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

A Conservation Future for Newmarket Driving Range

After 12 years, a family retires business and Partnership protects land.

NEWMARKET, N.H. — March 11, 2008 — Nearly 60 acres in Newmarket, including a former golf driving range and excellent waterfowl habitat, are now protected from development, thanks to a deal completed Monday for the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership.

On behalf of the Partnership, The Nature Conservancy has acquired from Rose-Anne and Charles Kwaks 57.4 acres between Wadleigh Falls Road and Follett’s Brook, an area of high priority for conservation. The newly protected parcel abuts 45 acres of conservation land owned by the town of Newmarket.

Originally from Stoneham, Mass., the Kwaks family bought the Wadleigh Falls Golf Driving Range in 1995, two years after previous owners opened the range. In 2003, the Kwaks added lights and ice cream to the business.

In recent years, the Kwaks considered developing the property, and even secured conditional approval from the town of Newmarket for an 18-lot residential development. But as Newmarket resident Ellen Snyder and others encouraged the Kwaks to protect their land, the couple increasingly liked that option, according to Rose-Anne Kwaks.

“We’re just delighted to see that this land is protected,” she said. “We’ve had fun with the driving range, but it’s time to retire and we’re delighted with the way this turned out. It’s a gorgeous piece of land and it’s good that it’ll be protected.”

“With the very real threat of this wonderful and ecologically important property in the Follett’s Brook watershed being converted to 18 house lots, we would not have been able to complete this project without the help of our local partners, particularly Ellen Snyder, and a landowner that really wanted to see a conservation outcome,” said Duane Hyde, the Conservancy’s director of protection.

This is the Partnership’s first acquisition in the Follett’s Brook project area, which was identified as a priority for conservation through the Great Bay Partnership’s “Ecological Inventory of the Cocheco River Watershed and the Follett’s Brook Watershed” report prepared in December 2004. The Follett’s Brook area has many important conservation features including known breeding populations of Canada goose, mallard, wood duck, hooded merganser, and green back heron.  Notable wildlife observed in the Follett’s Brook area include American black duck, bobolink, eastern meadowlark, blue–winged warbler, Canada warbler, spotted salamander, four-toed salamander, black bear, moose, and bobcat.  The Follett’s Brook area also includes the state threatened small crested sedge and the state endangered knotty pondweed.

The newly protected property is located primarily in the town of Newmarket, with a small portion in Durham.  The tract includes approximately 312 feet of frontage on Wadleigh Falls Road (Route 152).  The front portion of the property was used as a driving range and has a mix of upland field, wet meadow and a small stream.  The back portion is predominantly Appalachian oak forest with wetlands that drain into Follett’s Brook.  The back edge is formed by a beaver-impounded portion of Follett’s Brook.

Aside from excellent waterfowl habitat in the wetlands, the property’s upland portion contains good potential habitat for the rare New England cottontail rabbit.

Funds for the project come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

The property will continue to be open to hunting and non-motorized pedestrian uses.

The Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership is a comprehensive approach to identify Great Bay’s most critical habitats and to protect them. With The Nature Conservancy as lead acquisition agent, the partners also include Ducks Unlimited, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Natural Resources Conservation Service, New Hampshire Audubon, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Since 1994 the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership has protected more than 4,900 acres of critical habitat around Great Bay. Local communities and other organizations have protected an additional 3,020 acres that the partnership has been able to use as match to leverage federal funding. The leading sources of funds include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, North American Wetland Conservation Act and private donations. A key player in securing those funds is U.S. Senator Judd Gregg who knows the Great Bay area well.

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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 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.