Popular snowmobile trail forms property’s boundary
CONCORD – July 2, 2014 – With start-up grants and donations totaling $85,000, the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests (Forest Society) and the Washington Conservation Commission are teaming up to raise $248,000 to buy and conserve a 245-acre forest above Millen Lake in Washington.
“The MacNeil family has generously offered to sell their land at a discount to the Forest Society so that the great wildlife habitat, timber resources and recreation opportunities there can be conserved,” said Brian Hotz, the Forest Society’s vice president of land conservation.
The Davis Foundation has provided $10,000, the Washington Conservation Commission has pledged $20,000 and individual donors have contributed $55,000 to get the project started.
The property, accessed from Farnsworth Hill Road, links several properties already conserved by the towns of Lempster and Washington and the Forest Society. It abuts the Forest Society’s Farnsworth Hill Forest, Washington’s Town Forest, the Ashuelot River Headwaters Forest and the Long Pond Town Forest.
Jed Schwartz, chair of the Washington Conservation Commission, said conserving the MacNeil property fits in with the town’s vision of linking trail networks between Lempster and Washington, and is an opportunity to expand conserved land for moose, deer, bear, turkeys and other wildlife.
“We see it as an important connection piece,” Schwartz said. “It’s just a long-term gain to get this high-value natural resource property under protection for the betterment of our town.”
The parcel is located above Millen Lake on one side and above the Ashuelot River on the other.
“Conserving it will help protect the water quality of these nearby resources,” Hotz said.
“And with its mix of hardwoods and softwoods, much of the property is designated by N.H. Fish and Game’s Wildlife Action Plan as the highest quality habitat in the state”
The unmaintained Old Marlow Road, a long-ago main travel route to Washington, is a popular snowmobile trail in winter and a peaceful walking trail past many cellar holes and stone walls in warmer seasons. By buying the property, the Forest Society can guarantee that it will stay open for public recreation into the future.
The conservation groups must raise the $248,000 by Aug. 31 to buy the parcel and pay for transaction and stewardship costs. Donations for the project may be made at forestsociety.org or by calling Susanne Kibler Hacker at 224-9945, ext. 314 or by mail to SPNHF, 54 Portsmouth St., Concord, NH, 03301.