Protecting Memories at Emery

Latest Easement Conserves Food and Habitat

Ryan Young | August 30, 2018
Emery Farm conservation project protects 2,500 feet of tidal frontage on the Oyster River and Smith Creek in Durham, New Hampshire

The Forest Society's latest conservation easement at Emery Farm protects 1,700 feet of scenic frontage on Route 4 and 2,500 feet of tidal frontage on the Oyster River and Smith Creek. All photos by Jerry and Marcy Monkman/Ecophotography

Emery Farm in Durham has been a part of the fabric of New Hampshire’s seacoast for generations; in fact, it’s been run and operated by the same family for more than 350 years. The farm store sells fruits, vegetables, pumpkins, Christmas trees, and local goods made by surrounding artists. This year, the Forest Society bought an additional 36-acre conservation ease- ment from landowners David Hills and Catherine McLaughlin-Hills, permanently protecting the agricultural land and its important river frontage along Oyster River.

Inside the store at Emery Farm, a gathering place for locals in New Hampshire's Seacoast
The recent conservation easement at Emery Farm protects important land surrounding the property

“Our family is happy to see this easement come to completion. We have always tried to make the right decision for the land, the environment, our children, and future generations,” says Hills. “We are humbled with the opportunity to keep land in its present state. This is the land’s natural state, and honoring the land has been respected by native cultures for many generations before our family settled here. Protecting Emery Farm from development and allowing it to continue its long history of farming, timber harvesting, and being a gathering place for locals is the right decision,” he notes. “We are very happy with the outcome.”

The Hills graciously sold the easement at a price significantly below market value. The conserved tract of land includes the fields and pasture on the southern side of Route 4 across from the farm store and next to Wagon Hill Farm. The easement helps to protect 1,700 feet of scenic frontage on Route 4 and 2,500 feet of tidal frontage on the Oyster River and Smith Creek.

A fawn sleeping in the fields at Emery Farm
A fawn sleeping in one of the fields.

This latest easement is the third and final phase of the effort to protect the historic farm. In 2003, the family conserved a 129-acre woodlot that is now owned and managed by the Forest Society. Then in 2006, the Hills conserved 59 acres of agricultural land surrounding the store with a separate Forest Society-held conservation easement. The Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership, the Nature Conservancy, and the Forest Society have partnered with the Hills family on each of these transactions.

David Hills is the tenth generation of his family on this farm where he’ll still own the farm and can manage it for agriculture, forestry, recreation, and wildlife. He has leased the land to Bill and Brad Towle for the last 27 years. This relationship will continue, along with leasing the farm store to Holly Philbrick Craig, who started leasing from Hills last year.

Fields at sunset at Emery Farm in Durham, New Hampshire
Field at sunset at Emery Farm
The location of this parcel upstream from Great Bay Estuary along the tidal Oyster River and Smith Creek made the protection of this land a high priority for the Forest Society. The easement will also help keep the land used for agriculture, preserving the vital connection between the community and local food.
The Nature Conservancy of New Hampshire and the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership have been instru- mental partners with the Forest Society in securing the conservation easement and raising project funding. The easement was purchased with significant financial contributions from our partners, including the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, the Town of Durham, the Thomas W. Haas Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the Lewis Family Foundation, the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership, Great Bay 2020, and more than 50 contributions from Forest Society members.
 
Ryan Young was formerly the strategic projects manager for the Forest Society.
 
This blog post originally appeared in the Summer 2018 edition of Forest Notes: New Hampshire's Conservation Magazine. Join today to start receiving our quarterly, award-winning magazine that will keep you up-to-date on the latest land conservation news and special stories of people and place in New Hampshire.