$827K and Climbing

Thanks to a steady stream of online gifts the Forest Society's campaign to block the intended route of Northern Pass is at $827,000 as of Oct. 24.

"We're encouraged by the increasing number of donations," said Susanne Kibler-Hacker, vp of development. "That tells us that we can be successful in reaching our goal."

To date 810 donations have been made to thwart Northern Pass by putting conservation easements on 1800 acres that disrupt the route Hydro Quebec, Northeast Utilities and PSNH had hoped to use. Forty-six percent of those gifts have been made via the web.

"We've seen a notable number of anonymous gifts from the Manchester area," Kibler-Hacker said.
"It's also interesting and encouraging to note that gifts have been coming in from out-of-state as well," said Kibler-Hacker,"as landowners and other people with family connections to New Hampshire get the word that we can block Northern Pass from using their intended route."

To date the 810 donations include gifts from 23 different states from Florida to California to Maine, plus two international gifts.

Northeast Utilities application for a presidential permit to cross the US/Canada boundary with its proposed private high-voltage transmission line has been on hold since June 2011 due to their inability to secure a route in the face of strong public opposition.