I spend a lot of time out there on the trails. It’s where I go to get some exercise, relieve some stress, and find inspiration for my next set of writings. And every once in a while, when I’m scooting along another cleared path, it hits me like a ton of bricks—there are a lot of people out there doing trail work, conserving beautiful spaces for people like me to hike, and they do it for no other reason than love. How beautiful is that? Just good people serving without pay, lending their hand to clean up the land they are trying to protect.
Now granted, not all conservatorships are created equal. There are plenty of bad players out there who claim they are conserving land but are really doing it for tax purposes, without any plan to conserve the land at all. They may be using the conservation status to lessen the financial burden before they can sell it on to a developer. Or maybe they’re holding it to game the IRS. Some claim stewardship over easements they don’t really have, while others aim for syndicated tax shelters where they buy land and then have it appraised at a higher value, claiming that’s what they paid to the IRS. There are all sorts of games.
But for the most part, conservation trusts are filled with good people doing good things. Like the Friends of the Wapack, who lately, I’ve been enjoying the trails under their care. And this got me thinking—what other conservation groups operate in New Hampshire, and what land do they tend? The Friends of the Wapack are easy to figure out because they operate the 21.5 miles of the Wapack Trail, but what about the other players? What places do they own and protect that I can explore. Hmmm…
Here’s what I found:
Society for the Protection of NH Forests
Founded in 1901, it claims to be one of the country’s most effective statewide land conservation organizations, and I’d have to agree. With over 65,000 acres owned and over 133,000 acres under easement, according to some online reports, it must be doing something right. If you go to their website, you’ll see 184 separate properties listed under their care. I have much to explore.
The Nature Conservancy NH Chapter
These guys are HUGE, protecting more than 300,000 acres of land across the Granite State. The Nature Conservancy is a global organization with a strong local presence. Two of the biggest preserves they manage are the 10,330-acre Vickie Bunnell Preserve in northern New Hampshire (established 2001) and the Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve. Here’s a map of all the places they cover.
NH Audubon Society
Protecting thousands of acres of wildlife habitat, they are a major voice for environmental policy in the state. They manage forty sanctuaries in the state. I didn’t know that. Do you know that? You can find them all here.
Beaver Brook Association
Located in Hollis, this is one of the largest land trusts in southern NH and is pretty great. Back when there used to be enough snow, I ran a snowshoe race here, and when my kids were young, their schools used to take them on field trips to check out the wildlife. Trail maps are easy to find on their site.
Piscataquog Land Conservancy
This was the first one I hadn’t heard of before, though I’m certain I’ve hiked some of their trails. Focused on southern NH, it looks like they are busy preserving a lot of easement parcels, but they have several trails you can check out.
SELT (Southeast Land Trust)
Covering Rockingham and Strafford counties, this is also a new one to me. They have a whole host of trails near the coast, if you find yourself out that way.
Bear-Paw Regional Greenways
This one appears to protect a lot of easements in a broad region south of Lake Winnipesaukee, but I’ll have to dig into it more. All I can find right now is a map highlighting the areas they protect, but it’ll need some sleuthing.
The Amherst Conservation Commission
This is a good one. I’ve done some trail maintenance for them and they manage a ton of great trails. Real “boots-on-the-ground stewards.” Their trails can be found here.
Lakes Region Conservation Trust
If you’re a lakes person, these are worth knowing about. I’ve checked out a bunch of the areas they manage and they’ve all been great.
Friends of the Wapack
Smaller and trail-focused but for the last few months, these have been my guys. Here’s the full trail map.
Nice work, Friends of the Wapack!
In Nature
This post is a little out of the norm for me. Typically, I use this space to share writings inspired by nature, whether it be a story from the trail, or a poem capturing a moment in the wild. But in order to find new trails to fill my eyes, reconnaissance is usually involved, and today I went down the wormhole. I figure if it helps me to put all of these in one place for future reference, why not share it? If you know of any other good ones, let me know and I’ll add it to the list!
Happy hiking!