New Projects

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!

Neighbors Help PWA Protect 3500 Feet on the South Branch

Calcutt & Derr Easements, Francestown

When Dennis and Tiffany Calcutt moved to Francestown five years ago, the initial attraction was finding a house they loved that was midway between their two jobs. As they began exploring their 21 forested acres on Woodward Hill Road, they soon found there was much more to love, not least of which was the Piscataquog River, which borders their property in a floodplain that can swell to impressive proportions during rainy periods.

They also were thrilled to find themselves in a town that values open space, and it was not long before Dennis became active with Francestown Land Trust. He has served on the Board for three years and is now President.

Within a year of arriving, Dennis and Tiffany Flik Calcutt hired Ron Klemarczyk to develop a forest management plan to reflect their interests in maintaining forest productivity and enjoying the land recreationally, with year-round trails for hiking and cross-country skiing.  Shortly thereafter, they started 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 on the river and which abuts the Calcutts’ land.  Together, the two lots provide several acres of rich floodplain forest habitat with significant wildlife habitat value. Monica’s land also abuts land that Roger Hall has protected with a PWA conservation easement. 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 felt it was only right to entrust the land to the PWA and the Calcutt family,” said Monica about her 15-acre tract.

Desire and need came together in a conservation sale when PWA, with support from the Russell Foundation, acquired an easement on the property. Monica then sold her protected parcel to Dennis and Tiffany, who will manage it under terms identical to those in their easement.

“What a wonderful outcome for the watershed,” says Carol Hall, former Director of the Russell Foundation. “With a relatively modest grant we were able to protect key frontage on the South Branch. I am particularly grateful to the Calcutts and Monica Derr for making this project happen.”