Forest Society Closes on 530-Acre Conservation Easement to Block Northern Pass

Green Acre Woodlands property offers views, wildlife habitat and public access

The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests is pleased to announce that this week we have closed on the first of the conservation easements that are part of our Trees Not Towers campaign to block the intended route of the Northern Pass transmission line as proposed.

As of this week the 530 acres owned by Green Acre Woodlands are conserved. A registered Tree Farm, the land slopes upward from North Hill Road with an elevation of approximately 2,170 feet, offering dramatic nearly 360-degree views from North Hill in Stewartstown, NH.

“We’ve wanted for several years to protect this land,” said Jane Difley, president/forester of the Forest Society. “We’re pleased that the owners had the same goal in mind.

“Moreover, we are determined to protect other existing conserved lands from the threat presented by the proposed Northern Pass transmission line across 180 miles of New Hampshire, including the White Mountain National Forest. The Green Acre Woodlands parcel is a strategic part of our efforts to compel Hydro Quebec, Northeast Utilities and PSNH to look at other viable options for their private transmission line,” Difley said. “We remain confident that they will not successfully acquire an unimpeded route through northern New Hampshire, thus sparing the rest of the state through the Lakes Region, Concord and on to Deerfield.”

While mostly forested, the Green Acre Woodlands parcel includes more than 100 acres of open fields that are enrolled in a federal program that delays mowing until August to encourage grasses, forbs and small shrubs and to enhance the wildlife habitat on the property. The permanent protection of this property has been a goal of the Forest Society for several years because of its significant wildlife habitat value.

The conservation easement guarantees public access to the property, while permanently prohibiting any commercial development (outside of agriculture and forestry) including any transmission lines or towers on the property. Green Acre Woodlands retains a reserved right to withdraw three 10-acre lots that may be subdivided and sold separately.

The Forest Society’s Trees Not Towers campaign seeks to raise $2.5 million to put conservation easements on parcels of land in Coos County that will serve to block the intended route of the proposed Northern Pass transmission line. To date the campaign has successfully raised $1.15 million. More than 1,200 donations have come from nearly 200 different towns and 26 states across the country.

“We’re on track to complete this campaign in the new year,” said Susanne Kibler-Hacker, VP for Development at the Forest Society. “End-of-year contributions are coming in, and the new tax year will bring more.”

Contributions to the Trees Not Towers campaign can be made online at www.forestsociety.org/np. For more information about making a gift, contact Susanne Kibler-Hacker at 603-224-9945 or by email at skh@forestsociety.org.

Trees Not Towers Tops $1 Million

As of mid-November, more than 1,000 donors have now made a gift to the Forest Society's Trees Not Towers campaign to disrupt the intended route of the proposed Northern Pass HVDC transmission line. To date more than $1 million has been raised, with $135,000 coming in the door since Nov. 1.

"We're extremely pleased with the response to our recent announcement that we have successfully raised enough to close on two of the four conservation easements that are a blocking action against the Northern Pass intended route," said Jane Difley, president/forester. "It's clear to me that those who value New Hampshire's scenic landscapes are encouraged and want to see us reach our ultimate goal."

Donors come from far and wide, inside and outside the state. The Forest Society has received gifts from 178 different towns across New Hampshire, showing broad, statewide support of the Trees Not Towers effort. Donations have been received from 26 states and three foreign countries. Half of the gifts have come via our website.
The Forest Society must raise $2.5 million to put conservation easements on properties owned by four landowners in northern Coos County. The goal of the campaign is to block Northern Pass from finding a route through some of the state's most scenic landscape in order to begin a genuine discussion of viable alternatives such as burial of transmission lines along transportation corridors or co-locating along an existing HVDC transmission corridor that already runs from Canada to Massachussets.

Public Plea to SB361 Commission on Northern Pass

Although the SB361 Commission was not charged with making any specific determinations regarding the proposed Northern Pass private transmission line, most of the 150 people who showed up at a public hearing in Plymouth made it clear that they were looking for the members of the Commission to hear their concerns that the project is not right for New Hampshire. Union Leader reporter Paula Tracy's story about the hearing can be read here.

The comments from Nancy Martland of Sugar Hill received the most enthusiastic ovation from the crowd of some 150 people at the hearing.

"You are our elected and appointed representatives," Martland said, addressing the members of the SB361 Commission. "You stand for us in the face of the coming onslaught of power transmission through our towns and our state. Individuals and even towns have no power to control or manage the way energy is transported through New Hampshire, but you do, and you owe it to us to take control and manage energy transmission responsibly for the protection of our state’s natural heritage and for our future generations."

"I urge you in the strongest possible terms to look out for our interests," Martland concluded. "I urge you to resist the pressures that have been applied and will continue to be applied by big corporate interests that seek to bully New Hampshire into submission. I urge you to stick to your original recommendation that a moratorium on new construction be implemented and that elective lines must be placed underground."


Martland's complete testimony can be read here.

Burial is an Viable Option Says Draft SB361 Report

According to the draft report of the SB361 Commission, "testimony suggests that underground transmission facilities on appropriate state transportation rights of way may be technically and financially competitive with other transmission designs and locations."

The SB361 Commission was established by the legislature to identify the feasibility of using state-owned transportation corridors for energy infrastructure and, if the commission finds the use of transportation corridors feasible for such use, shall specify which corridors are most appropriate for specific utility infrastructures.

The Commission issued a draft report on Oct. 31, 2012, and subsequently held public hearings to gather input about the draft. At a hearing on Nov. 14, 2012, the Forest Society, along with the Appalachian Mountain Club, Conservation Law Foundation, Conservation New Hampshire and The Nature Conservancy (New Hampshire Chapter) offered a joint letter commenting on the draft. The letter commends the Commission for identifying four existing highway corridors that may serve future energy infrastructure needs, and for identifying key issues that it did not have time to research.

The letter also urged the Commission to consider including additional recommendations, including:

• Requiring the NH Dept. of Transportation prepare a report identifying which, if any, of the state-owned rail corridors could be added to the list of highway corridors as potentially viable for energy facilities.
• Amend the Site Evaluation Committee statute to require elective transmission developers to propose an underground alternative if it is proposing to build new overhead transmission lines.
• Recommend that a task force be appointed by the Governor to continue the research the Commission has begun, specifically to answer the six bulleted items on page five of the draft.

Two Down, Two to Go

Forest Society successfully raises enough to close two of four easements to block Northern Pass. Discussions with additional landowners are ongoing.

As of Monday, Oct. 29, we have successfully raised $868,500 for the Trees Not Towers campaign, enough to close on two of four conservation easements that will keep Northern Pass towers and powerlines from being built on the protected acreage.

“We are working on the due diligence required to close all the transactions,” said Jane Difley. “We are scheduling the closings over the winter, with the first to occur in December.” 

Fundraising to complete the Trees Not Towers campaign to thwart Northern Pass will continue into the new year. Donations can be made via Forest Society website at www.forestsociety.org. 

“A number of key donors of told us that it would be helpful to be able to make donations in the 2013 tax year,” said Susanne Kibler-Hacker, vice president of development for the Forest Society. “landowners have signed purchase-and-sale agreements that enable us to meet our donors’ requests.”

The Forest Society also continues to engage additional landowners in the effort to thwart Northern Pass.

“As our blocking action falls into place, we fully expect Northeast Utilities and PSNH to attempt to squirm their way through in some other fashion,” said Will Abbott, vice president of policy/land management. “Other landowners are coming forward, and we are working with them to strengthen the block.”

Our goal is to stop Northern Pass as proposed in the North Country in order to protect 180 miles of New Hampshire, including the White Mountains, from the unnecessary blight of more than 1100 towers,” Difley said. “Northern Pass’s proposal is outdated, and stopping them from moving forward would appear to be the only way to start a serious discussion of more common-sense ways to transmit electricity, such as burial along transportation corridors.”