The Piscataquog Land Conservancy has entered into an agreement to purchase a conservation easement on 73 acres of land in northern Goffstown known as Clarkridge Farm.  If you regularly travel on state Route 13 between Dunbarton and Goffstown – a section of the John Stark Scenic Byway — you will know the property.  Coming south out of Dunbarton, you climb a hill that opens out into rolling hayfields on both sides of the road, with a historic barn straight ahead set atop the ridge.  As you crest the hill the sweeping view is of pastures, valleys, and big sky.  It’s a spot that makes you slow down and look, and one that would bring top dollar in the current real estate and development market.  If PLC can complete our conservation easement purchase, it will remain open, bountiful, and beautiful forever.  

Clarkridge Farm’s name is a portmanteau of family history and topography.  The land has been owned and farmed by the Clark family for over one hundred years.  Today the farm is a diverse operation producing grass-fed beef, pastured pork, maple syrup and timber.  The land that would be protected by PLC easement includes hayfields, mixed hardwood and pine forests, a variety of wetlands and open water.  The land’s agricultural productivity is supported by extensive areas of best-in-state farm soils.  The very best of these soils are on fifteen acres of land that was recently purchased by the family to prevent it being sold for development.  The land had already been subdivided by the previous owner into five house lots. 

To put the importance of conserving Clarkridge Farm in context, according to a 2020 report from the American Farmland Trust, 11 million acres of farmland was lost between 2001 and 2016 — that’s a rate of 2,000 acres every day.  New Hampshire ceded close to 50,000 acres of farmland between 2012 and 2017 according to the USDA’s 2017 Census of Agriculture.  In short, places like Clarkridge Farm are rare, and becoming more so every year. 

Yet the land is more than farm and forest – it is also healthy watershed and wildlife habitat.  It contains eighteen acres of prime wetlands, most of which are palustrine – meaning they are characterized by the presence of trees, shrubs, and emergent vegetation.  The property includes over one hundred feet of a first-order tributary to Harry Brook, which been the focus of a longtime conservation effort by PLC and the Town of Goffstown.   The land is part of a 1,200-plus acre unfragmented habitat block, and NH Fish and Game connectivity modeling indicates the land is part of a priority corridor for wildlife movement.   

The PLC easement would expand on an existing 236-acre conservation easement held by the Forest Society on abutting land owned by the Clark family.  It is also close by other protected properties held by PLC and others. 

“We’re excited to continue the family legacy of farming and land conservation,” says Dan King, a member of the Clark Family and the current operator of the multi-generational farm.  “Having an opportunity to keep land in agricultural use when you are trying to run a farm is rare, and we’re thrilled to be a part of this.  We hope to continue our record of land improvement, increasing soil health and improving water quality by applying regenerative agriculture techniques.”   

PLC’s Land Protection Specialist Tom Jones says, “It is so great to work with such a knowledgeable family, and one so committed to and connected with their land.” 

PLC has until June of 2023 to raise the $580,000 needed to complete the purchase of the conservation easement.  We will be seeking major anchor grants from state funding programs, augmented by other public and private funders and local grassroots fundraising. 

You Can Help.

You can support the Clarkridge Farm Project by making a donation at the button below or mailing a check to: