Shelburne Valley Forests Katherine Stuart
BETHEL — On Sept. 25 a significant conservation easement protecting the 2,670-acre Shelburne Valley Forest and 1,030-acre Bald Cap Peak Forest, collectively known as the Mahoosuc Highlands Initiative conserved 3,700 acres.
Both properties are now owned by the Forest Society (The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests) as a permanently protected forest reservation.
The Shelburne Valley Forest property rises from the Androscoggin River to the ridgeline of the Mahoosucs. With 24.3 miles of stream frontage and the headwaters of the Leadmine Brook, the property supports critical cold water stream habitats for wild brook trout, a New Hampshire Species of Greatest Conservation Need.
The property consists of diverse riverine habitats, including cranberry bogs, red spruce swamps, silver maple floodplain forests, as well as talus slopes and cliffs helping to support a healthy black bear population.
A local recreational resource, the project includes the Cross NH Adventure Trail (an increasingly popular 84-mile bike-packing trail that traverses northern New Hampshire), 1.6 miles of frontage on the Androscoggin River for fishing and boating and provides a protective buffer for the Appalachian Trail (AT).
Bald Cap Peak Forest directly abuts the Forest Society’s Peabody Forest. The property is home to the beloved and historic hiking trails of Peabody Brook, Middle Mountain, Giant Falls, and Bald Cap Peak. The rocky pine ledges of Bald Cap and Middle Mountain, and the 300-foot cascades of Giant Falls, are prominent features of the property and were recently featured in the Boston Globe.
With 2.6 miles of boundary with the AT, the parcel supports a connective corridor between the Mahoosucs and the White Mountain National Forest and builds on existing conserved lands in Shelburne held by the Mahoosuc Land Trust and New Hampshire Fish and Game.
The Mahoosuc Land Trust (MLT) played a critical role in accepting the conveyance of a conservation easement on the Shelburne Valley Forest property. The conservation easement on the 2,670-acre Shelburne Valley Forest abuts MLT’s 880-acre Shelburne Riverlands preserve which protects numerous islands and riverine habitat along the Androscoggin River.
“Mahoosuc Land Trust is thrilled to support the Forest Society’s acquisition which will ensure permanent, sustainable management of these lands, which have seen multiple ownership changes in the past three decades,” said MLT Executive Director, Kirk Siegel. “This project complements many years of conservation work by MLT and others that recognize the significance of the Mahoosuc Mountains as a nationally significant resource in both New Hampshire and Maine.”
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