Hopkinton's Bohanan Farm Protected

JUNE 30, 2010

 

CONTACT:            
Mark Zankel, Board Chair, Five Rivers Conservation Trust, markzankel@comcast.net, (603) 491-7848
Dijit Taylor, Chair, Hopkinton Open Space Committee, dijit.taylor@gmail.com, (603) 228-4614

 

HOPKINTON, NH -- Five Rivers Conservation Trust and the Town of Hopkinton announced that they had completed the Bohanan Farm conservation project this week.  In the deal, some 413 acres of Bohanan Farm were permanently protected as agricultural land and open space through conservation easements sold by the farm owners – Glenn and Adelemarie Bohanan, and Jamie and Heather Robertson. 

 

Five Rivers Conservation Trust secured federal and state grants that paid for most of the easement price, drafted the conservation easements, coordinated the private fundraising effort, and collaborated with the Hopkinton Open Space Committee to complete the many due diligence tasks like getting the property appraised and surveyed.  “People say they love Hopkinton because it is a small, rural town, with farms and abundant open space,” said Jay Haines, Executive Director of Five Rivers Conservation Trust.  “With all of the tragic environmental news of the past few months, it is just great to be able to celebrate a success where community residents came together to protect one of the jewels in their town – a farm, a local food source, wonderful open space – and to know that we are doing something positive to safeguard the environment and our quality of life.”

 

The Hopkinton Open Space Committee led the effort to secure town support for the project.  At a special town meeting in December 2009, a historically large voter turnout approved spending up to $360,000 from the town’s open space conservation bond.  Because the partners were able to raise additional funds, however, the town ended up only needing to contribute $160,000 in bond funds.  Dijit Taylor, chair of the Hopkinton Open Space Committee, noted:  I am delighted that the transaction is finally completed, fulfilling the desire Hopkinton voters expressed so clearly in the vote at the special town meeting.  The skill and hard work of our partner Five Rivers Conservation Trust has allowed this project to be completed at a much lower cost to the town, in as timely a way as possible.  Special thanks to the Bohanan and Robertson families for their dedication to seeing this extraordinary resource protected forever.”

 

Bohanan Farm is one of only three dairy farms left in Hopkinton, and has been tended for more than a century by four generations of the same family.  The property is uniquely situated at the confluence of three rivers – the Blackwater, the Warner, and the Contoocook – and includes more than four miles of river frontage.  As early as the 19th century, the confluence of the Contoocook and Warner Rivers (where Bohanan Farm lies) was heavily used by Native Americans. Relics and artifacts are held by the Hopkinton Historical Society.  A stone marker and plaque along the riverbank on the farm states that “The first public bridge” (in Contoocook) was built there in 1779.”

 

Some $410,000 was provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service through its’ Farm and Ranchland Protection Program.  The property includes hundreds of acres of prime or of statewide importance farm soils, and Bohanan Farm was the top-ranked NH proposal for USDA Farm & Ranchland Protection Program funding in 2009.  "NRCS is proud to help with the protection and preservation of the Bohanan farm through our Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program.  The Bohanan Farm is one of the few remaining working dairy farms in the area and has been in the family for four generations.  We're pleased we can help it stay that way," said Rick Ellsmore, NRCS State Conservationist.

 

The New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, or LCHIP, awarded $200,000 to the Bohanan Farm project.  Ray Ilg, LCHIP Natural Resource Specialist, stated: “LCHIP is very proud to have contributed $200,000 to the permanent protection of the 413 acre Bohanan Farm.  This conservation easement is forever protecting a piece of prime farmland, as well as a way of life that is disappearing in New Hampshire.  To be able to preserve open space, active agriculture, and wooded wildlife habitat achieves the type of balance that many are seeking as our region continues to attract further development.”  

 

More than a hundred private donors also contributed over $70,000 to help the project succeed, including support from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.  According to Five Rivers, with different funding sources, it took many months to secure all of the necessary approvals for each aspect of the deal.  However, all parties felt that it was important to get everything right, and that the outcome was worth the wait.  "It's been two months shy of two years since I made the first phone call to Ron Klemarczyk about selling the development rights,” said Jamie Robertson, co-owner of the farm.  “It's been a long ride but we feel very good about preserving the over 400 acres of land for ever.  We thank the people of Hopkinton and everyone else who helped to preserve this property for future generations."

 

The parties share a smile after the real estate closing.  From left: Dijit Taylor, Chair, Hopkinton Open Space Committee; Glenn Bohanan; Adelemarie Bohanan; Heather Robertson; Jamie Robertson; Mark Zankel, Chair, Five Rivers Conservation Trust. Photo courtesy of Five Rivers.

 

The conservation easements are co-held by Five Rivers Conservation Trust and the town, with Five Rivers having primary responsibility for day-to-day monitoring and enforcement, according to Five Rivers.   The easements prevent further development or subdivision, protects the property’s productive agricultural and forest soils, and supports continued farming.  The property owners will continue to pay taxes on the land.  The easements require that current and future landowners keep the land open for traditional uses including hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, and cross-country skiing.  The landowners will only be able to limit public access at certain times of year and in specific locations where it would substantially interfere with farming operations or create a public safety risk.  The Town of Hopkinton has the right to establish a parking area and hiking trails so that the public can easily access the land.

 

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Five Rivers Conservation Trust is a nonprofit organization that works with communities and landowners to protect open space across central New Hampshire. The goal of the Trust is to ensure that future generations can experience, utilize, and benefit from the farms, forests, wetlands, and fields that characterize much of the landscape today.  The organization works in sixteen communities across central New Hampshire and holds, monitors, and enforces conservation easements on 36 properties, totaling over 2,200 acres.  For further information, go to www.5rct.org or contact Jay Haines, Executive Director, at (603) 225-7225.