In the 1930s, as hardships from the Great Depression struck, Gorham, New Hampshire, found both its economy and water supply vulnerable. The town’s largest employer and landowner, Brown Paper Company, declared bankruptcy and was unable to pay property taxes on its Gorham land, which included 4,000 acres of forest that provided the town’s water supply. With forestland serving as a key economic driver of both local tourism and the timber industry — and a necessary underpinning of public health — Gorham wanted to invest in a new approach to woodlands management that balanced these concerns in a sustainable way. In 1936 — in a bold move amidst economic turmoil, and with broad public support — the town purchased over 3,380 acres of forestland to ensure clean drinking water for more than 90% of its residents.

In the 1990s, when the vertical integration model of forest ownership broke down, mills closed, loggers lost jobs and uncertainty around the timber industry started to grow. However, Gorham quickly adapted a strategy to utilize its forest as an asset beyond providing clean drinking water by forming the Town Forest Committee. The committee expanded its goals for the forest to include managing timber, maintaining wildlife habitat, supporting public access and educational opportunities, and ultimately serving as a model for future forest ownership. In 1998, active timber management helped the town recover from a devastating ice storm that necessitated salvage harvesting — a method of mitigating economic losses due to natural disasters and recreating conditions for successful restoration. It was also structured to set aside revenue that could be used for town improvement projects, such as the construction of a town hall building and fire station repairs. The town forest continues to serve as an educational resource for local schools, provide hiking and biking trails for residents and visitors, and allow public access for hunting on foot.

To this day the town of Gorham prioritizes the success of its forest as a high-valued community asset through its partnership with The Conservation Fund.

Our Role

For 14 years, Gorham had tried unsuccessfully to acquire a 2,005-acre parcel that represented the missing piece in efforts to protect its drinking water. Through our Working Forests program, we were able to assist with fundraising and help the town acquire this land, which will result in the permanent conservation of the now 6,000-acre Gorham Town Forest.

Why This Project Matters

This newly acquired land, which will be added to the Gorham Town Forest, protects the town’s water supply and primary forest access roads that double as recreational trails. Expanding this working forest will ensure additional timber revenue opportunities, protect wildlife habitat and act as an educational and recreational resource for the future. In an era of increasingly vulnerable clean water sources, permanently protecting the surface watershed for drinking water for over 90% of the town’s residents ensures a sustainable community resource for generations to come.

Funders for this project include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Community Forest Program, the New Hampshire (NH) Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, the NH Department of Environmental Service’s Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund, the NH State Conservation Commission, the Open Space Institute Community Forest Fund and the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation.