Anonymous Family Foundation Donates $30K

An anonymous family foundation has donated $30,000 toward the Mt. Major/Belknaps campaign. The family has been hiking in New Hampshire for generations, and they are very familiar with the Belknaps Range and Mt. Major trails. They also understand how much trail maintenance is needed for this popular hiking area, and that it is dependent on the Forest Society and Lakes Region Conservation Trust's ability to acquire ownership and permanent protection of the properties and the trails.

Another $20K Closer Thanks to the Moose Plate Program

When you pass someone with the New Hampshire Moose license plate on their car or truck, give them a wave and a thank you for supporting land conservation and cultural heritage around the state. Today we learned that the NH State Conservation Committee granted $20,000 toward the Everybody Hikes Mount Major campaign, bringing us that much closer to our goal of protecting key parcels in the Belknap Mountain Range.

For more information about the Moose Plate program, visit www.mooseplate.com/.

$25,000 Grant, Grassroots Support Strengthen the Everybody Hikes Mt. Major Campaign

 

Volunteers Rachel French and Betsy Kelly welcome hikers at the Mt. Major trailhead.

The S.L. Gimbel Foundation has awarded a $25,000 grant to the campaign to purchase and protect 950 acres in the Belknap Range. This new grant brings the total raised for the project to more than $800,000, leaving $1 million more to go. More than 1,100 individual donors have stepped up to help the campaign so far. Such a broad base of support is largely thanks to the tremendously dedicated volunteers from the Belknap Range Conservation Coalition who have shared the project with hikers and collected donations at the Mt. Major trailhead for the past several months.

Hundreds of hours of volunteer effort went into the Belknap Range Trails map.

It's also thanks to the popularity of the weatherproof map of the Belknap Range trails that donors of $50 or more receive as a "thank you" gift. Thank you to mapmaker Weldon Bosworth and volunteer GPS-ers Rick Andrews, Steve Zimmer and others from the BRCC and the Belknap Range Trail Tenders for providing this great incentive!

$187,000 Grant Boosts Mt Major/Belknaps Campaign

With less than two months until the purchase deadline, the Open Space Institute has awarded a $187,000 grant to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, leaving the Society and its partner the Lakes Region Conservation Trust about $1 million to raise for their “Everybody Hikes Mt. Major” campaign, an effort to protect 950 acres in the Belknap Mountains.

The grant is part of OSI’s $6 million “Resilient Landscapes Initiative,” which is funded with a lead grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The initiative helps land trusts and public agencies from Maine to West Virginia target their conservation efforts toward the places most likely to be resilient to a changing climate. Based on a body of research conducted over more than a decade by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), OSI has identified four regions that are “best bets” in an uncertain time.

The Belknap Range, located southwest of Lake Winnipesaukee in Alton, Gilford, Gilmanton and Belmont, with its wealth of unfragmented forests and wetlands, is within one of these high priority areas – the New Hampshire and Maine forests.

“This grant really highlights what we know and love about Mt. Major and the Belknap Range,” said Jane Difley, Forest Society president/forester. “This is one of New Hampshire’s very special places, not only valuable to people for  hiking, snowmobiling, hunting, fishing and skiing, but also valuable as habitat to a broad range of animals and plants.”

“We hope OSI’s identification of the Belknaps as ecologically important from a climate change perspective will encourage others to come forward and support our efforts to permanently protect 950 acres of it in the Everybody Hikes Mt. Major campaign,” said Don Berry, LRCT president.

OSI’s Executive Vice President for Conservation Capital and Research Peter Howell said “although scientists cannot predict precisely how and when the climate will change nor just how species will respond to those changes, TNC’s research suggest that it’s critical to conserve the most resilient places—lands with varied topography, abundant wetlands and ones that are unfragmented by development and roads. These resilient places allow wildlife to move and ecological processes to continue.”

OSI’s analysis shows that the Belknap Mountains contains several key characteristics that will likely support a broad diversity of life, even as the climate warms. The Belknaps contain many different land forms  – from rocky slopes and steep ravines to vernal pools and wetlands – that afford plants and animals many options. With more habitats available, the chances are greater that wildlife will be able to find refuge from temperature extremes. At over 30,000 acres, the Belknaps are also large enough for animals such as bear, bobcat, snowshoe hare and moose to access this diversity of habitats.

Including the OSI grant, The Forest Society and the Lakes Region Conservation Trust have raised $762,000 of the $1.8 million needed by Dec. 1 to buy the four properties in the Everybody Hikes Mt. Major campaign.

For more information about the campaign, go to www.forestsociety.org. For more information about the Resilient Landscapes Initiative, go to www.osiny.org

Founded in 1901, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests is the state’s oldest and largest non-profit land conservation organization. Supported by 10,000 families and businesses, the Forest Society’s mission is to perpetuate the state’s forests by promoting land conservation and sustainable forestry. The organization owns 50,000 conserved acres of land in New Hampshire and holds conservation easements on another 115,000 acres.

The Lakes Region Conservation Trust was founded in 1979 to conserve the natural heritage of New Hampshire's Lakes Region.  LRCT's land acquisition and stewardship work preserves community character, conserves critical wildlife habitat and diverse ecosystems, protects natural landmarks and scenic landscapes, and provides outdoor recreation opportunities for people of all ages.  LRCT has conserved more than 120 properties totaling over 22,000 acres, encompassing many of the special places that define this unique and spectacular part of New England.

Hiking Mt. Major

"I find myself itching to get back up Mt. Major. Why is that? I have a State Park right in my backyard that I hike many times a week. It’s home for me and I know many of its paths intimately. I rarely ever come upon other people on my hikes. It’s a peaceful place for me to walk, think, and photograph undisturbed. Mt. Major’s trails on the other hand are over used and over crowded. I have to say, though, vistas can be intoxicating, and Mt. Major has one of the best I’ve seen around. There’s also camaraderie in the mountain. Locals hike it over and over and more come from far away to enjoy its trails. Sometimes its nice not to be Alone in the Woods. The crowds at the summit of Mt. Major are a testament to our culture’s deep appreciation of the outdoors. How important it is to keep these often distant concepts of “nature” and “landscape” close to our hearts and minds… and then to work through their meanings as we move our bodies through a mountain trail. " - Hiking Mount Major

Read More from Forest Society volunteer Emily Lord, who wrote a blog post chronicling observations and photographs from her recent hike with SPNHF staff and members last Saturday. It was an amazingly warm and beautiful September day, perfect for a meandering hike up one of NH's most popular mountains!

Mount Major Campaign on WMUR

Nick Spinetto of WMUR filed this report this week as our campaign reached the half-million dollar mark on the way to the $1.8 million needed to protect key parcels in the Belknap Range, including the ever-popular Mount Major.

The Buzz is Building about the Mount Major Campaign

Thanks to a dedicated crew of volunteers greeting visitors at the Mount Major trailhead, the Mount Major campaign is a popular topic of conversation in the Belknaps and beyond. This is generating strong support for our efforts to conserve these lands. To date, we have received 558 gifts totaling $478,131. Many thanks to everyone who has helped us get off to a strong start!

Make a Donation, Get a Map!

The Belknap Mountains--including Mount Major--have hiking trails throughout. And while it's not too difficult to follow the well-worn trails to the top of Mount Major, it's handy to have a map to follow other trails.

Thanks in part to the hard work of the folks who have mapped those trails, we are offering a weatherproof Trail Map of the Belknap Range as a premium for a $50 dollar donation to the Campaign to Conserve the Belknap Mountains and Trails. You can make your donation online at www.forestsociety.org, or by calling 603-224-9945.

The Donations Roll In

In addition to the generous contributions from the Conservation Funds of the Towns of Gilford and Alton, private donations have been filling the Forest Society mailbox of late. Between individuals and foundations we have raised another $100,000 toward our goal of $1.8 million to conserve the Belknap Mountains and Trails (including parcels on Mount Major). Total to date? $440,000. The deadline is Dec. 1, 2013.

How many times a day do you climb Mt Major?

Read Brenda Charpentier's article here

Gilford Conservation Commission Supports Belknaps Campaign

The Gilford Conservation Commission voted this month to contribute $110,000 to the campaign to conserve the Belknap Mountains and trails. One of the four parcels that the Lakes Region Conservation Trust (LRCT) and Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests are attempting to protect is in Gilford, and the $110K from the Gilford Conservation Fund will go specifically to that parcel.

"One of the best things about this whole project is the extent to which multiple organizations and individuals are coming together to support it," said Don Berry of LRCT. "It's clear to me that the members of the Gilford Conservation Commission really understand the importance of protecting key undeveloped parcels within the town. We truly appreciate their support."

If the campaign is successful, LRCT will own and manage the property in Gilford, keeping it open to the public.

Alton Conservation Commission Votes to Support Mt Major Campaign

The Alton Conservation Commission voted to contribute $230,000 to the campaign to conserve Mt Major and the Belknap Mountains and Trails. The funds will come from the conservation fund, and will help assure and protect public access to the trails leading to the peak of Mt Major.

"This is a terrific early step in the campaign to raise the $1.8 million we need to acquire 950 acres on four parcels in the Belknaps," said Susanne Kibler-Hacker, VP of Development for the Forest Society. "We appreciate the support of the Alton Conservation Commission and the residents of Alton they represent.

The Alton conservation fund contribution will be used only toward those parcels that lie within the boundaries of the Town of Alton.

Forest Society, LRCT Aim to Conserve Key Parcels on Mt Major

Kathleen Ronayne's Concord Monitor story about the campaign to conserve the Belknap Mountains and trails can be read

Everybody Hikes Mt. Major! Campaign to Protect Belknap Mountains and Trails Gets Climbing

 

Partnership Raising $1.8 Million to Buy 950 Acres

 Thousands of hikers exult in the view from the top of Mt. Major in Alton each summer. Most have no idea that there’s nothing to stop a ‘no trespassing’ sign from going up in the future to block thetrails that cross private land on their way to the summit.

The Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests and the Lakes Region Conservation Trust (LRCT) are joining forces to prevent such a loss and to start safeguarding not only Mt. Major but the rest of the Belknap Range’s views, recreational opportunities and wildlife habitats.
The two organizations, with support from other members of the Belknap Range Conservation Coalition, are working together to raise $1.8 million by Dec. 1 to purchase and protect four key properties – about 950 acres – being sold by separate landowners. One of the parcels, 331 acres that include parts of four recreational trails, is in Gilford’s Moulton Valley and on the slope of Piper Mountain. The other three are on or near Mt. Major.
Mt. Major is on the eastern end of the Belknap Range. The state owns the Route 11 parking area and the summit (the 60-acre Mt. Major State Forest). The land in between is private.
“For thousands of people around the region, Mt. Major was the first mountain they climbed, and they’ve since climbed it many times and with their children and grandchildren,” said Don Berry, LRCT president. “If these lands are sold or transferred, the owners could cut off the access, and the recreational opportunities and the wildlife habitat may disappear as well.”
A successful fundraising campaign will ensure that all four properties are kept open to the public for hiking, hunting, snowmobiling and other recreational activities. The LRCT plans to own and manage the Gilford parcel, while the Forest Society will own and manage the three parcels on or near Mt. Major.
“For more than 100 years, the Forest Society has worked to conserve New Hampshire’s most treasured and iconic landscapes, starting with the White Mountains and including Mt. Monadnock, Mt. Sunapee, Mt. Kearsarge and Franconia Notch,” said Jane Difley, Forest Society president/forester. “Mt. Major and the Belknaps make up another beloved landscape, the beautiful backdrop for Lake Winnipesaukee, and we are excited to be working in partnership with the Lakes Region conservation community to protect it.”
The Forest Society, the Lakes Region Conservation Trust and other members of the Belknap Range Conservation Coalition view the fundraising effort as a first step in a long-term commitment to conserving and ensuring the wise stewardship of more land in the region. The Belknap Range features large, as-yet unfragmented forests covering more than a dozen mountains with extensive trail systems and opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing. Besides their recreational, scenic and habitat value, these forests protect the water quality of Lake Winnipesaukee.
“The Belknaps, along with the Ossipee Mountains and Red Hill, form the natural setting for Lake Winnipesaukee. Protecting these uplands has been an important priority for many years,” Berry said.
The partners are aiming to raise the money to buy the properties by Dec. 1, so they can begin closing on the purchase and sales agreements that month. “We anticipate being able to announce soon commitments of up to $385,000, leaving $1.12 million still to be raised by Dec. 1,” Difley said.
To find out more about the fundraising effort and to donate, visit www.forestsociety.org or www.lrct.org.
Founded in 1901, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests is the state’s oldest and largest non-profit land conservation organization. Supported by 10,000 families and businesses, the Forest Society’s mission is to perpetuate the state’s forests by promoting land conservation and sustainable forestry.
The Lakes Region Conservation Trust is a member-supported, community-based, non-profit organization. Founded in 1979, it has protected more than 22,000 acres of shore frontage, islands, forest and mountaintops.