On August 19, 2021, the Piscataquog Land Conservancy in partnership with the Goffstown Conservation Commission closed on a conservation easement protecting a 16.3-acre parcel owned by the Gibney Family in Goffstown.

Protecting this small but strategic property adds an important piece of an ongoing conservation puzzle in northwest Goffstown. The parcel completes the protection of a large beaver pond that had been partially protected by the 177-acre Shost conservation easement held by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. The Shost tract directly abuts another property protected by a PLC conservation easement, the 36-acre Fullerton-Mahoney property. Fullerton-Mahoney in turn abuts the new-to-PLC 37-acre Burnes property. The Burnes property conservation easement closed in June of 2021, also in partnership with the Goffstown Conservation Commission and partially funded by a grant from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) Aquatic Resource Mitigation (ARM) Fund.

These properties hold significant value to regional habitat diversity, with designation in the NH Wildlife Connectivity Model as a priority for preservation. They exist within a larger 1,034-acre unfragmented habitat block — an undisturbed place for native terrestrial and aquatic species to thrive. The Burnes and Gibney properties satisfy the goals and objectives set forth in the Town of Goffstown’s Master and Open Space Plans from 2006, and the Goffstown Conservation Commission was well-positioned to act swiftly to work towards those goals.

The Gibney project was a partnership often seen in successful conservation efforts — a dedicated landowner, an engaged municipality, and a professional regional land trust.  “It is rewarding to know and work with landowners like Tim & Katy [Gibney], who love and respect their land very much,” said Tom Jones, PLC’s Land Protection Specialist. “Conserving their land was the last and critical piece of protection for the large beaver pond and a Great Blue Heron rookery, as well as important vernal pools.”

If you are a landowner in our service area and are interested in exploring opportunities to conserve your land forever, please reach out to our Land Protection Specialist Tom Jones at tjones@plcnh.org.