April 2024 – PLC has embarked on an ambitious new conservation project that will if successful complete the protection of New Boston’s Great Meadow, a 160-acre open water wetland that has been a preservation priority for PLC and the town since the 1980s. In December of 2023, PLC signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire an undeveloped 250-acre property held by the estate of the late Alice Follansbee, who was a lifelong New Boston resident. The parcel includes the entire remaining unprotected shoreline of Great Meadow plus over two miles of frontage on the Middle Branch of the Piscataquog River and Buxton Brook.
The Follansbee land is located in the northwest corner of New Boston close to the Weare town line, and is bounded by Colburn, Middle Branch and Saunders Hill Roads. Its topography is generally rolling with elevations ranging from five hundred to seven hundred feet. The entire property is ranked as a top priority in PLC’s newly-completed land conservation plan (for more on the plan, see pages 3-5), and is also ranked as some of the best habitat in the state by New Hampshire Fish & Game. The property is used now by the public for recreation, and this access would be secured in perpetuity through PLC ownership.
If protected, the Follansbee property will be the keystone in a mosaic of conservation lands that already includes four PLC conservation easements totaling 276 acres around Great Meadow – Great Meadow (1988), Russell (2000), Saunders Pasture (2000), and Sholl (2007). Another PLC CE, Todd Batten Mill (1994), abuts the property to the south and east along Middle Branch Road, as does the Town of New Boston’s Middle Branch Conservation Area. Other close by PLC properties include the Tuthill Forest Preserve, Thomas Sanctuary and Houghton Preserve.
PLC must raise a total of $525,000 to complete our purchase of the Follansbee property. Over the next few months we will be applying for major grants from state funding programs including the Aquatic Resources Mitigation (ARM) Fund and the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP). If these anchor grants fall into place, the balance of funding would come from a combination of public and private grants, town conservation funds and local private fundraising. PLC has until December 31, 2024 to make our fundraising goal.
“We are thrilled that the opportunity to protect this land has finally arrived, after being hoped for by so many people for so many years” says PLC’s Executive Director Chris Wells. “We are grateful to the Follansbee family for their willingness to consider the conservation option and for giving us the time it will take to pull all the funding together.”
Look for updates on the Follansbee project in coming months via PLC’s monthly e-news. We will also be offering several guided walks on the property over the balance of this year.
