News

July 10, 2008

The Piscataquog Land Conservancy (PLC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Eric Masterson as its new executive director.  Masterson will join PLC in mid-August following a successful eight-year tenure at NH Audubon in Concord, most recently as Vice-President of Development. 

“Eric combines extraordinary qualifications, an exceptional background and a deep commitment to both our organization and the region,” noted Jerry Shinn, president of the board of directors. “I can’t imagine a better person to lead us in our mission of protecting and preserving this special place.”  Masterson succeeds Margaret Watkins, who stepped down from her position in late May to pursue other opportunities.

Bringing his passion for land conservation and protection of the natural world to the 38 year old organization, Masterson will be charged with building the organization’s capacity and guiding its work to conserve the important natural resources of the Piscataquog region, an area which includes the towns of Deering, Dunbarton, Francestown, Goffstown, Greenfield, Henniker, Lyndeborough, Manchester, Mont Vernon, New Boston and Weare. 

“I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to work hand in hand with local landowners and town boards to conserve our vital open spaces, “Masterson said, “and I look forward to meeting the members and volunteers who together have built the PLC into the well-respected regional land trust it is today.  Land is central to our lives – it helps clean our water and grow our food, and it provides sanctuary for people and wildlife.  I am impressed that last year alone PLC helped to protect a record-breaking 1,000 acres - I look forward to building on that success.”

Throughout his career Masterson, a native of Ireland now residing in Southern New Hampshire, has used a lifelong passion for birds to help articulate his larger vision for conservation and land protection.  He holds a degree in zoology, has contributed to numerous publications and serves on the Board of the New Hampshire Council on Fundraising.

 “With Eric’s knowledge, experience and vision we are confident PLC will be able to achieve an even greater level of success in land conservation and protection.” Shinn said, “We are highly optimistic about the future of land conservation in our region”.

Since 1970 the Piscataquog Land Conservancy, formerly known as the Piscataquog Watershed Association has worked with landowners and community leaders in south central New Hampshire to conserve the scenic and natural environment of 11 communities in the Piscataquog River Watershed.   PLC is a regional land trust protecting over 4,000 acres on 50 easement and 16 fee-owned properties. 

April 28, 2008

The Piscataquog Land Conservancy (PLC), formerly the Piscataquog Watershed Association (PWA) announced today that executive director Margaret Watkins will step down from her position at the end of May. Watkins, who became PLC’s first executive director in 2003 after a three-year term as Board President, has served the PLC for nine years.

“It has been a great honor to serve this organization,” said Watkins. “I feel privileged to have been able to work with the dedicated and committed individuals who make up the PLC, and have every confidence that the organization will continue to maintain its grassroots identity while growing in its role as an important regional land conservation resource for the 11 watershed communities.”

A search committee has been formed and will begin the process of seeking Watkins’ successor in the coming weeks. During the transition, Jerry Shinn, PWA Board Chair, will serve as interim executive director.
“Margaret’s years at PLC, including her time as a board member and the last 5 years as executive director, have been years of great growth and organizational advancement,” stated Shinn. “During that time PWA has grown from a grassroots watershed association to a well respected regional land trust with nearly 4,000 acres under its protection. Our land protection work has expanded strategically and our public profile increased dramatically. Most importantly, our work with other land trusts, conservation commissions, and community open space committees has empowered others and played an essential role in numerous conservation efforts outside the PLC umbrella”.

Prior to her work with PLC, Watkins, a Natural Resources Planner with a masters degree in Environmental Management, gained more than 20 years experience in land conservation and river management including work with the National Park Service. She is the 2003 recipient of the Tudor Richards Award by the Audubon Society of New Hampshire and the 2006 recipient of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests Sarah Thorne Conservation Award.

The Piscataquog Watershed Association was founded in 1970, and officially changed its name to the Piscataquog Land Conservancy in April of 2008 in order to more accurately reflect its mission and work through its name. As PLC, the organization continues to serve as a regional land trust for the Piscataquog River Watershed, including the communities of Deering, Dunbarton, Francestown, Greenfield, Goffstown, Henniker, Lyndeborough, Manchester, Mont Vernon, New Boston, and Weare. For more on PLC visit www.plcnh.org.

January/February 2008

Becoming Part of Something Bigger
The Stave Easement, New Boston by Gordon Russell

Nine years ago a small patch of forest came into the lives of PWA members and valuable volunteers Joel and Cindy Stave. A home was located overlooking a small beaver marsh. Once time permitted, their forest would change their lives.

Within their acreage great and ancient trees, just by their strong architectural presence, demanded niches in their observers’ memories. In deep shadows at the base of a Black Gum tree crystalline water meets invisible air for the first time, flowing on in a silver ribbon under Checkerberries and other viney things. Wildflowers greet springtime; wildflowers nod fancy faces at summertime, and still more decorate the forest floor well into fall time.

Owls hoot, woodpeckers ring, coyotes yipp, herons yap, frogs peep and chug – all in acappella, all in notes and chords from lives free and vibrant.

The Staves came to a patch of woods. Those woods were waiting to relate their multiple stories. Joel and Cindy listened and understood their good fortune as well as their responsibility; a conservation easement was created and signed. Now the Lady-slippers can dance, jack can stand in his pulpit and preach to his ladies, the wild turkeys can scratch whatever, and Mr. Fox can smack his lips just thinking about a blue jay breakfast.

Joel and Cindy put it this way: “When we protected the land, we became part of something bigger – a part of the whole cycle of life.”

The Piscataquog Watershed Association is pleased to have helped Joel and Cindy achieve their conservation goals by agreeing to hold an easement on their 17-acre property. Congratulations Joel and Cindy, your gift to New Boston is invaluable!

As a conservation partner, PWA assists landowners throughout the Piscataquog region are interested in protecting their open space lands. Our members play a vital role in this process. To learn how you can help preserve the rural character of your community visit www.PWA-NH.org or call us at 487-3331.

January/February 2008

Sullivan Easement, Goffstown

Patty Sullivan and Marty Gastrock put their Goffstown land into conservation with a conservation easement to the PWA in December. Residents and commuters along Goffstown Back Road know this landmark property, with its red barn, 1700s farmhouse, and fields flanked by trees. Locally, the 13-acre property was a top conservation priority for its highly scenic and historic qualities.
“We really appreciate what Pat and Marty have done – preserving such a scenic property and an important piece of our town’s history,” said David Nieman, chair of the Goffstown Open Space Committee.
Not only is the Captain Karr Homestead one of the oldest homes in Goffstown, it is also on the site of the town’s first town meeting. Marty has compiled extensive records on the property’s history. For him, it was “important that we preserve the integrity of the surrounding property for future generations.”
PWA partnered with the landowners and the Goffstown Conservation Commission and its Open Space Committee on this project.
According to Patty, “Protecting our land was something that Marty and I had been thinking about for a while. PWA’s interest in holding the easement and the Town’s support for the project made it all come together for us.”
Thanks to a great partnership of landowners, the community, and PWA, this reminder of the town’s rural heritage will be here forever.

The Piscataquog Watershed Association is pleased to have helped Patty Sullivan and Marty Gastrock achieve their conservation goals by agreeing to hold an easement on their property. Congratulations Patty and Marty, your gift to Goffstown is invaluable!

As a conservation partner, PWA assists landowners throughout the Piscataquog region who are interested in protecting their open space lands. Our members play a vital role in this process. To learn how you can help preserve the rural character of your community visit www.PWA-NH.org or call us at 487-3331.

January/February 2008

Reclaiming and Preserving the Land for Future Generations
By Philip & Virginia Brooks

We try in our individual lives every day to conserve resources in many different ways, and land conservation is a natural extension of our values.

When a forty-five acre farm that abuts our homestead came on the market in 2006, we purchased it with the intention of protecting the land from development, renovating the dilapidated buildings, and reselling the property. That set the wheels in motion to put a conservation easement on all our eighty or so acres under the watch of the PWA.

We have witnessed land between Milford and Nashua go from farms to malls, and while it seems a bit of a stretch right now that Lyndeborough will be paved over in the future, we have taken our step to keep this eighty-acre patch undeveloped. We are enjoying renovating the 1830s house and barn to perfection and have recreated a five-acre field from a 50 year tangle of trees. Our hope is that a family will want to have a few cows, chickens, or horses and bring this land back to life as a farm.

Land conservation has been a tradition in the Brooks family beginning with Martha and Sam Brooks work with the PWA to protect about one hundred fifty acres on Pine Road in New Boston in 1980. It is important to us to have open land for future generations to enjoy as we enjoy it now.

The Piscataquog Watershed Association is pleased to have helped the Brooks family continue their family tradition of conservation in the Piscataquog Region by agreeing to hold an easement on this property. Congratulations Phil and Virginia, your legacy of open space and natural beauty will serve generations to come.

November/December 2007

A Porcupine and Five Turkeys by Roberta Chapin Walmsley

From my desk I look out on a broad expanse of fields. The table at which Arthur and I share three meals a day offers the same vista. It is not the breath taking view that one might associate with a mountain top. Rather it offers a quiet, almost soothing window into the changing seasons, and the wildlife that inhabit this area. Occasional deer cross the field. A resident porcupine frequently waddles over to feed in our apple tree. Fox appear after the fields have been hayed in late July or August. A variety of birds feed in the field. Grouse strut their stuff near the old barn hole. Right now five turkeys are pecking away at the edge of the field, feeding on whatever turkeys feed on. This past summer we were visited by a cow moose, trailed by her calf, crossing the field about 200 feet below our house. Big!! As I write this, the bright colors of Fall have been reduced to a dull rust hue. Soon the snows will come and with it the tracks of many creatures which we can’t normally see from a distance will be revealed. Our fields are not only a joy to us but also a home we share with the local fauna.

We purchased North Farm in 1961. Arthur was ten years into his ministry as an Episcopal priest. We were living with our two young children in a small apartment in Brooklyn. In those days, it was possible for a family living on a modest clergy salary to imagine buying rural property as a vacation home, a replica of what life was like when we were growing up. We found an 1800 farmhouse and 25 acres in Deering for which we paid less than the cost of the new septic system we later had to put in. For the past forty-six years, the North Farm on Old County Road has been our family homestead, a constant in our children's lives as they grew up, and since 1993 Arthur’s and my retirement home.

How does one give back to the land and to a community of neighbors and friends gratitude for such a place and the way of life it makes possible? How do towns in our region balance their rural and small community character with the inevitable march of housing developments and McMansions? And what, after all, is a balance between our personal and family agendas and the Common Good? One way we have found has been to place a conservation easement on a portion of our property - fourteen acres of pasture and woods. That parcel happens to form a niche in the midst of a sizable green belt in our section of town. Today uPWArds of 25% of the acreage of Deering is protected in some fashion, thanks to the leadership of the town's Conservation Commission and a growing rank of donors. Arthur and I are pleased that through the PWA we can contribute to the maintenance of the eco-system of our remarkably-diverse and beautiful watershed.

The Piscataquog Watershed Association is thrilled to have helped Arthur and Roberta Walmsley successfully protect the open spaces of North Farms by agreeing to hold an easement on their property. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the Walmsley family on making such a valuable gift to their community and to the residents of Deering for their vision and their commitment to conservation.

November 26, 2007

93 Acres of New Boston’s History Now Conserved!
By Gordon Russell

In 1820 the main road between New Boston and Francestown ran past the then Balch Farm.  A decade later the Langdell clan held the deed to those 100 acres.  From their hands and backs flowed dairy products and grains, many being carried by train to Boston markets.

The land was farmed until after WW1.  After that the farming culture quickly lost its way in NH and the land became free to get back to what it does best – grow trees.

When Barbara Sholl purchased the property in 1982, she had an old farmhouse and forest-covered pastures.  One remnant of those bygone farming days did not change; the grand stone walls.  Walking those walls that outlined the farm’s past, its history began to speak to Barbara.  With that sense of belonging came a strong feeling of responsibility, and thoughts pertaining to land’s future. 

Today, Timberinghill Farm, so named by Barbara, is permanently protected.  Such a fine property; with rich edges on Great Meadow, with stepped ridges upon which a well-managed Tree Farm grows. The land is now free to give in a natural way.  Wildlife is abundant and has the freedom to move from one protected property onto another.

The Piscataquog Watershed Association holds this easement and enjoyed the process of negotiating the terms of protection and use with both Barbara and her husband, Kevin McLarnon.  Currently Timberinghill Farm provides forest products for income, honey from bees, pasture for numerous farm animals, a learning environment for school children, and a home for its caring owners

Photo Credit:
Kevin McLarnon, Kim Burkhamer (serving as notary public but also a member of the New Boston conservation commission and PWA) and PWA Executive Director Margaret Watkins look on as Barbara Sholl signs documents placing the 98-acre Timberinghill Farm in conservation.

October 20, 2007

Local Conservationists & Artists Celebrated at PWA’s 2007 Annual Meeting

New Boston, NH:  An audience of over 100 members and supporters gathered on Saturday, October 20th for the Piscataquog Watershed Association’s (PWA) 2007 Annual Meeting. The presentation of two awards highlighted a day-long event which included field trips to local conservation lands, an Art Exhibit and Auction featuring displays from member artists David Carroll, Laurette Carroll, Jon Brooks, Pat Nelson, Cyndi Katz, Karen Salerno, Alissa White, Gail Hersey, Rosemary Conroy and Cheryl Christner and a keynote address by well-known naturalist, artist and author David Carroll of Warner.

Dr. Barry Wicklow of Francestown was lauded as the recipient of the first annual Gordon A. Russell Award, an award established by PWA in honor of Mr. Russell’s longstanding passion and commitment to the preservation and conservation of lands in the Piscataquog River Watershed. The Award will be given annually to an individual who best represents the enthusiastic leadership qualities Gordon exemplifies in his efforts to protect the watershed.  An exhibit including “Great Meadow”, an original watercolor by local artist Karen Salerno will be displayed at PWA’s New Boston offices along with the names of each recipient. A print of the original work will be given to each honoree.    

Pat Nelson of Francestown was awarded the PWA’s Presidents Award for Volunteerism by outgoing President John McCausland.  The President’s Award recognizes the tremendous value volunteers bring  to PWA and other non-profits.  Ms. Nelson devotes countless hours each year to PWA as editor of its bimonthly newsletter, Watershed News and in numerous other capacities.

The PWA gratefully acknowledges the following local businesses whose support helped make this event a success.  Thank you to A&E Custom Coffee Roastery, Butters, Damian’s on the River, Dodge’s Store, The Framers Market, Good Earth Farm, Middle Branch Farm and Weber-Stave Design. 

October 9, 2007

“Art: Inspired by Nature”

Weare, NH:  “Art: Inspired by Nature” an art exhibit and silent auction to benefit the Piscataquog Watershed Association (PWA) will be held on Saturday, October 20th at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Weare from 10am – 4pm.

This unique 1-day-only show will feature works on display and for sale by sculptor and furniture maker Jon Brooks of New Boston, botanical artist-naturalist David Carroll and painter Laurette Carroll of Warner, wildlife painter Rosemary Conroy of Weare, photographer Pat Nelson of Francestown, and New Boston artists Karen Salerno and Cheryl Christner, among others. 

The exhibit and silent auction will be open to the public from 10am – 4pm.

Crow Medicine, Rosemary Conroy

Fish Pillow by Cheryl Christner:  Shibori & discharge dye on velvet/velveteen

David Carroll

Jon Brooks Chair, Jon Brooks

September/October 2007

PWA Helps Neighbors Protect 3500 Feet on the South Branch

“We moved to Francestown five years ago because we loved the house, and the river, and the town’s rural character,” says Tiffany Flik Calcutt.

Within a year of arriving, Dennis and Tiffany Calcutt hired Ron Klemarczyk to develop a forest management plan for their 21 forested acres off Woodward Hill Road. The plan reflects their interests in maintaining forest productivity and enjoying the land recreationally, with year-round trails for hiking and cross-country skiing. Shortly thereafter, they were thinking about ways to permanently protect it.

“We met with Barry Wicklow and Margaret Watkins,” recalls Dennis, “and they talked with us about how our land played into a bigger context of land conservation in the Rand Brook area. Our land has several hundred feet of frontage on the South Branch, and a conservation easement seemed like a good option for us at that time. Now, with our 2-year-old daughter Eva and another child on the way, conserving our land is even more meaningful as we look to the world our children will inherit.”

At the same time, Dennis and Tiffany’s neighbor Monica Derr was trying to decide what to do about a 15-acre land-locked parcel she owned abutting the Calcutts’ land. Monica’s lot also fronts on the South Branch, and the two lots together provide several acres of rich floodplain forest habitat with significant wildlife habitat value. Monica’s land also abuts land that Roger Hall is protecting with a conservation easement to the PWA. Taken together, the three ownerships protect some 3500 feet of frontage on the South Branch, 11 acres of floodplain forest, and 42 acres of contiguous upland forest.

“I’ve always wanted to see that land protected, and with this opportunity, I feel it is only right to entrust the land to the PWA and the Calcutt family,” said Monica about her 15-acre tract.

The Piscataquog Watershed Association is pleased to have helped Monica Derr and Dennis and Tiffany Calcutt achieve their conservation goals by agreeing to hold conservation easements on their property. Congratulations Dennis, Tiffany and Monica on making this wonderful gift to future generations!

As a conservation partner, PWA assists landowners throughout the Piscataquog region who are interested in protecting their open space lands. Our members play a vital role in this process. To learn how you can help preserve the rural character of your community visit www.PWA-NH.org or call us at 487-3331.

September/October 2007

PWA Helps Carry on a Deering Town Tradition
by Margaret Watkins

Shortly after moving to Deering in 1994, Keith Robinson got involved with land conservation work at the local level. Through the Deering Association and with help from a NH Audubon intern, Keith helped organize meetings about land protection and conservation easements for landowners. As a result, shortly thereafter, three Deering properties went into permanent conservation. Others followed.
Now, with a conservation easement on 17 acres to the PWA, Keith and his wife, Lauren, have added their land to the growing number of conserved properties in Deering.

“I hated the thought of land that’s been farmed for 250 years becoming developed,” Keith reflected recently when asked what motivated them to put their land into easement. “This was one of the oldest farms in Deering, and the fields have been here for a long time. To me it’s just the right thing to do, with all the development that’s been going on. I just didn’t want that for this land.”

Lauren agrees. “We think of our land as open space – the fields and forests, the stream and the wetland.”

Their children, Ben, 9, and Ruthie, 7, love the land as well. They have built trails and laid claim to special places on it and take an active interest in the scat, bugs, and plants around them. A variety of habitats characterize this backyard playground, including an old gravel pit now grown up in poplar. The stream that runs along the eastern corner of the property flows to the North Branch of the Piscataquog River, and the fields are crisscrossed with animal trails.

“It really all started with Bev Yeaple,” recalls Keith. “She was just completing an easement on her land when we moved here. She has been an inspiration to us and encouraged us to move forward with an easement ourselves.”

Ed Cobbett, long-time chair of the Deering Conservation Commission, also helped, as did the prevailing attitude in Deering, that conservation is a good thing.

“The people in town are so supportive of conservation,” observes Lauren. “We know lots of people who have conserved their land. It’s so accepted in this town.”

That support has resulted in nearly 25% of the town being protected. The Conservation Commission annually updates its map of protected lands, and the number and size of green blocks that are emerging on it is an impressive testament to Bev, Ed, and the many landowners who have contributed to ensuring a green future for their community. These easement lands and lands in conservation ownership are protecting wildlife habitat, scenic vistas, community character, the North Branch of the Piscataquog and the Contoocook River, and the corridors of green that link Deering lands to conservation lands in adjoining towns.

When thinking about finalizing the easement and completing the process, Lauren’s eyes dance. “When we see our easement on the map along with all the others, it’s going to be very exciting!”

Lauren and Keith hope that their easement will in turn inspire others to think about conserving their land just as they were inspired by Bev. If just a few more key parcels are protected, it’s not hard to visualize a green corridor on the map connecting their land with Bev Yeaple’s and beyond!

The Piscataquog Watershed Association is pleased to have assisted Lauren Warner and Keith Robinson protect their Deering land by agreeing to hold an easement on their property. Our warm congratulations to Lauren and Keith on the achievement of this dream!

May/June 2007

Why I am Protecting Our Family’s Land with PWA

by Caroline Robinson

When I was first getting to know my husband, Buck, he would take me to a romantic cabin on Scobie Pond. It was very rustic, with no running water and two stoves for heat. Leaving Cambridge and going to Scobie became such a wonderful respite for us that, when we got married in 1981, we looked for land in the area.

We were lucky to find a river property close to the center of Francestown; it was secluded, wooded, and wild. The year our first child was born, we installed a small shed with a tiny woodstove, and spent weekends exploring the woods and river. Three years later, when we had a second child, we built a family-sized cabin.

If we had known then that we would wind up farming on the NH seacoast, we never would have bought wooded acreage, let alone built a cabin in Francestown. But in 1991 we made the decision to move our family to the land in Stratham where I had grown up and to open a large, organic berry farm. Now how would we ever get to Francestown? Should we sell the cabin?

We couldn’t. We loved it too much. The cabin became a source of secluded family delight. It offered a perfect laboratory for us all to discover forest, pond, and river wildlife. Salamanders, beaver, otter, trout, blue heron, ducks, turtles, bear, deer, mice, and a host of songbirds and insects made every visit exciting. For two years, we tried keeping bees in the field, but each time, a bear demolished the hives and left us humbled.

The cabin was also an experiment in alternative energy, with photovoltaic panels, solar hot water, a wood-burning boiler, a woodstove, a propane fridge, and cooking stove. While we were gone, the batteries would charge, and when we came for a weekend, we would use the stored electricity and hot water. In winter, we ran a generator to boost the batteries. Not being connected to the grid was a source of pride, and conservation of energy was a house rule.

As three small abutting properties became available, we added them to the original purchase, hoping to further protect the river. In spring floods, the river rounds two sharp corners, shooting a powerful stream of water up onto the shore and carrying away brush, fern, and gravel. It is a beautiful, powerful sight, and offers a glance back in history to a time when there was a water mill just upstream of us on Potash Road.

We often talked about putting our land into easement, and did so with the farm in 1998. That same year my husband was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, so the Francestown easement got put on hold. When he died in 2003, I vowed to finish realizing our dream of permanently protecting the land we had bought together.

My children are now 18 and 21, and both are studying for environmental careers. Knowing that the property will soon be protected forever, we are all grateful to the PWA – in perpetuity!

Caroline Robinson, a longtime PWA member, owns and farms Berry Hill Farm in Stratham, NH, where she is active on the town’s Open Space Committee and works with landowners to protect their land.
In 2007 Caroline realized the dream she shared with her late husband by permanently protecting their Francestown property when PWA agreed to hold their conservation easement. The PWA is proud to have partnered with Caroline on this very special project.