Deadline Extended to Dec. 1 to Protect 500 Acres
AMHERST-MONT VERNON – Sept. 27, 2013 -- The effort to keep 500 acres of forests permanently undeveloped and open to the public for hunting, fishing, nature walking and other passive recreation has entered the final stretch, with $35,000 left to raise by Dec. 1.
The Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests (Forest Society) is raising $190,000 for the purchase of conservation easements on properties owned by Tom and Sally Wilkins. Through the support of the community and a grant from the Russell Farm and Forest Foundation, the Forest Society has raised $155,000 since April. The Wilkins family has extended the deadline from Sept. 30 to Dec. 1 for the Forest Society to raise the remaining money needed to pay transaction costs and buy the easements at the generous bargain-sale rate the family has offered.
These forests, in multiple locations around Amherst and Mont Vernon, are actively managed for timber used by Wilkins Lumber Company in Milford, a source of local lumber for the region. The easements will allow this continued use while permanently protecting the land from development and providing public access to natural areas near many neighborhoods.
“We encourage outdoors-loving residents to look at the maps on our website (forestsociety.org), see how close these forests are to their homes and consider helping us to keep them open and undeveloped,” said Martha Twombly, Forest Society development specialist.
The easements will protect not only forests, but also wetlands and streams that feed the Souhegan and Piscataquog rivers in the Merrimack River watershed. Like any well-managed working forest, the Wilkins acreage is home to diverse wildlife such as songbirds, amphibians, deer, moose and bears. The easements will ensure that these lands remain intact to continue to provide high-quality wildlife habitat.
To learn more about this project and how to donate, please go to forestsociety.org/howyoucanhelp.