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Winter Walk in Concord
Winant Park – February 13, 2010 • 10:30 a.m.
Grab your winter gear, bundle up the kids, and take the short drive to Winant Park in Concord on Saturday, February 13 for the second annual Five Rivers Winter Walk!
We’ll meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Parker Academy parking lot, at the corner of Pleasant Street (Rte. 202) and Fisk Road, across from St. Paul School. Bring snowshoes or boots. We will walk about a mile and a half over rolling terrain.
Ron Klemarczyk, forester for the City of Concord, and Mark Zankel, Five Rivers’ Board Chair, will lead us in exploring the ecology, wildlife, and history of this beautiful property. Following the walk, we'll gather at the nearby home of members Tom and Lauren Irwin for hot chocolate and conversation. Bring a friend!
Please RSVP to Chuck Knox, (603) 225-7225 or director@5rct.org
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Please join us at the 2009 Annual Meeting
of Five Rivers Conservation Trust
Saturday, May 30, 2009 • 9:30 AM – Noon
Henniker Community Center • 57 Main Street, Henniker, New Hampshire
You are cordially invited to attend the annual meeting of Five Rivers Conservation Trust. The meeting will be in Henniker. Five Rivers completed a special project in Henniker last year in collaboration with the town’s conservation commission.
After morning refreshments, we will hold our annual business meeting, including the election of trustees and officers, as well as a photo review of Five Rivers’ 2008 land protection projects.
We welcome a special guest speaker, John Kanter, Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program Coordinator of the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department. John will give an illustrated talk on New Hampshire’s Wildlife Action Plan and how it plays a special role in land conservation efforts in communities across our state.
Following our meeting, attendees are invited to a ceremony for the Chase Brook property, a wonderful new landscape now permanently protected by the Town of Henniker and Five Rivers Conservation Trust. Located in a forested valley, the property has a scenic public trail Bring your comfortable footwear, and enjoy this new conservation area.
An RSVP would be appreciated at (603) 225-7225 or at director.5RCT.org.
We hope you can join us for this free and festive spring event. All are welcome.
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FEB. 2009: New Concord Park will honor NH Governor John Gilbert Winant (click to read)
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February 1, 2009
February is Five Rivers Month at Grappone Collision Center
Five Rivers is the first beneficiary of a new charitable program for local nonprofits at Grappone Collision Center, developed to celebrate the company’s efforts “to act with environmental integrity and responsibility.” Since November of 2008, Five Rivers Business Member Grappone Collision Center has been exclusively spraying water-based color paint in its Paint Department. The new paint and process have several environmental advantages; foremost, the paint will reduce the amount of volatile organic compounds the company emits by 40%.
During the month of February, as part of the program, all Five Rivers members will receive a 25% discount off any out-of-pocket expenses incurred at Grappone Collision Center. Also, for all of 2009, the company will offer Five Rivers members free estimates and, when possible, the removal of minor scratches free of charge.
Amanda Grappone Osmer wrote of the new program, “It is a small way to say thank you to the hard working people who make New Hampshire such a wonderful place to live and work, and we hope to inspire other area businesses to come up with their own creative ideas to spread the word of the important work being done in our state.” The company is also making a $250 donation, and the Five Rivers logo will appear on the Grappone website throughout the month.
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Media Contact:
Charles Knox, Executive Director
(603) 225-7225 or director@5rct.org
Five Rivers Conservation Trust
54 Portsmouth St., Concord, NH 03301
January 14, 2008
Open Space Conserved in Henniker
Town and Local Conservation Group Protect 61 acres in Chase Brook Subdivision
CONCORD, NH -- Over 60 acres of land were protected as open space when the Town of Henniker recently conveyed a conservation easement to Five Rivers Conservation Trust. Working together, the Henniker Conservation Commission and Five Rivers, a Concord-based land protection nonprofit, were able to ensure that a special forested valley and brook will permanently remain as open space for public use.
“Several years ago, the Town was approached by a developer for its approval of an open space subdivision along Flanders and Craney Hill Roads,” said Martha Sunderland, who serves on Henniker’s Conservation Commission. “In an agreement with the Town, the developer committed to deed a sizeable amount of land to the Town to protect it from future development and to make it available for public recreational uses. These sixty-one very scenic acres consist of an attractive forest with a tumbling watercourse, Chase Brook, that runs through a geologically-unusual hidden valley bordered by steep banks and ledges. There is also a very nice maintained trail that traverses the conserved land.”
Five Rivers’ Executive Director Chuck Knox commented, “It was a pleasure working with Town officials to craft this conservation easement. Now that it’s in place, our role as the independent nonprofit easement holder is to conduct regular stewardship monitoring. This community-nonprofit arrangement provides another level of long-term protection, further ensuring that the Town’s original conservation intent for this acreage will remain uncompromised.”
Knox observed that the property has a number of special attributes. “Located in a ravine below and behind the house lots, the development’s open space acreage is quite separated from the rest of the subdivision,” he noted. “Chase Brook is a pretty stream, and the valley through which it flows is a still and surprisingly serene place. Moreover, the valley exhibits a variety of wildlife, including deer, fisher, and coyote which have been spotted by trail users. Also, in its upper reaches, the property is graced by a ledge outcrop with vegetation that is unusual for these parts. Thanks to the Town’s vision and foresight, Henniker is fortunate to now have this scenic section of its community permanently protected, with public recreational opportunities afforded throughout the years ahead.”
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December 30, 2008
Scenic Gilmanton Pasture and Forestland Conserved
Concord, NH – A scenic, 28-acre field and forest on a ridgeline above the village of Gilmanton Iron Works has now been conserved for future generations. Working closely with Five Rivers Conservation Trust, a Concord-based nonprofit organization serving the capital region, property owners Mike and Muriel Robinette recently took the key steps to ensure that their land permanently remains as open space.
“Thanks to the Robinettes’ generous donation of a conservation easement to Five Rivers Conservation Trust, the land will never be developed or subdivided,” said Chuck Knox, Five Rivers’ Executive Director. He noted that conservation easements are legal instruments that serve as permanent restrictions on property development. “Since these easements run with the land from landowner to landowner, this special corner of our state will continue to stay intact, affording long-term benefits to the neighborhood and local community.”
With views extending across the rolling countryside of Gilmanton and beyond into Gilford and Alton, the Robinettes’ field serves as an upland pasture where horses graze alongside of white-tailed deer and an occasional moose. An adjacent woodland with a meandering brook and wetlands is also included in the conserved landscape, and provides habitat for a mix of wildlife, including black bear, grouse, wild turkeys, and other animals.
When asked why they chose to conserve their land, Muriel commented, “Mike and I feel a special bond to this land, having raised our family here and enjoyed its tranquility. We’ve been looking forward to conserving it for quite awhile, and protecting it for others to enjoy just seemed like the right thing to do.”
Five Rivers Conservation Trust now holds over thirty conservation easements throughout its 16-town capital region service area, including three other protected properties in the Town of Gilmanton. “The Robinettes’ land has many valuable attributes,” said Knox, “and our nonprofit is honored to serve as its easement holder. With that honor comes the important responsibility of our organization’s regular stewardship monitoring to ensure the property’s long-term protection.”
Knox added, “The Robinettes brought to the table a tremendous commitment to conservation, as well as the dedication and energy needed to see this project through to successful completion. They are certainly to be commended, and they can take satisfaction in knowing that years from now their acreage will continue to be a very special piece of New Hampshire’s rural landscape heritage.”
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Scenic Nature Trail to Open in Hopkinton
Dedication Ceremony Scheduled for Saturday, October 20
Five Rivers Conservation Trust will be dedicating a special nature trail on its 73-acre Sweatt Property on Old Stagecoach Road in Hopkinton on October 20th at 10 AM. The public is invited to attend this opening ceremony and walk the scenic two-mile path which features forest glades, hidden brooks, and special wildlife habitat. For more information, including directions, please call the Trust at 225-7225.
Based in Concord, Five Rivers Conservation Trust is a nonprofit organization that protects open space in New Hampshire’s capital region. Serving sixteen Concord area communities, Five Rivers has conserved over 1,300 acres on twenty five properties, including working farms, stately forests, scenic fields, and rich wetlands habitat. People can learn more about the Trust, as well as how to become a member, by visiting www.5rct.org.
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September 8, 2006
Grant Received by Local Conservation Organization
Five Rivers Conservation Trust was recently awarded a $2,500 general operations grant from The Cricket Foundation, a philanthropic funder based in Boston. Five Rivers is a nonprofit land protection organization with headquarters in Concord that serves the central New Hampshire region. The Cricket Foundation provides grants for land conservation activities across New England.
“We feel very fortunate to have received this support,” said Chuck Knox, Five Rivers’ executive director. “The Cricket Foundation’s generous funding will be used to continue Five Rivers’ on-going efforts to permanently protect open space in the heartland region of New Hampshire - its fields, forests, farms, wetlands, and other special places.”
Knox noted that Five Rivers Conservation Trust focuses on the landscape drained by the Merrimack, Contoocook, Blackwater, Warner, and Soucook Rivers, a region stretching across fifteen New Hampshire communities. “Working with landowners, town officials, and others, the Trust has now protected over 1,000 acres of valuable landscapes, primarily through conservation easements.” He noted that most recently, in collaboration with others, Five Rivers secured conservation easements protecting Dimond Hill Farm in Concord, a remarkable agricultural operation that will now always remain as a working farm. Also, working with Town of Hopkinton officials, Five Rivers is now serving as the conservation easement holder for two town-owned lands that were purchased as part of the town’s open space preservation program.
“Over twenty properties in the greater Concord area have now been protected by Five Rivers,” said Knox, “and The Cricket Foundation’s funding will go a long way toward helping us ensure that key tracts of open space land and natural areas continue to grace our state’s landscape.”
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August 30, 2006
Two Hopkinton Properties Conserved
Hopkinton, NH --- Five Rivers Conservation Trust announced the signing of two conservation easements in Hopkinton this summer. One easement is for the Carson Property, a 34-acre woodland parcel on Farrington Corner Road, and the other is for a larger piece of upland known as the Bermuda/Harris Property, a 111-acre parcel on Bound Tree Road. The Town of Hopkinton is the owner of the parcels, both of which were acquired this past year through the town’s bond-funded open space protection program.
“We’re extremely pleased to have been asked by town officials to serve as the easement holder for these two properties,” said Five Rivers’ executive director Chuck Knox. “Each has special ecological and recreational attributes, and placing them under conservation easements will ensure that they will now be preserved over the long term.”
Headquartered in Concord, Five Rivers Conservation Trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping protect special lands throughout the central New Hampshire region. With these two conservation easements, Five Rivers has now protected more than twenty properties covering over 1,000 acres of open space - forests, farms, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and other special landscapes.
Knox noted that conservation easements are legal instruments that run with a property’s deed. “They serve to permanently prevent future development while still allowing for sound forestry and other uses by property owners.” He praised Hopkinton’s open space committee and its conservation commission for their work and dedication toward ensuring that these landscapes remain in their natural state.
Hopkinton selectman Don Lane added that both of these properties will serve to benefit the town. “Not only do they ensure that critical open space will be maintained, something that a great majority of townspeople voted to support, but these attractive natural areas will also be made available for enjoyment by the public.”
Lane noted that the Bermuda/Harris Property, which straddles the Hopkinton-Warner town line, is particularly well suited for recreational trails that will allow public access to some wonderful natural features. Mature stands of hemlock, pine, and hardwoods, as well as a large black gum tree rare to this northern environment, are just a few of the property’s attributes. Also, in addition to a delightful brook, once used in the 1700s to power a small, long-since-disappeared mill, the forested landscape is graced by a remote, hidden, beaver pond. Along with a number of surrounding vernal pools, this isolated wetland, as well as the rest of the forestland, is frequented by deer, turkeys, hawks, songbirds, and other wildlife. The Bermuda/Harris Property also exhibits some interesting glacial formations, as well as old cellar holes and other legacies from a bygone era.
The Carson Property, a former pasture, has extensive forest stands as well, notably red oak, hemlock, and other species. A small brook courses its way across an undulating terrain. The property is located next to New Hampshire Audubon’s Brockway Nature Preserve, a parcel with some delightful walking trails. The newly-protected Carson Property creates an additional forest buffer around that preserve. In short, this town land, now protected under a Five Rivers conservation easement, is serving to expand the conserved acreage in this part of Hopkinton while enhancing the experience for those who enjoy the nearby Audubon preserve.
“As we’re all aware, open space is becoming an increasingly precious resource throughout our region,” said Knox, “and conserving these two Hopkinton lands well illustrates the long-term vision held by town residents seeking to maintain key natural landscapes for future generations.”
March 23, 2006
Land Conservation Project Completed in Hopkinton
Sheep Fields and Forestlands Preserved, Complementing Adjacent Wildlife Preserve
Concord, NH - A special 24-acre parcel of open space land was recently protected in the town of Hopkinton. Consisting of an even mix of fields and forestland, the Jewett Road property was owned by long-time resident Hope Butterworth who donated a conservation easement in order to protect its unique landscape for future generations. Five Rivers Conservation Trust, a Concord-based nonprofit that operates throughout the central New Hampshire region, is serving as the easement holder.
“Property owners who wish to permanently protect their special landscape can do so through a variety of conservation options,” noted Five Rivers’ Executive Director Chuck Knox. He explained that in this case the property owner, Hope Butterworth, chose to create a conservation easement. “This is a legal instrument, in essence a permanent deed restriction that prohibits future development of a property while still allowing for its continued agricultural and forestry use by the owner. Under this arrangement, if property ownership changes hands, the easement remains with the land, from owner to owner, thus ensuring that it will always remain as conserved open space.”
Knox explained that Five Rivers trustee Peter Helm worked closely with Mrs. Butterworth over the past year to fashion a conservation arrangement that met all of her needs for ensuring that the property received the long-term protection that she wanted. Helm praised Butterworth for her thoughtful and generous donation. “Hope’s vision is truly admirable,” said Helm. “The property is a remarkable piece of New Hampshire countryside. It is graced by a beautiful field, and it also has a forest of magnificent white pines as well as a mix of stately ash, oak, and beech trees throughout.” Helm added that a small stream courses through the middle of the wooded portion, and nearby hemlocks provide cover for deer and other wildlife.
One of the property’s special attributes is that it abuts a wildlife sanctuary owned by New Hampshire Audubon. “The Butterworth easement land shares almost 1,600 feet of common boundary with the Chase Sanctuary,” noted Helm. “This parcel therefore enhances a large block of open space that, collectively, now consists of over 785 acres!”
Helm observed that the Butterworth land recently came under the new ownership of farmers who live next door, Ken and Cindi Hayden. In 2005 the Hayden’s worked with Hope to acquire her adjacent land, and they enthusiastically embraced the property being placed under a conservation easement. Today, this spread of permanent open space is part of the Hayden’s Contoocook Valley Farm.
“The mainstay of the farm is sheep dog training,” said Helm, “but the farm also supports a growing number of sheep, horses, cows, llamas, and other animals.” Helm noted that it is the Haydens’ wish to use their farm for educating residents and school kids about the history of sheep in New Hampshire and the products that can be derived from local farms.
“Thanks to the dreams and generosity of Hope Butterworth as well as the wholehearted support of the Haydens, this acreage will now remain in agricultural and forest use, a conserved piece of New Hampshire’s rural heritage that benefits us all.”
For more information on land stewardship opportunities in New Hampshire, people may contact Five Rivers Conservation Trust at 225-7225 or visit Five Rivers’ headquarters at 54 Portsmouth Street in Concord.
February 15, 2006
New Director Takes the Helm at Five Rivers Conservation Trust
Concord, NH - Five Rivers Conservation Trust, a growing New Hampshire land protection organization headquartered in Concord, recently took another step toward expanding its conservation capacity by hiring a new executive director, Chuck Knox.
Noting that he feels honored to be tapped to help guide Five Rivers, Chuck brings to the directorship post a diverse background in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. His experience includes being an environmental science teacher, a land agent for a natural resources firm, and a program coordinator for the N.H. Department of Environmental Services. Also, for the past several years he has been serving as the executive director of a New Hampshire-based watershed council.
Chuck’s studies include a bachelors degree from Northwestern University and masters degrees in environmental education and natural resources management from the University of Maine and the University of New Hampshire.
Knox noted that Five Rivers Conservation Trust is a nonprofit group dedicated to serving the land protection needs of the state’s heartland region, an area of central New Hampshire drained by the Merrimack, Contoocook, Blackwater, Soucook, and Warner Rivers. “Open space is becoming an increasingly precious resource across this region,” commented Knox. “Through a variety of conservation methods, Five Rivers is playing a key role in helping those who wish to set aside their special properties for future generations.”
For more information on Five Rivers Conservation Trust, people are encouraged to call 225-7225. |
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