Forever Squam Campaign-v2 | Squam Lakes Conservation Society

FOREVER SQUAM CAMPAIGN

CONSERVE WHAT YOU LOVE

URGENCY

What makes the Squam community so attractive also makes it threatened. The region has experienced surges in building permits, boat registrations, hikers, school enrollments, and home prices. Forever Squam is our opportunity to make the case that conserving one’s property preserves the beauty and character of that land forever. Conserving it in conjunction with others enhances the impact of each project while building on Squam’s tradition of conservation and working together as a community.

OVERVIEW

To know Squam is to love Squam.
The “Forever Squam Initiative and Campaign” is about conserving what we love by building on past conservation successes while challenging the entire community to extend its commitment to protecting Squam’s natural resources at this critical time.

CAMPAIGN

The campaign goal is to raise $4.0 million in new funds from a range of donors across the watershed. When added to $1,000,000 from remaining Squam Uplands funds, it creates a five-million dollar pool of funds to mobilize for the permanent protection of land to be allocated for three categories of expenses:

• $3,500,000 for bargain-sale purchases of conservation easements or land;
• $900,000 for the perpetual stewardship of 60 new properties.
• $600,000 for transactional costs of donated conservation easements or land.

WE BELIEVE

• Land conservation is a significant part of Squam’s history and character.
• We all benefit when people have equitable access to nature.
• Conservation land contributes to mitigating climate change.
• Nature has intrinsic value that helps us lead healthy, well-balanced lives.
• Only by working together can we accomplish our goals.
• Learning about the wonders of nature begins in childhood and lasts a lifetime.
• Each of us has a role to play to steward and conserve this place we love.

JOIN US

Please join us by making your commitment to Squam’s future by completing the Forever Squam pledge form or clicking on the “Donate Now” button. You are a vital link in Squam’s ever-evolving story. Gifts of stock, multi-year pledges, donor-advised funds, and other means of donating are welcome. Please contact us to discuss the many options for contributing to this important effort. (603) 968-7900

Conserve what you love!

FOREVER UPDATE

Howe Commons

Closed in July 2023

DONATED conservation easement

You’ve all driven by the fields on Pinehurst Road in Holderness on your way to Rockywold-Deephaven Camps or perhaps hike the Rattlesnakes or Five Finger Point. It is this property, Howe Commons, owned by six members of the Howe Family, that is the subject of our latest donated conservation easement!

How Commons is a 33.5-acre parcel with some of the most diverse habitats in the watershed with 9 acres of open field, well-managed woods, talus slopes, drainage seeps, the Undercut Trail, and even a section of old growth forest. The property abuts the Armstrong Natural Area and drains into Bennett Brook, one of Big Squam Lake’s major tributaries. From the top of Mt. Morgan, you can now see nearly 500 acres of permanently protected contiguous land!

The legacy of conservation and history of Howe Commons can be traced back to before the turn of the 20^th century when Mary Alice Armstrong bought land to build Rockywold Camp, eventually becoming the Rockywold-Deephaven Camps, who donated the Armstrong Natural Area on West Rattlesnake in 1966.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Margie Emmons, Arthur Howe III, Sam Howe, Sarah Thorne, Peter Howe, Phoebe Howe, and the spirit of Tom Howe for fulfilling Mrs. Armstrong’s vision of conserving the area and for their ongoing commitment to stewardship and making the outdoors available for all.

For more history on Rockywold-Deephaven see “Roots and Recollections: A Century of Rockywold-Deephaven Camps” by Megan Thorn.

Wood's Woods

Closed in February 2023

DONATED conservation easement

Wood’s Woods was originally part of Mead Farm owned by renowned aeronautical engineer, George “Jack” Mead and his wife Cary Mead. In the 1920’s the Meads purchased the lots on Center Harbor Neck from Albert and Julia Sturtevant Hutchins creating a family farm known as Mead Farm. The Mead family donated two natural resource treasures in the George & Cary Mead Memorial Forest and Center Harbor Point properties.

JoAnn and Peter Wood acquired their five-acre property in 1995 and built a home on the lakeside portion of the property. Both JoAnn and Peter were dedicated to the preservation of Squam Lake. Peter was an SLCS Director from 2005 to 2014 and was a volunteer property monitor for decades. Peter passed away in 2017 following a long battle with cancer. In 2022, Jo Ann made the decision to put the 2-acre portion of land west of Mead Farm Road in conservation by donating a conservation easement to SLCS as part of the Forever Squam initiative. The conserved property abuts the SLCS owned George & Cary Mead Memorial Forest.

Nelson Marsh

Closed in January 2023

DONATED conservation easement

Kenric Nelson and his extended family are pleased to announce the permanent conservation of 35 acres of marshlands and forest in the Squam Lakes Watershed. The property on the west side of Rt 3 and north of Rt 25 B (across from Savoie’s Lodging) contains a significant portion of Hale’s Swamp, which feeds Squam Lake via Swainey Brook and Lake Winnipesaukee via Hawkins Brook. Given the significant conservation value and long family history of ownership, preserving this wilderness has been very important to Kenric and his family.

Kenric fondly remembers walking the land with his grandparents and extended family. He developed a passion for wilderness as a counselor at Deerfoot Lodge in the Adirondacks. During the isolation of the COVID pandemic, he memorialized those high school experiences in a series of poems, An Adirondack Guide.

Sturtevant Woods lV

Closed in November of 2022

DONATED conservation easement

This small but mighty .65 acre forested lot shares a meaningful history in the establishment of the NH Wetlands Protection Act in 1978. This conservation easement is the result of a settlement to quiet title on the remaining “Asquam Lake Beach and Ski Club” 1966 subdivision which would have resulted in a 600 lot development in Sturtevant Bay but was deemed unfeasible due to lack of suitability for the proposed sewage systems and establishment of minimum lot size.

Acquired by Richard Starbuck in 1992 for the purpose of placing the land in conservation, Sturtevant lV is the last of the consolidated plots from the failed ALBSC subdivision. Sturtevants I, II, and III were put into conservation in 2015 by like-minded individuals.

Click to read some of the history of the Asquam Lake Beach and Ski Club project.

Lamb Brook Farm

Closed in May of 2022

BARGAIN SALE conservation easement

On May 20^th, Brice Bennett contributed a bargain-sale conservation easement protecting 18.6 acres abutting the Eastman Brown and Beij Preserve conservation lands on East Holderness Road in Holderness. Lamb Brook Farm became the third completed Forever Squam project, and the first to tap funds specifically earmarked for bargain-sale purchases.

The land surrounding the farm buildings includes the Lamb Swamp Brook and related wetlands designated as Prime Wetland by the town of Holderness. This wetland drains into White Oak Pond and eventually into Big Squam Lake. Ensuring the protection of wetlands is one of the many focus areas of the Forever Squam initiative. We are grateful of Brice’s commitment to conservation and our community, much in the spirit of local conservation giants Pierce and Kay Beij, who also permanently protected part of the Lamb Brook Swamp wetland system.

Haskell Preserve

Closed in September of 2022

BARGAIN SALE fee title

The Haskell Preserve is a 45-acre tract

with almost one mile of lake frontage on

White Oak Pond in Holderness, including

Pine Island. This special property has a long lineage that dates back to 1774 when King George III granted the land to William Williams. The land was conveyed to a series of familiar local names, including Whitten, Shepard, Livermore, Merrill and Piper.

We are grateful to Bob Haskell for selling the land to us to eliminate any possibility of disturbing this unspoiled land comprising the longest stretch of land under single ownership on White Oak Pond. This land abuts the Brown Preserve and Lamb Brook Swamp. The shore is covered with huckleberries and highbush blueberries, and the land is one of the most mature forests in the Squam watershed, providing a haven for an abundance of wildlife, including deer, moose, bear, hawks, turtles, amphibians, and racoons.

Thompson Preserve

Closed in April of 2022

DONATED fee title

John and Carol Thompson graciously donated the fee title to 13.75 acres of forested land located on College Road in Center Harbor, now known as the Thompson Preserve. The Thompsons acquired the land in 1993, and in 2013, donated a conservation easement to us ensuring the forest would continue to flourish. In late May, the Thompsons decided to donate the full fee title to us. Historically, this land was cleared for agricultural purposes as indicated by more than 2,400’ of stone walls. College Road is one of the first highways laid out in NH connecting Provincial Governor John Wentworth’s home in Wolfeboro to Dartmouth College in Hanover.

This generous gift complements the nearby Chamberlain Reynolds and Damon I & II conserved areas across the road, providing a more enhanced corridor for wildlife and water quality protection. In addition to maintaining the mature forest, the property can also be used for outdoor educational purposes as the natural habitat of plants and wildlife have been undisturbed for decades.

Merrill Island

Closed in August of 2022

ARGAIN SALE conservation easement

The largest of Squam Lake’s undeveloped islands, Merrill Island in Holderness lies at the heart of Big Squam Lake. With one mile of shoreline and 22 acres of land rising up 40 feet above lake level, Merrill Island was the largest undeveloped, unprotected island in the Lakes Region. It provides important habitat for plant and animal species, including a variety of aquatic and semi-aquatic species.

Fortunately, since 1897, this scenic island across from Church Island has been stewarded by the Webster family, with the current ownership in the hands of Burleigh Land Limited Partnership, owners of 2,500 acres of conserved forestland on the Squam Range. With the purchase of this highly-protective conservation easement, Merrill Island will remain undeveloped and a scenic highlight from the public waters of Squam Lake and its ring of mountains.

Sanford Doyle Forest II

Closed in February 2022

DONATED conservation easement

Sanford-Doyle Forest II is a 10-acre forested tract on Perkins Lane in Holderness. It is defined by its steep northerly-facing slope. The forest canopy is dominated by red oak, American beech, sugar maple, and red maple. Yellow birch, hemlock, white ash, white birch, white pine, and basswood are scattered throughout the property in varying densities. There is an abundance of wildlife sign, such as scrapes in the leaf litter made by deer and turkey in their hunt for beech nuts and acorns. In addition, evidence of bear activity was observed, and an abundance of small mammals, such as gray squirrels, chipmunks, and mice species. The rocky drainages could act as suitable denning sites for long and short-tailed weasels, chipmunks, mice, and garter snakes. The presence of prey species could draw larger predators, such as gray fox, coyotes, bobcats, and barred owls.

About the donors:
Jim Sanford and Jean Doyle acquired this 11-acre property in 2013. The attraction was two-fold: additional protection and the property has a small cabin that could provide extra housing to their abutting camp property on Little Squam. Jim and Jean donated a conservation easement on the abutting 10.4 acres in 2014. They have been SLCS members for a long time and are very supportive of land conservation. Jim is an alumnus of Camp Pasquaney on Newfound Lake, which was his intro to the Lakes Region. Jean was on the faculty of Brown for many years prior to her passing in 2020.