Ongoing Projects:

Androscoggin Valley Conservation Initiative

The people and land are inexorably linked in North Country New Hampshire with no greater example than in the Town of Shelburne on the Androscoggin River. Here, the integrity of community is the common unity of landscape and relationship of people living there, of farm and forest, their history as a reflection of personal values and labor and their hopes and dreams for the future of these lands and their town. These intricate, interwoven elements are threatened with unraveling in the face of a changing economy, shifts in land ownership and an aging population. The citizens of the Town of Shelburne are taking a stand to keep the landscape, people and values intact and create a future of their own invention.

In the first phase of the Androscoggin Valley Conservation Initiative, we are focusing on assisting citizens in the Town of Shelburne with the protection of their natural and cultural resources. The first goal of the initiative is the protection of the Philbrook Farm Inn.

Philbrook Farm Inn

Shelburne, New Hampshire is home to a number of historic homesteads, farms and cemetaries that are eligible for listing on the National Historic Register. But none is as special as the Philbrook Farm Inn and adjacent Croftie Farm, selected as one of New Hampshire's "Seven to Save" most important historic properties in 2006. Built in 1834 and established in 1861, it is the longest operated, continuously owned family inn in the nation and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

As the older generations pass on, the town is acting to save the Philbrook Farm Inn, which since its establishment in 1861, has become the longest operated, continuously owned family inn in the nation. In 2005 Shelburne residents contacted us to help develop a plan that would allow the historic Inn to be protected. At the same time, the town wanted to ensure that its rich natural, cultural and recreational resources would be safeguarded for the long term.

We continue to work with a number of partners to complete these efforts. Among them are the Shelburne Historical Commission, the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, state Fish and Game Department, state Department of Agriculture, the Mahoosucs Initiative, the Mahoosuc Land Trust, Androscoggin Watershed Council and the Northern Forest Center. In late 2007, the initiative was awarded a grant of $300,000 from the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program to leverage additional public and private contributions needed to conserve the property. Fundraising efforts will continue until the acquisition is completed. In addition, three landowners are donating conservation easements on their properties to leverage funding for the Philbrook Farm.

Protecting the Philbrook Farm Inn is part of our larger Androscoggin Valley Conservation Initiative, which seeks to protect the important natural and cultural resources of the region. For more information, contact Nancy Bell.

Recent Projects

Mahoosuc Mountain Range

Some of the Appalachian Trail’s most rugged passages rim the Mahoosuc Mountain Range in New Hampshire and Maine. In 2008, we worked with local communities, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Appalachian Mountain Club and National Park Service to purchase New Hampshire’s Bald Cap Peak—1,200 acres of forests and scenic lands bordering the trail, which will be protected with a conservation easement. Supported by New Hampshire’s bipartisan congressional delegation, this project is part of our larger effort to strengthen local economies, protect wildlife habitat and preserve recreational resources in the Androscoggin River Valley.

Past Projects

Northern Forestlands

In 1998 we worked with private, public and nonprofit partners to protect 300,000 acres of critical forestland in New York, New Hampshire and Vermont through a series of acquisitions, completing the largest multi-state conservation project in U.S. history.

As part of this project, with our partners we purchased 18,000 acres from Champion International Corporation in New Hampshire. Located near the Connecticut River, this land represents a microcosm of the surrounding ecology. Much of the viewsheds of Blue Mountain and 12 other peaks above 3,000 feet, as well as approximately 5,800 acres above 2,700 feet, are protected by the conservation of this land. Also secured are 28 miles of stream frontage on Lyman Brook, Gore Brook, Simms Stream, Cone Brook and other smaller streams.

Numerous significant alpine areas that support native wildlife were safeguarded as well by this acquisition. The conservation plan emphasizes long-term restoration of a privately-owned working forest with protected ecological reserves.