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.