Campaign to Protect Ossipee Pine Barrens Reaches Critical Phase

Land protection efforts will help safeguard clean drinking water for families and businesses.

Jan. 31, 2007 — The Nature Conservancy is approaching an important phase in its race to protect the last habitat of its type in New Hampshire: the Ossipee Pine Barrens.

Many generous supporters have made gifts and pledges, but the Conservancy still needs $481,000 in private funds by the end of March for its goal of protecting 616 acres of globally rare pine barrens habitat in Madison, Tamworth and Ossipee.

The Conservancy also hopes to raise an additional $2.3 million through public funding. A big chunk of that could come from the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Legacy Program. The Conservancy's application for conserving Ossipee Pine Barrens is currently the number one state-ranked project (along with a proposal to protect Crotched Mountain in Greenfield). The Conservancy has also submitted a grant application to a private foundation for $175,000.

Ossipee Pine Barrens Campaign Leading the private fundraising effort is the Conservancy's Ossipee Pine Barrens Task Force, a group of committed local organizers co-chaired by Andrew Lietz and Jack Middleton, both of Freedom.

“With the tremendous support we’ve seen from the local community, we’re getting closer to reaching important goals of conserving the Ossipee Pine Barrens,” Lietz said. “People understand that this is about a globally rare ecosystem. It’s about a place for recreation and solitude. And it’s about safeguarding our drinking water for now and for generations to come. There’s still quite a challenge ahead and we’d like to see the momentum continue for this remarkable project. But we have a narrow window of opportunity here. We only have until March to reach our goal."

For almost two decades, The Nature Conservancy has been the leading environmental organization working to protect the Ossipee Pine Barrens in Freedom, Madison, Ossipee and Tamworth. Guided by science and with community support, the Conservancy has conserved more than 2,300 acres in the area for future generations. Of this amount protected, more than 1,200 acres are pitch pine-scrub oak habitat, much of it contiguous and connected to other protected lands.

But the future of the Ossipee Pine Barrens is at risk. With only one-third of its original extent remaining, the pine barrens faces the growing and urgent threats of development, gravel extraction and incompatible forestry. With the pace of land sales quickening and interest in development growing, time is running out to protect this irreplaceable forest.

There is hope, however. Right now, The Nature Conservancy has secured a window of opportunity to protect 616 acres of additional pine barrens habitat, including precious lands around Cook's Pond in Madison. These lands are contiguous to previously conserved parcels and, if protected, will provide important connectivity for the habitat. The protection of these parcels will ensure more than 6,000 acres of contiguous conservation land in the area.

Protection of these lands will also safeguard what lies underneath: Water. Lots of it. In fact, this area is part of the largest stratified drift aquifer in New Hampshire, a key source of clean drinking water for families and businesses in Freedom, Madison, Tamworth and Ossipee. Forests over that aquifer ensure the soils' natural filtering ability and help safeguard an important water source for the future.

The Nature Conservancy "has taken the initiative to protect this irreplaceable landscape and has made this its highest priority," said task force member Anne Filson of Madison. "This landscape is of great importance to our community because of its unique natural habitat, its influence on our aquifers, and its promise for enjoyment by us, our children, and future generations. We must act now."

The Conservancy has until the end of March 2007 to raise in gifts and pledges $481,000 to meet the $1.5 million goal to secure the protection of these lands.

If you would like to learn more about ways to support this project, contact Tiffany McKenna at The Nature Conservancy, 603-224-5853, or tmckenna@tnc.org.

Learn more about the Conservancy's efforts to protect the Ossipee Pine Barrens by visiting www.nature.org and click on "projects."