Sand Pond Families Donate Easement, Land Near Ashuelot River Headwaters
The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests was recently the beneficiary of two generous gifts: a donated conservation easement on 24 acres of land in Marlow, and 533 acres of land in Marlow and Washington. Both conserved properties are near or adjacent to the Forest Society’s recently conserved Ashuelot River Headwaters Forest, located just across the town line in Lempster.
Mark and Patricia Allen donated a conservation easement on 24 acres of land connecting Long and Sand Ponds in Marlow to the Forest Society’s reservation. The couple, along with other members of their family, have summer camps on Sand Pond. They were the first to offer their easement gift to the Forest Society to be used as a match to grants for the Forest Society’s recently conserved Ashuelot River Headwaters Forest.
The conserved land between the two ponds is dominated by a series of granite ridges running north to south, creating a rich landscape for wildlife. Between the granite ridges are numerous small bogs and wetlands sheltered from the wind. The land is also home to a stand of very large old spruce trees, as well as a mixed forest of mature beech, ash, and yellow birch.
Like the Allen family, the extended Rasmussen family also has summer camps on Sand Pond. Neil Rasmussen donated 533 acres in the area to the Forest Society to be used as a match to grants. He too sought to encourage his neighbors and others to support the conservation of the Ashuelot River headwaters.
The Rasmussen land includes more than 3,350 feet of shoreline on the Ashuelot River, with large beaver dams and ponds throughout. The wetlands, ponds, and streams make this land very attractive for moose, beaver, deer, and bear, all of which have been noted on the land. Waterfowl, songbirds, woodpeckers, and neo-tropical migrating birds are also abundant on the land’s pond and wetland complex in Washington.
“We are so grateful to Mark and Patricia Allen and Neil Rasmussen for their generosity,” said Forest Society President/Forester Jane Difley. “These properties are unique and enhance the conserved landscape surrounding the Ashuelot River Headwaters. This region is a conservation priority for not only the Forest Society, but also the two-state Quabbin-to-Cardigan Initiative.”
Founded in 1901, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests is the state’s oldest and largest non-profit land conservation organization. Supported by 10,000 families and businesses, the Forest Society’s mission is to perpetuate the state’s forests by promoting land conservation and sustainable forestry. For more information, visit www.forestsociety.org.