CORNISH, NH—The Upper Valley Land Trust, with assistance from New Hampshire’s Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) and the Town of Cornish, has purchased a conservation easement on the 165-acre Fitch Farm, a grass-fed beef and tree farm. Sitting atop Dingleton Hill, the farm is central to the scenic landscape that inspired artists of the Cornish Colony in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and which continues to draw visitors and photographers today. In the Fitch family since the 1770′s, it is one of Cornish’s last remaining intact farms, providing a deep connection to the past. As a community-defining landscape, the protection of Fitch Farm was a high priority of the Conservation Commission and received a sizable grant from the state’s LCHIP fund due to its significant cultural and natural resource values.
“We are thrilled to be able to help the people of Cornish and the Fitch family to realize this longstanding conservation goal,” says Jeanie McIntyre, Upper Valley Land Trust President. The land includes 38 acres of open land and 125 acres in forest, all bounded by stone walls, plus 2-5 acres of water features, including ponds, brooks, and wetlands. A dairy until 1966, the Fitch Farm has been farmed by the Fitch family for eight generations. In this time, the landscape of the farm with its historic and scenic attributes has changed very little.
The Fitches raise Highland cattle, maintain a working forest and sugar bush (with a horse team), and operate a small portable saw mill on the farm. The forested portion of the farm received Tree Farm status in 1959, making it one of the State’s first Tree Farms.
The town has identified the Fitch Farm as a “keystone property,” ranking it among the highest conservation priorities. In the words of the Cornish Conservation Commission, “the Fitch Farm plays a vital role in the wildlife/conservation corridor extending from Yatsevitch Forest to the Connecticut River.” The conservation of the Fitch Farm will help link other conserved land in a greenway from west to east across Cornish. The conservation easement will ensure that the farm remains free from development and damaging land use practices that might degrade important agricultural, scenic and wildlife resources.
Colleen O’Neill, of Cornish, gave her support for the use of town funds to assist in the conservation of the Fitch property, “Open land is an endangered resource with all the pressures of development. Here in Cornish, we have the lasting legacy of those who have had the vision of conserving/preserving land, open fields and wooded forests, as well as breathtaking vistas. We are all the richer for it and the benefits will outlive us. Generations to come will be most grateful for what we do now in terms of land conservation.”
The Fitch project is an outgrowth of a broader conservation effort, the Cornish Art Colony Conservation and Historic Preservation Project, which was initiated in 2001. This project resulted in the protection of several Cornish Art Colony properties, and was initiated by community members working together with the Upper Valley Land Trust, supported by grants from Save America’s Treasures, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the Trustees of Saint-Gaudens Memorial, and numerous others. In addition, the Fitch Farm project satisfies all seven attributes for a high priority conservation project as identified by the Cornish Conservation Commission’s recently drafted Conservation Plan and is consistent with the Upper Valley-Lake Sunapee Regional Plan.
Check out this new video put together by the Vermont Land Trust!
UVLT and its partners, including the Vermont Land Trust, VHCB and the Nature Conservancy have teamed up to demonstrate the importance of conservation to the state of Vermont. State funding for the upcoming fiscal year’s conservation work in Vermont may be frozen, if Governor Douglas’s proposed 2009 budget is passed. In addition, state funding for LCHIP in New Hampshire is also at risk right now.
Ways to demonstrate your support of conservation include:
For more information about the Vermont campaign to save state conservation funding, see the Conservation Can’t Wait brochure, or visit the Vermont Land Trust’s webpage: http://www.vlt.org/. Also see the list of UVLT properties that have been conserved with support from VHCB and the handout we used for legislative day.
Tom and Becky Loftus make award-winning cheese in the hills of Vermont. In December, the Upper Valley Land Trust (UVLT) purchased a conservation easement on the 35 acres that make up Blythedale Farm, Inc. This was made possible through grants from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmland Protection program. The agreement had the effect of enabling Blythedale Farm to expand and to continue Vermont’s tradition of artisan cheese-making into the future.
Though the farm has been producing gourmet quality cheese for over 10 years, the Loftus’ have owned and operated the business since 2004. They bought the property and cheese-making operation after working on the farm and learning the trade from the previous owner. They hand-ladle all their cheeses and use only whole milk from their 60 Jersey cows. The soft cheeses they make, Brie and Camembert, require a great deal of “hands-on” care and are considered the most difficult of cheeses to make.
Blythedale’s award-winning Camembert, Gruyere, and Brie cheeses are highly sought after and are marketed throughout the U.S., even having been served at the White House! With demand for their products steadily increasing, the Loftus’s have been expanding the cheese-making operation since buying the farm.
Growing the business was risky without securing additional land. When the Loftus’s took ownership, the farm consisted of only 35 acres and relied upon over 100 acres of rented pasture and hay land to support the dairy herd. Tom and Becky sold a conservation easement in order to generate capital to purchase the land they need. “We are now able to rest comfortably knowing that we have the land base we need to support our business,” says Tom Loftus.
The grants funding the conservation project were made because of the significance of Blythedale Farm’s soil resources and management practices, and its contribution to the Vermont farm economy. Recently, the farm has received the Vermont Quality Milk Award for being in the top 2% of milk producers statewide. This award is granted to Vermont milk producers who practice sound animal husbandry and maintain the cleanliness of their cows, as well as the cleanliness and maintenance of their milking and milk storage equipment. In addition to providing a site for milk and cheese production, the farm consists of a half mile of road frontage, over 75% open farmland with approximately 80% prime and statewide significant agricultural soils, along with native grasses managed without tillage.
The Castanea Foundation, a private organization working to increase the number of economically viable and environmentally sustainable farms in Vermont and New York, assisted with the acquisition and conservation of additional land known as “the South Branch parcel” which has now been brought into Blythedale Farm ownership.
The conservation of Blythedale Farm and the South Branch parcel protects a viable piece of Vermont’s rural character and agricultural industry. The farm sits in the heart of Cookeville village amidst historic buildings including the Town Offices and Academy Building. Recent residential construction in the immediate vicinity of the Blythedale Farm indicated that farmland was potentially at risk for development. Tom Loftus says, “We arrived here because we bought the cheese business and we found OCHP [Orange County Headwaters Project] along with some of our neighbors to be active in land conservation. Conservation is something we believe in and wanted to be a part of.” Now, the Loftus’ open pasture forms the scenic backdrop to a “classic” Vermont village and sets the stage for good things to come.
Collaboration with Orange County Headwaters Project and Upper Valley Land Trust preserves 700 acres in Vermont
HANOVER, NH Dartmouth is supporting a local conservation initiative by placing an easement on its 700-acre property in Corinth, Vermont, located about 35 miles northwest of campus. Given to the College in the 1920s, the property is in an area with highly productive forest land prioritized for conservation by the non-profit Orange County Headwaters Project (OCHP).
Dartmouth President James Wright completed the transaction on Fri., Dec., 19, 2008, with representatives of the OCHP and the Upper Valley Land Trust (UVLT).
“Dartmouth welcomed this opportunity to work with the UVLT and the OCHP to support this local effort,” says Dartmouth Provost Barry Scherr. “The easement we’ve placed on this property is consistent with Dartmouth’s long-term ownership goals as it will enable our existing forestry-related activities to continue while providing better long-term opportunities for outdoor recreation and environmental research.”
The UVLT, a regional land conservancy, will hold the conservation easement. UVLT President Jeanie McIntyre says, “Working to preserve this land represents a comprehensive approach and a productive working relationship between the Upper Valley Land Trust, the OCHP, and Dartmouth. Our more than 1,300 members invest in outcomes like this, and healthy, stable forests benefit the entire region.”
Timber harvesting activities on the property will continue. “It’s a beautiful piece of land, and it’s one of our more productive sites,” says College Forester Kevin Evans, who notes that due to the elevation the trees are mostly sugar maple, yellow birch, and white ash hardwoods. In the 1990s, white ash logged from the property was used in building the new McLane Family Lodge at the Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme, N.H. Other rights retained by the College include the ability to construct and maintain trails for hiking, cross-country skiing, biking and other recreational activities, to construct a limited number of supporting recreational structures, and to use the property for various research and educational purposes.
“The large, contiguous tracts of undeveloped land here are becoming rarer in the Upper Valley, and are critical to the conservation of the rural working landscape,” says Virginia Barlow, a resident of Corinth and the co-coordinator of the OCHP. “The Dartmouth parcel is one of the largest, and it has great value for present and future forestry, wildlife, and recreational uses. We’re excited about its permanent protection and very grateful for the College’s support.”
Located at the headwaters of three rivers the Waits, the White, and the Winooski the Orange County headwaters region is home to a large number of working farms and forests. The area’s significant wetlands, miles of streams, and extensive woodlands provide especially diverse habitat for plants and animals. Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency determined that the Eastern Small-Footed bat, one of the state’s five most endangered mammals, lives in this area.
WHAT:A Celebration of Community Motivated by the Presidential Inauguration, Upper Valley nonprofit groups are getting together to organize A Community Celebration. The concept for the event stems from the New England Grassroots Environment Fund (NEGEF)‘s response to President-elect Barack Obama’s November 4th invitation to:”…join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it’s been done in America for 221 years: block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.” NEGEF‘s concept as adapted by local nonprofit groups is to use the occasion of this Presidential Inauguration as a way to focus on the work that Upper Valley groups do for the community. Let’s celebrate community service in our region! FEATURING:Dr. Burma (music), Large screen viewing of the Presidential Inauguration (taped), table displays by local nonprofit groups, snacks, cash bar, and good company! Sweet Scoops, Lui Lui, Three Tomatoes Trattoria, Cabot Creamery, The Coop Food Store, Boloco, Panera Bread, Shepard’s Pie on the Green and The Dirt Cowboy Cafe have all agreed to make generous food contributions for the party. COST: Suggested donation of $5 per person
Pip Richens of Hanover, NH and Claude Phipps of Newbury, VT were recognized at the Upper Valley Land Trust’s Volunteer Appreciation Open House on November 13th. Both Richens and Phipps received awards from the land trust for their dedication to their work as stewardship volunteers. In addition to giving UVLT the opportunity to recognize standout volunteers, the event gave volunteers, staff and trustees a chance to share a meal of chili and cornbread as they discussed experiences from out in the field. (Photo L-R: Pete Helm, UVLT Vice President Stewardship; Monica Erhart, UVLT Stewardship Coordinator; John Hall, UVLT Volunteer)
The event was motivated by an effort to recognize the organization’s 30+ stewardship volunteers, who assist in activities such as trail maintenance, campsite upkeep, and conservation easement monitoring across the 44 towns that comprise the Upper Valley Land Trust’s region. In addition to the time and energy that stewardship volunteers donate, dozens of volunteers assist UVLT with events, advocacy, various committees, photography and a variety of in-kind donations.
UVLT president Jeanie McIntyre notes, “Our land conservancy has been recognized nationally for its accomplishments and our volunteers should be proud of their contributions. We are able to get a great deal done with a very lean budget because people roll up their sleeves and pitch in.”
For example, as a volunteer stewardship easement monitor with the UVLT, Pip Richens has visited thousands of acres of conserved land in the Upper Valley. Averaging at least one monitoring visit per month, she has likely spent around 60-70 volunteer hours in the past year, hiking around the woods, following old barbed wire boundaries, counting her paces, and taking compass bearings through local forests. Even in the winter, Richens continues her volunteering, monitoring land by snowshoe. Richens’ friend Betty Ward often joins her, and together the two women have traveled throughout the Upper Valley for UVLT monitoring visits. Richens approaches her volunteer duties with such enthusiasm and enjoyment that she has inspired several acquaintances to volunteer with UVLT as well.
When private land is conserved under a conservation easement, landowners agree to work with UVLT to ensure that their land is protected in perpetuity. The agreement includes annual communication between the landowner and a UVLT staff member, followed by a monitoring visit to the property, often conducted by a volunteer. Monitors document natural and human-induced changes to the property, including notable erosion or invasive species, dumping, building within a restricted area, new land management practices, third-party encroachments, and any other significant changes that may have occurred on a property over the course of the year. In exchange for their time and energy, easement monitors earn the opportunity to go for walks in the forests, fields, and along waterways on conserved land in the Upper Valley.
UVLT monitors often have the opportunity to meet the landowners of the properties they visit and occasionally landowners accompany volunteers on their walk around the property. Virginia and Ted Taylor, who have conserved their land in Hartford, Vermont, recall a visit with Pip Richens and Betty Ward fondly. “They visited on a terrible day” Ted Taylor remembers. “It was wet, stormy, and windy, but it didn’t faze them at all. They just pretended they were dry.” He added that Pip was a “stalwart soul” and “unflappable,” as his wife chimed in with her observations of Richens’ keen interest and admiration for the land. Even during the storm, Virginia Taylor remembers, Richens’ focus was on the natural world, commenting on signs of wildlife and unique plants.
Claude Phipps is a UVLT campsite steward and trail volunteer. He maintains the Vaughan Meadows campsite and mows the several miles of Sleepers Meadow trails, both near his Newbury home. UVLT learned to fully appreciate the time and effort Phipps has given to his work over the years, when in the summer of 2008 an injury prevented Phipps from making his regular visits to the campsite or trails. Suddenly, UVLT staff members found themselves spending many hours traveling to Newbury from their office in Hanover to mow the ever-growing grass in the field trails and to dig privy holes at the campsite. With each trip, UVLT staff gained additional respect for the hard work and long hours Phipps has provided to the land trust for several years.
Luckily for everyone, Phipps recovered from his injury quickly, returning to his volunteer work as soon as he was physically able. Shortly after his recovery, Phipps led an effort to build a staircase at the Vaughan Meadows campsite to prevent further erosion of the river access trail. He created the plans, found the materials, and organized a work day to build the stairs. Monica Erhart, UVLT’s Stewardship Coordinator, notes that it’s unlikely that the project would have been completed this year without Phipps’ enthusiasm and steadfast determination. “When Claude sees that something needs to be done, he steps right in and makes it happen,” Erhart says.
In order to join the Upper Valley Land Trust as a conservation easement monitor, campsite steward, or trail volunteer, please contact Stewardship Coordinator, Monica Erhart at (603) 643-6626 ext. 110 or monica.erhart@uvlt.org. Spring monitor training dates will be posted at www.uvlt.org in early 2009.
(Above) The Production Team of Out My Back Door: An Amateur Photographer’s Response to Nature From Left: Nancy Des Coteaux (Desktop Studio), Shiela Swett (photographer) & Steve Swett (Bragg Hill Press). The Swetts have conserved their land in Norwich & Sharon, VT with the UVLT.
Shiela Swett signs books at the 10/27 event at the Norwich Library.
Hanover, NH—The Upper Valley Land Trust presents Out My Back Door, a book of photographs taken by landowner Shiela Swett on her conserved lands in Norwich and Sharon, Vermont. Shiela Swett is a retired teacher who has taken up amateur photography—being a nature lover it was only natural for her to choose the outdoors as her creative inspiration. Her book is speckled with brief insights into Vermont’s ever-changing seasons.
For fun, Swett spends time hunting for unique, dramatic, and beautiful elements in the natural world—that she finds by simply stepping outside her door. The book shows readers the simple joy that can be found in a flower, a butterfly, a bird, a mushroom, or a tree. As Mary Holland, a local naturalist, author and photographer says, “The book is really a gem. The colors, subject matter, composition and perspective are wonderful.” Swett uses grand, scenic views alongside close-ups to demonstrate the multiplicity of perspectives that can be found in the Upper Valley landscape. Her photographs invite other nature enthusiasts to do the same—pick up their cameras and go for walks along the trails and paths scattered around the region, some on lands conserved with the Upper Valley Land Trust.
The evident enthusiasm and vibrant color to be found in Swett’s photographs demonstrate the way in which protected land can inspire creativity. This explains why the Land Trust chose to collaborate with Bragg Hill Press and Desktop Studio in the book’s production. UVLT president, Jeanie McIntyre says this of the partnership: “We are proud to offer this opportunity to see nature in the Upper Valley through the eyes of Shiela Swett. Her photographs in Out My Back Door reflect her fascination with the outdoors in all its wonder and our commitment to keep it so—forever.”
Over 50 people gathered to hear a sampling of words inspired by the natural world of the Upper Valley read by Dartmouth professor, Terry Osborne. The Upper Valley Land Trust and the Norwich Bookstore hosted an event at the Norwich Public Library on October 27th from 5-7pm. The event was entitled: “Reflections on Nature: A Celebration of the Upper Valley Landscape” and it included readings of writings by local landowners. In addition, Out My Back Door was available for purchase, along with other related works, and Shiela Swett was on-hand to sign books. The readings were drawn from UVLT’s collection; they are personal, poignant essays reflecting the impact of local land on the lives of landowners, along with their families, friends and neighbors.
Along with the Bookstore, the Land Trust is partnering with Long River Studios in Lyme, NH to sell the book. Together, UVLT and Long River hosted a wine and cheese reception from 4:30-6:30pm on October 25th at Long River on Main Street in Lyme. The book was for sale and Swett was available to sign copies. About 25 people were in attendance to enjoy the refreshments and to have Shiela sign copies of the book.
For further information about Out My Back Door, please contact the Upper Valley Land Trust at 603-643-6626 at contactus@uvlt.org. Out My Back Door is available for purchase at the Norwich Bookstore, Long River Studios in Lyme, NH, the Upper Valley Co-op in White River Junction, VT or at UVLT’s office on Buck Road in Hanover. Additionally, the book is available for purchase via UVLT’s Pay Pal widget on this page.
Thanks to all who made the two events so successful!
Facebook
Donate
Subscribe
CORNISH, NH—The Upper Valley Land Trust, with assistance from New Hampshire’s Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) and the Town of Cornish, has purchased a conservation easement on the 165-acre Fitch Farm, a grass-fed beef and tree farm. Sitting atop Dingleton Hill, the farm is central to the scenic landscape that inspired artists of the Cornish Colony in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and which continues to draw visitors and photographers today. In the Fitch family since the 1770′s, it is one of Cornish’s last remaining intact farms, providing a deep connection to the past. As a community-defining landscape, the protection of Fitch Farm was a high priority of the Conservation Commission and received a sizable grant from the state’s LCHIP fund due to its significant cultural and natural resource values.
