In 1970, the Hanover Conservancy (then the Hanover Conservation Council) was 9 years old. We had already protected Balch Hill and the Tanzi Tract and helped protect Lyme’s 43-acre Wilder Wildlife Area and Plainfield’s 35-acre New England Wildflower Society preserve. As for the rest of town…what a difference 50 years can make!
EABs are here, and our ash trees will never be the same. Individual landowners are the best equipped to treat and save trees on private property. Throughout New England, large tracts of forest and roadways will be cleared of trees before infestation (when removal is much safer and lumber may be sold), in stages during the active infestation as budgets allow. Towns all across our region are using state resources to take inventories of ash trees within their town limits, and set priorities for removal or possible treatment. Stay informed: VT Invasives has an easy-to-navigate site, and the UNH Cooperative Extension regularly publishes information, like this blog and accompanying homeowner handout.
Set on Moose Mountain, this 79-acre property is the generous gift of Doug and Katharine Britton of Norwich on October 31, 2018. The Britton family has owned the land for nearly three-quarters of a century.
The forested parcel cloaks the west slope of the iconic Moose Mountain ridge just below the North Peak, surrounded on three sides by permanently protected and/or public land. On the east is an expanse of National Park Service lands surrounding the corridor of the Appalachian Trail. To the south is the Conservancy’s own Mayor-Niles Forest, given to the Conservancy just five years ago this month. To the north is the Plummer Tract, owned by the Town of Hanover.
Doug Britton observed, “It’s not often that landowners have the opportunity to add acreage to existing conserved land, especially in areas important to wildlife, water resources, forestry and recreation. We are pleased to make this gift to the Hanover Conservancy, strongly support their mission, and appreciate their assistance in making this transfer happen.”
“Protecting this property accomplishes a number of the Conservancy’s strategic conservation goals,” observes Adair Mulligan, the Conservancy’s Executive Director. “It provides an unbroken link in valuable wildlife habitat and expands the protected higher elevation lands that create resilience to climate change. These cooler, unfragmented forests will become an increasingly critical refuge for birds and other wildlife.”
The Britton Forest supports flood security for neighborhoods below by protecting streams that flow into Hewes Brook. Forested headwaters regulate stream flow, mitigating microbursts and washouts. Shaded stream banks also ensure a brook’s health downstream by keeping water clear and cool.
Black bear, moose, snowshoe hare, red fox, grouse, deer, and likely bobcat inhabit the Britton Forest. The Conservancy plans to inventory the property’s plants, birds, and wildlife before deciding on future management. A network of stone walls laces the land, indicating its 19th-century past as sheep pasture. The Britton Forest will be open at all seasons for recreation. Stone wall-lined Plummer Hill Road, a Class VI road, gives access to the land, and the Harris Trail follows the west side.
One need not visit the property to enjoy it – it is easily visible even from Vermont, part of the scenic view of Moose Mountain that forms a beautiful backdrop to the town of Hanover. “The Hanover Conservancy appreciates the fore-sighted generosity of landowners like Doug Britton,” Mulligan continues. “We hope his example encourages other Moose Mountain landowners to consider the future of this wild and scenic region of our town.”
Britton has also thoughtfully provided a contribution toward the Conservancy’s transaction costs. Mulligan said the group hopes others will join him, to help cover expenses of inventorying natural features, trail building, blazing boundaries, and caring for the land into the future. A small grant for transaction expenses was provided by the Quabbin to Cardigan Partnership, a public/private effort to protect the Monadnock Highlands of western New Hampshire and north central Massachusetts.
Parking for 3-4 cars is available at the end of Ibey Road, off the north end of Three Mile Road. Walk up Plummer Hill Road (Class VI, unmaintained) 1/4 mile past the entrance to the Conservancy’s Mayor-Niles Forest. The Britton Forest begins at a stone wall on the right. Watch this space for details and announcements of guided trips to explore the Britton Forest.
We’re putting a lot of faith in the forecast today- this space will be updated if we’re forced to postpone until tomorrow. See you at 4:30!
Join us at the main trailhead parking at the top of Velvet Rocks Dr. on Thursday, October 4th for live music, refreshments and a brief history of this conservation success. (RAIN DATE: Friday, Oct. 5th)
We’re sad to report that the family of black bears at the Mink Brook NP have been trapped and relocated after more than a year of concentrated efforts by town and state officials to educate our human residents. With another large bear family only a few miles away, our efforts to become better neighbors to these beautiful, typically shy animals will certainly continue! Read more here…
Download a newly updated trail map HERE.
Our conservation work continues on Hanover’s highest ridge with the permanent protection of the 313-acre Shumway Forest – the largest project in our half-century history! The parcel stretches from Three Mile Road to the crest of Moose Mountain and creates a link both to other conservation lands – federal Appalachian Trail lands, town-owned parcels, and the Mill Pond Forest – and to a vast network of foot trails including the AT. This connected high elevation habitat assures room for wildlife – and hikers – to roam. The parcel includes headwater tributaries of Mink 
Brook and a variety of other types of wetlands, including a fen (left), vernal pool, and black ash and red spruce swamps.
The Shumway Forest is the center of a mountainside trail network that includes not only the Appalachian Trail as it travels from Three Mile Road to the South Peak of Moose Mountain, but a dozen other foot trails totaling 3.4 miles, linking the AT with others on the mountain and beyond. Many are trails that Kay and Peter built and/or maintained for skiing as the owners of Moose Mountain Lodge. Coincidentally, they signed the conservation easement on the 40th anniversary of their acquisition of the Lodge.
The Shumways and their neighbors, Elisha and Anne Huggins, previously donated a conservation easement on the abutting Mill Pond Forest and Huggins Trail Access, protecting a key public access point as well as the primary headwaters of Mink Brook.
Two grants allowed us to purchase a permanent conservation eas
ement on this prominent property. New Hampshire’s Aquatic Resource Mitigation Fund provided a major contribution, the largest single grant in the Conservancy’s history. A second grant from the Quabbin to Cardigan Partnership helps with transaction costs. Owners Kay and Peter Shumway have generously made a bargain sale of this easement, far below market value. Learning of the awards, the Shumways replied, “We are thrilled with your news and the idea that our land will be forever open for people to enjoy and not covered with no trespassing signs (and houses…)!” We look forward to a mountain-side celebration on July 17.
