Land Conservation

The Forest Society is New Hampshire's largest and oldest land trust. Visit this page to explore stories related to land conservation in New Hampshire.

It was always a pleasure for June and Bill Congdon to see the scenic woods along their road in Stoddard. Seeing “For Sale” signs suddenly appear there among the hemlock trees was another story.

When Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” he meant baseball’s 1973 National League pennant race. But the same could be said for conservation projects involving town land. 

After spending most of his career in New Jersey and raising a family there with his late wife Catherine, David Diehl knew just what he was looking for when he decided in 1997 to quit city life and spend the rest of his days back in his hometown of Lempster, N.H.

Executive Summary

This report is offered by the Society for the Protection of NH Forests and The Nature Conservancy with the purpose of providing baseline information on the status of conserved lands in New Hampshire for consideration by the SB 388 Study Committee.   In addition to surveying the current state of conserved lands, the report provides a summary of strengths and weaknesses of the present portfolio of conserved lands and identifies opportunities and priorities for future land conservation.

Highlights of Findings

by Jack Savage

The upcoming generation, as represented by students in the Natural Resources department at the University of New Hampshire, thinks that we are insane. And they sound determined to make some changes.

A walk in the woods is not just a walk in the woods for Richard Hamlen. When the woods are those his grandfather bought in 1906 at the base of Mount Monadnock in Jaffrey, the walk is more like a reunion with old friends.  

Cecily Clark was a young girl when victory in World War II brought the end of gas rationing on the New England home front. That meant her Navy veteran father could reinstate the routine of driving the family up from Massachusetts to their ancestral farm in Wolfeboro.

Thinking of conserving your land? Here are some stories about people who have already successfully done so in collaboration with the Forest Society.

Kinship and Care in New Hampton