Conservation Easements

Conservation easements are forever. Since the early 1970s, the Forest Society has used conservation easements to protect 130,000 acres of important forest lands, water resources, scenic vistas, wildlife habitat and agricultural resources.

The purpose of the program is to keep forests as forests through the use of conservation easements that purchase development rights from willing private and tribal landowners to prevent conversion to non-forest uses.

Forest Society Director of Easement Stewardship Naomi Brattlof speaks with Conservation Finance Network.

Spring ephemeral is the term used for many of New Hampshire's wildflowers that show off in the spring and then move on to a different life cycle where they wither away back underground after going through a reproductive phase. The short definition is growing over a short amount of time.

To help the Easement Stewardship team monitor thousands of acres of conservation properties, the Volunteer Easement Monitoring Program (VEMP) was started in 2016. Since then, the program has been gradually expanding.

When you imagine a forest that is full of wildlife, you may imagine a forest that consists of really old and large trees. However, the largest diversity of wildlife will be found in dense thickets with trees no older than ten years old!

NASHUA, N.H. (Dec. 11, 2019) —The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (Forest Society) closed today on a conservation easement to protect Nashua’s last remaining working farm.

New Hampshire is a pretty cool place. There are mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, and a lot of trees. NH is over 80% forested (83% currently as measured by USDA Forest Service), but it hasn’t always been that way.

To many, summer in New Hampshire means local produce. It starts early with the sweetest strawberries, then just-right tomatoes, followed by pick-your-own blueberries, and finishing up with crisp corn on the cob before Autumn begins.