Burley Farms
Epping, NH
The Burley Farm and Haley Woods from the Burley Family of Epping include more than 220 acres of rolling fields that have been conserved along with wetlands, forestland, and beaver ponds. The land also includes the circa 1790 John Prescott Chase Farmhouse and a modern barn. Brian Hart, Executive Director of SELT explains, “The acquisition represents the completion of one phase and the beginning of another for the Burley Farm, as SELT considers the property’s future and how the farm, its buildings, and its landscape can meet the needs of the Epping community and the region.” The vision for Burley Farms is to build upon the homestead by adding the Center for People and Nature to the cluster of existing buildings, revitalize it as a working farm, showcase good land stewardship, support a public trail network, and meet community needs for outdoor, nature-based education. This property is open to explore. If you go, use hike safe practices. Please use leave no trace practices and carry out any trash or dog waste. A kiosk is installed at the parking area.
Read Three Poems for Burley Farms by Chelsea Steinauer-Scudder
Howard Swain Memorial Forest
Deerfield, NH
With names like Dead Pond and Rocky Ridge, one would not think these places would be ecological hotspots of southeastern New Hampshire. But in fact these desolate sounding places, located adjacent to the remnants of an ancient volcano named Pawtuckaway Mountain, thrive with rare and unusual species. And now, thanks to a generous donation, the land adjacent to these unique places is conserved and owned by the Southeast Land Trust. In November 2011, Marguerite Swain and her daughter Deb Fexis completed the permanent protection of their family land by donating the fee interest in the property to the Southeast Land Trust. The 89-acre property will be named the Howard Swain Memorial Forest, in honor of Marguerite’s late husband, who cobbled together the property from extended family members during the 1970s.
Read Three Poems for Howard Swain Memorial Forest by Kathryn Millar
Pawtuckaway River Reservation
Lamprey, NH
Southeast Land Trust’s completion of two purchases of land in Epping and Raymond, permanently conserved more than 218 acres of forestland, floodplain, and wetlands with more than 4,200 feet of shoreline on the Pawtuckaway River. “These two projects represent our continued focus on conserving a large block of high quality wildlife habitat along the Pawtuckaway River,” explains Brian Hart, Executive Director. “These beautiful lands help sew together a patchwork quilt of public and private conservation lands that now total more than 500 acres along the Pawtuckaway River.” Why is this area so significant? The Pawtuckaway is one of the Lamprey River’s cleanest tributaries, beginning at Pawtuckaway Lake and connecting with the Lamprey in west Epping. The Pawtuckaway River is located within a core focus area of the Land Conservation Plan for New Hampshire’s Coastal Watershed, a publicly-created blueprint that identifies large blocks of land throughout the region as top priorities for land conservation due to water quality, wildlife, and ecological benefits. These particular acquisitions conserved 110-acres of Hemlock-hardwood-pine matrix forest, large, diverse beaver flowages associated with the river, red maple floodplain forest, forested/scrub-shrub wetlands including an exemplary alder-dogwood-arrowwood alluvial thicket, vernal pools, and upland oak-beech-pine forests of mixed ages. These diverse habitats provide known and potential habitat for four state endangered species, one state threatened species, and four species of conservation concern, as well as two rare and endangered plant species. Learn more about Pawtuckaway River Reservation here.
Read “Pawtuckaway” by Megan Buchanan
Stonehouse Forest
Barrington, NH
Stonehouse Forest consists of more than 50 parcels of land that were acquired over a period of years. SELT now owns the land subject to a conservation easement held by the NH Fish and Game Department and the town of Barrington. In 2019, Stonehouse Pond became part of Stonehouse Forest. The 230-acre Stonehouse Pond Conservation Area located in Barrington, NH was conserved through a partnership between the Trust for Public Lands, the Town of Barrington, Strafford Rivers Conservancy and the NH Fish and Game Department. The partnership worked to place a conservation easement on the land through the Wetlands Reserve Program after which the ownership was transferred to the Strafford Rivers Conservancy. Surrounded by thousands of acres of unfragmented forest, the 14-acre Stonehouse Pond itself is a popular place for fly-fishing. A network of trails weave through the remainder of the property, allowing for exploration of the forested uplands, over two dozen wetlands and vernal pools as well as to enjoy the view from atop the 150 foot high granite cliff.
Read “Stonehouse Pond” by Sarah Anderson
Stout Oak Farm
Brentwood, NH
Stout Oak Farm is an organic vegetable farm in Brentwood, New Hampshire, located on the historic farm property previously owned by Lyford/Robinson family. As of 2012, the farm’s sloping fields, woodlands, and wetlands are protected by an agricultural conservation easement (thanks to the support of Southeast Land Trust). As new stewards of this historic farm, they are committed to taking good care of the land, and providing delicious, healthy food for the local community. They grow five acres of Certified Organic vegetables for their Farm Store, CSA shares, farmers’ markets, and wholesale accounts. Their vegetables are delivered to local restaurants through Three River Farmers Alliance, a farmer-owned local food distribution business we co-founded with Meadow’s Mirth and Heron Pond Farm in 2014. The Stout Oak Farm Store is open from May to October, stocked with their own organic vegetables and seedlings, as well as many products from other local farms.