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Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

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  1. What we do
  2. Land Conservation
  3. How We Protect Land
  4. Milestones

News

  • New Faces at the Forest Society

    Anna Berry
    January 17, 2023

    We've welcomed a few new faces to the Forest Society over the past few months and we're excited to introduce them to you.

  • What We Accomplished Together in 2022

    Jack Savage
    December 27, 2022

    Over the past year, we completed 12 land protection projects, encompassing nearly 2,200 acres.

  • 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.

    Read more

Milestones

In 1885, the New Hampshire Forest Commission reported –

"Instead of cutting only timber that is matured, everything is cut to the size of five or six inches in diameter, and what remains is cut into firewood or burned at once, leaving a dreary waste. In Lancaster, the timber and wood are nearly all gone and the mountains are being stripped to their summits. Originally a dense forest covered our state. This magnificent forest has long since disappeared."

Six years later, a group of citizens formed the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, spurred by the need to stop the reckless destruction of the White Mountains by timber barons. In 1911, thanks to the persistence of the Forest Society, and many other supporters, the Weeks Act was passed, allowing for the creation – and protection – of the White Mountain National Forest.

So began the Forest Society's journey to protect New Hampshire's landscape. We have reached many more milestones along the way –

Highlights of our accomplishments over the last century

Type of protection

Number of properties

Total acreage

Totals

1,081

204,030

Forest Society reservations

191

59,000

Forest Society-held conservation easements (grantee and executory)

793

131,495

Land transferred with deed restrictions

97

13,535

* The Forest Society also provides assistance to land trusts, municipalities, state and federal agencies, and other conservation organizations to protect additional land throughout the state.

Map and guide to forest reservations in New Hampshire

Explore Our Reservations!

Visit our Reservations Guide to plan a day in the woods or learn about land we own near you. Click here to see a map of our Forest Reservations and get directions.

Reservations Guide
Land Conservation

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Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests54 Portsmouth St.Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603.224.9945Fax: 603.228.0423info@forestsociety.org
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