted to help conserve land owned by the Morrill Dairy Farm in Boscawen. The Forest Society is working together with the Town of Boscawen to purchase a conservation easement on 115 acres of high-quality agricultural land on Long and Water Streets in Boscawen from the Morrill family. The Morrill Dairy Farm has been in operation for nearly a century and is now owned by Rob and Sherri Morrill and their sons, Andy, Kevin, and Ryan, and daughter Kim. Currently, the Morrill's are milking 140 cows and have a total of just over 500 cows on the farm. Please join us in making this conservation vision a reality.

“We’re pleased that LCHIP recognized the extraordinary value in conserving these three projects—two farms and a forested river,” said Jack Savage, president of the Society for the Protection of NH Forests. “It’s important to remember, too, that these projects are made possible by our partners and landowners who also understand the value of land conservation. Across the state, the LCHIP grants are helping protect remarkable assets that define our state. We’re pleased to be part of that.”

Projects are being supported in each of the state’s ten counties. This grant round was highly competitive, with over $7 million in funding requests compared to $3.5 million available for grants. LCHIP Board Chair Amanda Merrill of Durham observed “The LCHIP Board of Directors was particularly impressed with the variety and quality of projects seeking support this year.”

Grant recipients are required to raise a minimum of one dollar for each dollar provided by LCHIP. This year’s awards of $3.5 million will be matched by more than $10 million that the project proponents will raise from other public and private sources, infusing a total of almost $14 million into the state’s economy in direct project activity.

About New Hampshire’s Land and Community Heritage Investment Program

The New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program is an independent state authority created by the legislature in 2000 with a legislative mandate is to ensure the perpetual contribution of natural, cultural and historic resources to the economy, environment, and quality of life in New Hampshire. LCHIP provides matching grants to New Hampshire communities and non-profits to conserve and preserve the state’s most important natural, cultural and historic resources. Prior to the grant awards described herein, the program has provided 466 grants which have helped to conserve more than 290,000 acres of land for food production, water quality, ecological values, timber management and recreation and supported 280 projects to rehabilitate historic structures and sites. Grants have been awarded in all parts of the state and in 167 of New Hampshire’s 234 communities. Forty-six million dollars of state money has led to a total project value of more than $317 million. The money for LCHIP grants comes from fees on four documents recorded at the Registry of Deeds in every county of the state.

Senate Overrides Governor’s Veto of LCHIP Bill but Bill Dies in the House

Matt Leahy | September 20, 2019

Despite a strong 17-7 vote in the Senate in favor of overriding Governor Sununu’s veto of Senate Bill 74, which would have increased dedicated funding for the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), the legislation died in the House when it was unable to get the two-thirds majority needed to have it enacted. The Governor vetoed the bill in July. If approved, SB 74 would have increased the surcharge from $25 to $35 for the recording of certain documents at the registries of deeds. This proposal would have added an additional $1.5 million each year to LCHIP’s budget.

The Forest Society strongly supported the bill. We would encourage our members to thank those legislators who supported the veto override. Despite the disappointing outcome, it is clear the majority of our elected representatives in the House and Senate recognize the important benefits LCHIP brings to our state.

It is important to remember LCHIP’s annual budget is set as part of the overall State budget process. Not surprisingly, the Governor’s veto of the State’s operating budget for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 and the protracted negotiations between legislative leaders and the Governor to find a compromise has created uncertainty among all the organizations, agencies and municipalities, including LCHIP, who depend on the state budget to operate.

However, the veto of SB 74 does not mean the program will be left without any resources in the coming year. The proposed State budget the House of Representatives and the Senate approved prior to the Governor’s veto of it included $3.5 million for both FY 2020 and FY 2021. Given the support it has, we are confident any budget solution will include this level of funding for LCHIP.