Hanover Conservancy

Land conservation - the hanover conservancy pursues a goal of protecting at least 30 percent of our town's land area by 2030, using a carefully crafted set of strategic conservation priorities customized for each region of our topographically diverse town. In the connecticut river corridor, we accepted the gift of a conservation easement on nathan's garden, a beloved naturalized space near downtown. In the rural part of hanover, we are nearing completion of a project with the usda natural resources conservation service to protect a piece of valuable agricultural land. In the remote, mountainous region of hanover, we moved quickly to secure a contract on a 37-acre piece of high-climate-resilient land abutting our own protected lands and the federal appalachian trail corridor. This purchase was completed just after the close of the fiscal year. In this region of town, we also sold a piece of prime agricultural land after placing conservation restrictions on it and are preparing to accept the gift of 92 acres of valuable mountainside wildlife habitat. We continued work on three projects to expand the appalachian trail corridor and protect valuable habitat with a conservation partner.

Land stewardship - the conservancy has eight fee land holdings, including the 112-acre mink brook nature preserve, the 113-acre greensboro ridge natural area, 22 acres at the balch hill natural area, the 38-acre lower slade brook natural area, the 92-acre mayor-niles forest, the 79-acre britton forest, the 140-acre headwaters forest, and the 1.5-acre tunis brook mill lot, soon to be joined by the 37-acre hewes ravine and 92-acre black bear glen. All are managed to protect the natural features and functions of the land, promote climate change resilience, and allow public recreational access. The conservancy also holds and monitors conservation easements and deed restrictions on an additional 576.9 acres and manages nearly 20 miles of public trails. Signage, trail maps, and an extensive website help the public understand the value of these lands and how they may be enjoyed.