July 2025 – After decades of effort by many people, the protection of New Boston’s Great Meadow is complete. On June 30th PLC purchased the final unprotected property bordering the wetland — a 295-acre parcel owned by the estate of Alice Follansbee. PLC was first approached by the Follansbee heirs in the summer of 2023, and by December we had a signed agreement that gave PLC until the end of June 2025 to purchase the land. Over the past eighteen months, we worked to raise the necessary funds and complete myriad transactional tasks. The generosity and hard work of many people contributed to making this project a success, but first and foremost we thank Alice Follansbee for keeping the land intact and in the family, so her children could see it protected forever.
The Follansbee project was made possible by a $559,304 grant from the Aquatic Resources Mitigation (ARM) fund, which is administered by the NH Department of Environmental Services. The grant fully funded PLC’s purchase of the land, plus initial work to restore natural water flow through a small area impacted by past sand and gravel excavation.
The 295-acre Follansbee property includes the entire remaining unprotected shoreline of New Boston’s Great Meadow, a 160-acre open water wetland that has been a preservation priority for the town since the 1980s. The land includes many other exceptional aquatic resources, including wetlands, vernal pools, and over two miles of frontage on Buxton Brook and the Middle Branch of the Piscataquog River. The property is also the keystone connecting over seven hundred acres of existing conservation land in the surrounding area.
The Follansbee property will be permanently owned and managed by PLC and public access for a wide variety of activities including hunting and fishing will continue in perpetuity under our ownership.
Photo: Jonathan Beck (PLC)
