The Hanover Conservancy is pleased to announce the selection of Barry Matthews as its third Executive Director. Matthews has served as the land trust’s Program Manager since 2023.

Matthews joined the Conservancy after holding outreach and education roles at several other New England conservation nonprofits including the Stowe Land Trust in Stowe, Vermont, where he served as Community Engagement Manager. During his time in Hanover Barry has served as land manager to the Conservancy’s portfolio of more than 1,300 protected acres and overseen the upkeep and expansion of a network of more than 20 miles of public recreational trails. He has also taken an active role in the organization’s communications, fundraising, and land protection programs.

“We are thrilled that Barry will be the next Executive Director,” says Heidi Trimarco, President of the Conservancy’s Board of Directors. “He was the strongest candidate in a truly impressive pool of applicants devoted to protecting our environment. He will be an excellent leader of the Conservancy, with his quiet competence, deep commitment to protecting Hanover’s natural spaces, and fresh ideas. I am excited to see where he takes the organization.”

“I am delighted that Barry Matthews will be the next executive director of the Hanover Conservancy,” adds Russ Muirhead, chair of the Conservancy’s Governance Committee. “Barry is intimately familiar with every step of the Conservancy’s trails and every patch of land the Conservancy stewards. He has an abiding passion for its mission. He combines a down-to-earth common sense with a big picture strategic sensibility. Most of all, he is a people person with a deep connection to the community.”

Stepping into his role as Program Manager in 2023 ten days before the organization closed on the largest and most challenging project in its history, Matthews found innovative and effective ways to address its significant stewardship needs. He has also expanded the Conservancy’s 65-year-long tradition of free community programming through co-sponsored events with Dartmouth College, the Howe and Etna Libraries, and other local and regional partners.

“I am overjoyed at this announcement,” says Adair Mulligan, the Conservancy’s first full-time executive director, who is stepping down after 15 years of service. “Barry is a strategic thinker and gifted communicator who is deeply committed to conservation and to ensuring that all can share in the benefits of our work. He knows the organization inside out and has been a key player in the strong progress we have made in recent years.”

Conservation has been a through line of Matthews’ personal and professional lives since he began exploring the expansive network of publicly and privately protected lands near his childhood home in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. As a PhD candidate in American Studies at the College of William & Mary his work focused on how images of the landscape shaped the American environmental movement, and he encouraged his students to enthusiastically build connections with the human and natural communities they shared space with. He holds a Masters of Arts from William & Mary, and a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from VCUarts in Richmond, Virginia.

An active and versatile volunteer, Barry believes getting involved goes hand in hand with making a home. He has rolled up his sleeves at a wide variety of community organizations including the Stowe Conservation Commission, Hartland Winter Trails, the Berkshires Natural Resources Council, and many more. He currently serves on the board of Central Vermont Community Radio, where he is also a volunteer programmer. An outdoors enthusiast, he can often be found exploring the Upper Valley’s trails, roads, waters, and slopes.

“I strongly believe in the power of grassroots organizations like the Hanover Conservancy to create sustainable communities and inspire lasting change,” says Matthews. “Our work has never been more important, and it is an honor to step into this new role leading an organization with such a long track record of success. I am looking forward to working with our members, volunteers, and partners as we continue to pursue community-centered conservation outcomes, protecting the places that make Hanover special.”

The Hanover Conservancy, New Hampshire’s oldest local land trust, was founded in 1961 to protect land and water in the Hanover community. A 13-member Board of Directors guides the work of three staff at the private, non-profit organization, which has protected more than 3,000 acres in the region through conservation easements, fee ownership, and assistance to the Town of Hanover and others pursuing local land protection.

The Hanover Conservancy is celebrating the latest addition to its portfolio of protected lands, Black Bear Glen on Moose Mountain. This major property is the generous gift of Clyde Watson
and Denis Devlin.

Located on the mountain’s western slope close to the Appalachian Trail, Black Bear Glen abuts the Shumway Forest, also protected by the Conservancy. Black Bear Glen joins a network of
over 3,200 connected acres of conserved land on the ridge that dominates the town of Hanover.

“This is an extraordinary expanse of mountainside,” observes Adair Mulligan, the Conservancy’s Executive Director. “It reflects all our strategic conservation priorities, and provides climate resilience and flood protection for Etna Village.” Black Bear Glen’s forest and streams support a rich array of wildlife, including moose, black bear, bobcat, fisher, ruffed grouse, raptors, and wild brook trout. The NH Fish and Game Department describes 60 of the property’s 92 acres as the highest quality habitat in New Hampshire. The property also includes over 1/3 mile of Mink Brook, Hanover’s largest stream. Conserving the brook and its headwaters benefits water quality, wild brook trout habitat, and more. “These far-sighted landowners have made a lasting gift to our community.”

“What a wonderful thing it is to place this land in the capable hands of the Hanover Conservancy,” commented owner Clyde Watson, “and to continue sharing its gifts with our neighbors, human and animal alike—secure in the knowledge that it will be cared for and protected for evermore.”

Black Bear Glen is accessible from the Appalachian Trail just east of Three Mile Road and is open for hiking, nature observation, snowshoeing, back-country skiing, scientific research, hunting, and other non-motorized use. The historic Harris Trail—original route of the AT—crosses the property for 4/10 mile. The General’s Trail forms a loop that swings by hemlock-
shaded glens. The Trout Lily Trail connects to the Shumway Forest, leading to Mill Pond.

Traces of Hanover’s agricultural past dot the property, including stone walls and sheep lanes dating from the early 19th century.

The long-term effort to protect ecologically valuable, climate resilient lands on Moose Mountain began in 2013 with the donation of the Mayor-Niles Forest, followed by easements on the Mill Pond Forest in 2015 and Shumway Forest in 2017, donation of the Britton Forest in 2018, and the Conservancy’s purchase of the Headwaters Forest in 2023 and Hewes Ravine in July. The Conservancy recently won a grant from the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership’s Wild East Action Fund to help with survey and other costs of receiving the gift of land.

 

Thank you for participating in the 12th annual Hanover Trails Challenge. More than 120 people registered for this year’s Challenge, including individuals, families, and groups of friends . We hope everyone enjoyed getting outdoors and exploring some or all of our featured trails this summer. New for this year, we have special finisher bandanas for everyone who submitted a completed checklist by the deadline. These are available for pick-up at the Hanover Conservancy office at 71 Lyme Road, or out at our events this fall. Limited in-town delivery may be possible, let us know if you are having trouble connecting with us in-person!

From our stack of completed checklists, we drew names for our raffle on September 26. All winners have been notified and prizes mailed. Congratulations to our lucky winners: Diane and Eric, Kathleen, Debra, Catherine and Joseph, Ken and family, Martha and Lindsey, Daniel and Ellie, Penni, Deborah, Laura, Mert, Gary, Heather, and Peter and Silvia! Please join us in thanking these local businesses for donating raffle prizes: King Arthur Baking Co., Blue Sky Restaurant Group, Ramuntos Brick and Brew, Stateline Sports, Base Camp Café, Umpleby’s Bakery and Café, Hubert’s Family Outfitters, Main Street Kitchens, Molly’s Restaurant, and the Nugget Theater.

Did you find a new favorite trail this summer? Would you like to help us keep it cared for and protected for future generations? Become one of our adopt-a-trail volunteer stewards! Volunteers help us by providing an extra set of eyes, ears, and hands on the trail. If you would like to learn more about this program and how you can get started, please email program manager Barry Matthews at bmatthews@hanoverconservancy.org.

Thank you again for spending some of your time this summer hiking with the Hanover Conservancy! We hope to see you out on the trails or at an event soon!

Sarah Kitz

Sarah Kitz has a background in sustainable forest management and conservation. She is currently a Managing Director at The Lyme Timber Company, a forestland investment group in Hanover, NH, where she works on existing and prospective investments. Immediately prior, Sarah served as Manager of Business Development for Green Diamond Resource Company, a fifth-generation forestry company, where she evaluated and managed investment activities, new partnership opportunities, and conservation sales. She has also previously served on the Board of Directors for the Washington Farmland Trust. Sarah earned her M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business and a B.A. in Environmental Analysis from Pomona College. She currently lives in Norwich, VT with her husband Willy and two kids, Sophie and Caleb.

Members are invited to vote on our nominated slate of directors at our Annual Meeting on October 15. More information can be found here.