The geology of northwestern Goffstown is defined by glacial drumlins – rounded hills made up of rocky debris left behind after the last ice age – that are covered with mixed hardwood forests, hayfields, meadows and orchards. The drumlins also act as natural dams, forming streams and wetlands between the hills. PLC and the Town of Goffstown have been working together to protect this special landscape since it was first prioritized in the town’s Open Space Conservation Plan, starting with the Porritt/Hi-E-Nuf Farm easement in 2006. Now we have the opportunity to extend protection eastward to protect the entire area surrounding a drumlin-encircled prime wetland, Paige Hill Marsh. The marsh is a rich composite of five different wetland communities, constrained by subtle variations in topography. To the north and east, hills of sediments rise abruptly from the marsh, while ledge and scattered glacial erratics define the flat southern and western shore. Wildlife is diverse and abundant throughout.
PLC and the Town of Goffstown are now working to purchase a conservation easement that will conserve 52 acres of field, forest, stream and wetland, including ten acres of prime wetland in Paige Hill Marsh. Located along Paige Hill Road, the land is owned by Fred and Sylvia Jennings, who have farmed and lived on the historic property for decades. The land also features 1,400 feet of riparian frontage on Harry Brook and a tributary stream that flows through Paige Hill Marsh.
The PLC easement will cover the eastern portion of Paige Hill Marsh, and the Town of Goffstown is currently under contract to purchase the fifty-acre tract to the west of the Jennings property. The town has already purchased the ten acre tract to the west of that, connecting Jennings with PLC’s Porritt easement. Taken together, conserving these properties will nearly complete the protection of the Paige Hill Marsh prime wetland. PLC and town hope to fund the easement purchase with a combination of town conservation dollars and a grant from the N.H. Department of Environmental Services’ Aquatic Resources Mitigation Fund, which funds wetland protection and restoration projects.
Written by David Nieman, a member of the Goffstown Conservation Commission and Chairs its Open Space Committee.
Photos by Tom Jones
