Party Honors Forest Protectors

MADBURY – June 9, 2017 – The Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests (Forest Society) honored supporters and donors involved in the conservation of 193 acres of land in Madbury, Durham and Lee at an awards celebration Thursday at Tibbetts Field in Madbury, which abuts the Powder Major’s Forest, purchased by the Forest Society earlier this year after a $2.25 million fundraising campaign.

            “From the bottom of my heart and of the soles of my hiking boots, I want to thank you,” Jane Difley, Forest Society’s President / Forester told the group of about 50 attendees drinking ice tea and lemonade on a warm afternoon. More than 700 people donated to the campaign.

            The Powder Major’s Forest consists of mixed woodlands with extensive frontage along the Oyster River, Dube Brook and NH Route 155. Its conservation protects regional water quality and high-quality wildlife habitat as well as recreational opportunities on a network of trails. It has historical significance as a tangible tie to the American Revolution, since it once belonged to Major John Demeritt, aka “The Powder Major.” Demerrit was a Madbury patriot celebrated locally for hiding barrels of gunpowder -- stolen from the British – on his farm and bringing them by oxcart to compatriots fighting the Battle of Bunker Hill.

 

           U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who lives in Madbury, noted the historical and ecological relevance of the project in a letter read by Susanne Kibler-Hacker of the Forest Society.

            “As a Madbury resident, I have visited the Powder Major Farm many times, and I often share with pride the role that the farm played in a celebrated battle in our Revolutionary War,” Shaheen wrote. “Preserving this property is not only a way to share this unique story, but also an approach that protects water quality and expands recreation opportunities for residents and visitors to the region.”

            Shaheen showed her support for the project creatively during the campaign, Kibler-Hacker said, by putting a photo of the farm and information about the project on her Christmas card.

            Difley noted that the conservation project was unique since the Powder Major’s Forest is located in all three towns and required the support and collaboration of all three to be successful. Representatives of each of the three towns were the first to receive award placques recognizing their contributions.

 

 

          Difley also recognized the many grant foundations and agencies and individuals who gave both money and time to the project as well as the landowners, members of the Goss family, who pursued a conservation outcome for their land. Chuck and Beth Goss, who live in the historic Powder Major farmhouse next to the reservation, accepted an award on behalf of the family.

            Garnering two rounds of applause, student Lauren Quest and teacher Jon Bromley of Oyster River High School accepted an award on behalf of the school’s Sustainability Club, whose members invigorated the fundraising campaign by hosting special events, including a Feast for the Forest at the school sponsored by NEMO equipment, which also sponsored Thursday’s celebration.

          Durham Town Administrator Todd Selig took the opportunity to highlight the collaborative aspect of the project. The ability of three small towns to achieve a large conservation project “is a manifestation of all of us being able to come together,” he said. He ended by acknowledging the role of the Forest Society as a leading partner in the project.

            ‘They were the drivers, the organizers, the experts and the facilitators,” he said. “Thank you,” he told Difley, “for bringing us all together to conserve this great parcel.”  

The celebration also honored these funders:  

Thomas W. Haas Fund of the N.H. Charitable Foundation
Natural Resources Conservation Service's Agricultural Land Easement program
N.H. DES Aquatic Resource Mitigation ProgramN.H. Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP)
The Bafflin Foundation 
Conservation License Plate (Moose Plate) through the N.H. State Conservation Committee Grant Program
Sarah K. deCoizart Article TENTH Perpetual Charitable Trust
John F. and Dorothy H. McCabe Environmental Fund of the N.H Charitable Foundation
The Davis Conservation Foundation
The William P. Wharton Trust
The George W. Merck Fund of the N.H. Charitable Foundation
The Preston Family Fund of the N.H. Charitable Foundation
The Allan & Kathleen Matthews Fund of the N.H. Charitable Foundation
The Piscataqua Region Estuaries Program
The Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership