None The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire Press Releases Search All Press Releases Eric Aldrich 603-224-5853, ext. 26 E-mail: ealdrich@tnc.org

Donation by Two Families Protects Rare Forest Type in Lebanon & Plainfield

Pipas and Loomis families donate conservation easements of 259 acres to The Nature Conservancy.

Lebanon, N.H. -  As a professional forester who has worked throughout the Upper Valley, Ehrhard Frost had first seen the woods off Loomis Road in Lebanon back in the early 1980s and wasn't very impressed. "I was really only looking at the trees at the time," he said.

But years later, after the Thetford, Vt., forester had learned more about wildflowers, natural communities and rare plants, Frost and a colleague visited again. This time he was really seeing the forest for more than the trees. And this time he was hugely impressed.

What he was seeing was a type of forest that's pretty rare in New Hampshire, called a "rich mesic forest." It's considered "rich" because its soils are enriched by traces of calcium and magnesium, rare commodities in the Granite State's bedrock. And it's "mesic" because the soils are moist, but not too moist -- right in the middle.

Those enriched, moist soils encourage the uncommon plants that Frost had seen -- like squirrel corn and maidenhair fern, along with many others -- and help the trees grow better than they would on poorer soils.

Frost was so now impressed with the site that he encouraged his clients, the Pipas and Loomis families, to consider protecting their two tracts from development, a total of 259 acres.  He suggested they offer conservation easements to The Nature Conservancy, which has long sought to identify and protect places like this.

Now, thanks to Frost's encouragement and the generosity of the Pipas and Loomis families, this remarkable forest is now permanently protected.

Both properties were once owned by the Loomis family, which sold the house and 125 acres several years ago to Marc and Catherine Pipas, both doctors at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Donald Loomis, who grew up in the house now owned by the Pipas family, is retired and lives in South Dakota.

Both families will continue to own the properties, but have donated conservation easements to the Conservancy, allowing the landowners to carefully manage for timber products and wildlife habitat. About 24 acres of the Loomis property and 18 of the Pipas tract will be left forever wild, ensuring greater protection for the rare forest species.

"I see a lot of bad stuff in my day-to-day routine," said Pipas, who's an oncologist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. "So it's nice to know that this beautiful little part of the world will remain as nature intended."

The project is also supported by the Pipas' two daughters, Stephanie, age 7, and Victoria, 10.

"They understand it's something very positive," Catherine Pipas said. "They understand global warming and they understand the importance of a forest. But also, we're showing them that you can take action on your own. For our part, we're protecting a special forest, a place of beauty that our children and others will be able to enjoy for many generations."

While the Pipas and Loomis families could have donated a conservation easement to one of a handful of land trusts, Frost suggested The Nature Conservancy because it has experience in managing lands with rare and uncommon natural communities and plants.

"The Nature Conservancy seemed like a good fit for this," Marc Pipas said.

"This forest type is one of the most unusual in New Hampshire," said Doug Bechtel, director of conservation science for The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. "To find such a large example of it by a forester who recognized its significance, and having landowners willing and interested in its protection is an incredibly fortunate combination.  The unusual species here will thrive forever and add to our knowledge of how soil, geology, and rare plants combine in these unusual settings."
 
The project is a great boost for conservation efforts in the Lebanon-Plainfield area, according to Nicole Cormen, chair of the Lebanon Conservation Commission.
 
"It was so exciting to learn from The Nature Conservancy about this ecological treasure in our midst," Cormen said. "The Pipas and Loomis families' thoughtful donation not only protects an unusual forest type on this side of the Connecticut River, but may inspire neighboring landowners to do likewise. We need more people thinking about the future of the land as our region continues to grow."
 
Because of the clear public benefit of privately owned protected lands, Congress recently passed legislation that significantly enhances the tax benefits for those who donate conservation easements. The provision expires in December, 2007. For more information, visit www.nature.org or contact The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire at 603-224-5853.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.  To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 14 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 83 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Since 1961 The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire has helped protect more than 265,000 acres of ecologically significant land and currently owns and manages 28 preserves across the state. For more information, visit www.nature.org/newhampshire.