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

Congress Approves $2.34 Million to Conserve Ossipee Pine Barrens

Ranked No. 2 nationally, the Forest Legacy project will protect New Hampshire's globally rare ecosystem.

CONCORD, N.H. — Dec. 21, 2007 — One of New Hampshire’s most endangered ecosystems – the Ossipee Pine Barrens – will be better protected, thanks to a federal spending package approved this week by both houses of congress and expected to be signed into law by the president.

The FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill contains $2.34 million through the federal Forest Legacy program for conserving the Ossipee Pine Barrens.

Led by The Nature Conservancy, the project was ranked No. 2 out of more than 80 Forest Legacy proposals submitted nationally. The Forest Legacy funds, along with dollars being raised locally, will help the Conservancy’s campaign to acquire and protect 715 acres of high quality pine barrens habitat in Freedom, Madison and Ossipee – five tracts in all.

“This Forest Legacy project is a tremendous boost of hope for conserving the Ossipee Pine Barrens,” said Daryl Burtnett, state director of The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. “It wouldn’t be possible without the solid support of our congressional delegation, our partners in the N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, the N.H. Fish and Game Department, and the many local residents who’ve supported this project with dollars and encouragement.”

“The Ossipee Pine Barrens is one of the places that helps define New Hampshire’s special natural heritage,” said U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg. “It protects not only vital wildlife habitat, wetlands and a rare forest type but an important underground drinking water source and recreational opportunities for the people who live in this region of the state. Conserving the pine barrens is a critical priority and I want to thank The Nature Conservancy and the partnership of state and local entities who have worked together to make this goal a reality. I am pleased to have joined these efforts.” See news release from Sens. Gregg and Sununu.

Additional funds for the Conservancy’s Ossipee Pine Barrens campaign include $300,000 from the N.H. Land and Community Heritage Investment Program and $100,000 from the federal Landowner Incentive Program. Generous area residents, foundations and Nature Conservancy members and trustees have donated $1.13 million toward the campaign. The Conservancy still has about $68,000 left to raise.

The Ossipee Pine Barrens is a globally rare forest ecosystem of pitch pine and scrub oak that harbors rare plants, declining songbirds (such as whip-poor-will, Eastern towhee, brown thrasher, and nighthawk) and 17 rare moth and butterfly species. The ecosystem is recognized as a top priority “conservation focus area” and “highest quality habitat” in the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department's Wildlife Action Plan, and is formally designated by New Hampshire Audubon as one of the state's Important Bird Areas.

In addition to saving New Hampshire’s rarest forest ecosystem, conservation here protects clean groundwater supplies for homes and businesses in Freedom, Madison, Ossipee and Tamworth. With its intact forest cover, the Ossipee Pine Barrens serves as a natural filter, ensuring good water quality for New Hampshire's largest stratified drift aquifer.

Largely flat and sandy, the habitat is highly vulnerable to residential and commercial development. The Conservancy has been conserving land here since 1988, but had to respond quickly during the last two years when a number of the most ecologically significant tracts were listed for sale.

Recognizing the irreplaceable natural resources at stake and the immediate opportunities for conservation, the Conservancy last year applied for $2.38 million under the federal Forest Legacy Program. The program is a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service, state governments and private landowners that aims to protect ecologically important forestlands that are threatened by development or conversion. The program provides funding to acquire land or conservation easements from willing sellers to protect working forests, wildlife habitat, water resources, recreational opportunities, and historic values.

“Because of this campaign and the prior conservation work completed by the Conservancy and our partners, there will soon be more than 5,900 acres of contiguous conservation land in the Ossipee Pine Barrens,” Burtnett said. “Five years ago, we didn’t dare dream that we could make so much progress so quickly. The Ossipee Pine Barrens is becoming a textbook case study of patiently assembling a jigsaw puzzle for lasting conservation success. With each new acquisition, we grow more confident that this conservation area will stand the test of time and continue to sustain the many imperiled species that rely on it for their survival.”

With significant funding from the Forest Legacy Program, the Ossipee Pine Barrens campaign calls for protection of five tracts, all but one of which the Conservancy has already acquired: 25 acres in Madison; 170 acres in Freedom; 65 acres in Ossipee; 100 acres in Ossipee; and 355 acres between Silver Lake and Cook’s Pond in Madison, for which the Conservancy has a contract to purchase later this month.

Through the Forest Legacy Program, the Conservancy will convey conservation easements to the state of New Hampshire on the recently acquired lands, ensuring protection of the land and its many public values. As match for the federal funds, the Conservancy will donate to the state conservation easements on 1,649 acres that it has acquired in the Ossipee Pine Barrens since 1988. Additionally, a generous family from Madison will donate an easement on their 99-acre woodlot.

“We’ve had tremendous support by the local community in funding this remarkable project,” Burtnett said. “And now that we’re in the home stretch, we need the help of everyone who can support us, in ways both big and small.

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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.