Christie Beaver Pond Property Easement, Gilmanton, 14 acres

As a community-oriented land trust, Five Rivers was extremely pleased on this conservation project in the heart of Gilmanton village.  Nancy Christie approached Five Rivers with a long-held dream…to preserve the land that her parents once owned, a landscape that she has known intimately since childhood, a landscape that she loved dearly.  Consisting of an interesting mix of well-tended field, a mature forest, a pretty brook that meanders through a small ravine, and, most significantly, a 5-acre beaver pond, the property enjoys one additional special feature – its proximity to the town center, a picture-postcard New England village.

Tucked just behind the Gilmanton town offices (the former Gilmanton Academy building) and located within walking distant of the town church and general store, Nancy’s land holds special value for community residents.  The beaver pond itself is particularly appealing.  Home to an abundance of songbirds, ducks, and other wetland wildlife, the pond provides a perfect opportunity for townspeople, and others, to explore.

Nancy placed a donated conservation easement on her land in 2007.  Subsequently, she plans to give the property to the Town of Gilmanton for management by the Gilmanton Conservation Commission.  What a generous present!  And what a wonderful natural asset it will no doubt prove to be for the people of Gilmanton in the years ahead.