The Merrimack Conservation Partnership (MCP) announced the 2023 recipients of its tenth round of Land Conservation Grants, which help underwrite conservation projects that protect the ecologically important Merrimack Valley Watershed region of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In the latest grant round, the MCP awarded grants totaling $68,697 to six projects that will conserve a total of approximately 904 acres of land. The total value of the land to be protected in these latest grant rounds is conservatively estimated at $4.23 million.

In 2010, the Merrimack was identified by the US Forest Service as the most threatened watershed in the nation in terms of projected loss of private forestland over the next 20 years. The two-state region of the Merrimack Watershed spans a total of 2.1 million acres and 3,275 square miles of which 54% is in New Hampshire and 46% in Massachusetts. The Merrimack River starts in Franklin, New Hampshire and flows through eight of New Hampshire’s largest cities, then continues through Massachusetts to its mouth at Newburyport.

Launched in 2012, the Merrimack Conservation Partnership is a collaborative effort of private organizations and public agencies working on land conservation in the Merrimack Valley Watershed. The partners share a vision of conserving (on a strictly willing-seller/donor basis) the region’s most ecologically significant forests and the key connections between them for wildlife passage and human recreation.

The Merrimack Conservation Partnership Land Conservation Grants program underwrites transaction costs—appraisals, surveys, title research, staff time, etc.—on conservation transactions that protect land identified in the Merrimack Valley Regional Conservation Plan.

Below is a list of the 2023 grant recipients and a brief description of their projects.

Hoyt Farm in Merrimac, MA

Applicant:  Essex County Greenbelt Association
Acres to be conserved:  120
Protection Method:  Land Purchase
MCP Grant Award:  $10,000
Estimated Total Project Cost:  $1,465,600

Essex County Greenbelt Association (Greenbelt) seeks to preserve Hoyt Farm by acquiring and owning these 120 acres. This farm, one of many former dairies in Essex County, is currently either in hay, corn or other vegetables, and is periodically grazed by 6 cows by the owner. Hoyt Farm is rich in natural resources: the headwaters to the City of Haverhill drinking water supply, intact mature forests, and farmland soils. The property shares its northern border with the Merrimac Town Forest and Greenbelt plans to extend trails from the Town Forest onto Hoyt Farm. Protecting Hoyt Farm will also expand a wildlife corridor mapped as Priority Habitat for Rare Species by MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.

Evergreen Farm in Salisbury, MA

Applicant: Essex County Greenbelt Association
Acres to be conserved: 36
Protection Method: Land Purchase
MCP Grant Award: $10,000
Estimated Total Project Cost: $1,959,500

Essex County Greenbelt Association (Greenbelt) has an accepted offer to purchase a former Christmas Tree Farm adjacent to the Crane Pond Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Once Greenbelt has acquired the property, 18 acres will be protected via a sale to the Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game, expanding the Crane Pond WMA, and will be open to the public. The remaining 18 acres will be sold to a private party subject to a conservation easement permitting farming outside of wetland buffers with a farm conservation plan, wildlife habitat management, and passive recreational use. 

Casella, Priest and Hallet Conservation Lands in Groton, MA

Applicant: Groton Conservation Trust
Acres to be conserved: 199.73
Protection Method: Donated Conservation Restrictions
MCP Grant Award: $1,197
Estimated Total Project Cost: $39,595

The Groton Conservation Trust (GCT) engaged in a partnership with the Town of Groton, MA in 2023 to permanently protect three parcels in Groton. The Town purchased the properties in fee and the GCT was granted the conservation restrictions for the three properties. This is the latest effort of a longstanding partnership between the Town and the GCT in which the two organizations share expertise and resources for the shared goal of permanent protection of local land with high conservation value. These parcels add to existing land held in permanent protection and include significant acreage of estimated habitat of rare wildlife. In addition, all three parcels are open to the public for non-motorized recreation and include trails maintained by the Town Trails Committee.

Tarr Sanctuary Addition in Goffstown, NH

Applicant: Piscataquog Land Conservancy
Acres to be conserved: 12
Protection Method: Land Donation
MCP Grant Award: $7,500
Estimated Total Project Cost: $239,000

This small but strategic parcel will be acquired in fee, thanks to a generous donation in full by the landowner, and added to the Piscataquog Land Conservancy’s 332-acre Florence Tarr Wildlife Sanctuary in Goffstown, NH. Its topography and landcover are similar to adjacent Tarr lands and the entire property is within the NH Wildlife Action Plan Tier 1 Highest Ranked in NH habitat. The parcel also has an existing trail that interconnects with the Tarr Sanctuary’s extensive, well-maintained and well-used trail system and will allow for creating a new loop trail in the western part of Tarr Sanctuary.

Richard Harkness Conservation Easement in Epsom, NH

Applicant: Bear-Paw Regional Greenways
Acres to be conserved: 81
Protection Method: Donated Conservation Easement
MCP Grant Award: $20,000
Estimated Total Project Costs: $142,190

In 2016, Rick Harkness contacted Bear-Paw Regional Greenways to explore conservation options for his property, which includes farmland, forest and a significant wetland complex. He is now donating a conservation easement on this parcel with reserved rights for agriculture and forestry to protect it from development and guarantee that it is farmable for future generations. Protecting this parcel will mean fully conserving this high-value wetland complex and 245 contiguous acres within a prioritized habitat block, including habitat for the endangered Blanding’s Turtle. The landowner is interested in leaving the property open to public access for hunting, with prohibitions for motorized vehicles, except as needed for agriculture and forestry. Rick has reported many sightings of moose and other large mammals, supporting this area’s utility as an important wildlife corridor.

Binney K. Wells Trust Conservation Easement in Hopkinton and Henniker, NH

Applicant: Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
Acres to be conserved: 455
Protection Method: Donated Conservation Easement
MCP Grant Award: $20,000
Estimated Total Project Costs: $690,190

The Forest Society is working with the Wells family to conserve 455 acres in Hopkinton and Henniker through a conservation easement. Protection of these parcels will connect other conservation land to a very large network of contiguous conservation land, including the more than 7,600-acre Hopkinton-Everett flood control land to the east and west. Conserving the farm fields will permanently protect them for future agricultural enterprises. The deed will not include guaranteed public access, but the Class VI roads in Henniker provide public recreational opportunities for the public to enjoy walks through the large and impressive forestland.