In late September, PLC received a generous gift of land that adds twelve acres to our Florence M. Tarr Wildlife Sanctuary in Goffstown.  Landowner John Shirley had inherited the property from his late parents.  After some deliberation with his brother, John decided that rather than sell the parcel he would donate it to PLC in honor of his parents Robert and Althea Shirley, who had visited the land to walk and cut firewood over the decades. The donated property’s topography and landcover are similar to adjacent Tarr Sanctuary lands, featuring hardwood and hemlock forest, rocky outcrops, vernal pools and mountain laurel.  It also has an existing trail that interconnects with the Tarr trail system and will create a new loop trail in the western part of Tarr Sanctuary.  

When the donation was complete John Shirley said “my father, Robert L. Shirley, and his father Thomas E. Shirley before him, wanted to preserve the beauty of the forest. I’m pleased to donate my family’s woodlot to the PLC because I can be assured their wishes will be honored and the land will be conserved as a memorial to them.”