Land Protection
The Lamprey River Advisory Committee touring land protected by a conservation easement at the Verette property on the Lamprey River. Photo by Richard H. Lord.
Background
The most effective long-term strategy for conserving the river is voluntary land protection, either by a conservation easement or land acquisition by a municipality or conservation group. Other tools for protecting the significant natural resources of the Lamprey River watershed have notable limitations. Regulatory approaches (such as shoreland protection rules) provide minimum, yet important, protection to the river; voluntary resource stewardship by individual landowners often varies from one owner to the next, and is not as durable, over the long term, as a conservation easement.
A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a conservation organization or agency in the form of a deed that permanently protects the land from development. Conservation easements are granted in perpetuity and apply to the land regardless of who may own it in the future. Land under easement often remains privately owned and managed. Typically, it is used for agriculture, forestry, wildlife habitat, scenic views, watershed protection, passive recreation and education. All uses not specifically prohibited by the easement are allowed to continue provided they are compatible with the conservation purposes of the easement. The land trust or municipality that holds the easement is obligated to monitor it annually to assure that the easement terms are being adhered to, and enforcing its terms, if necessary.
The LRAC partners with towns, state agencies, and land trusts on land protection projects. The Committee is not organizationally structured to hold either title to land or conservation easements. Instead, it provides information and assistance to landowners about the natural resource values of their property and ways to conserve their property if they are interested. The Committee provides funds to cover some land transaction costs such as appraisals and surveys, and provides funds to cover a portion of the land acquisition costs.
It is LRAC’s policy is to match or leverage its funds with those of other conservation groups to further the collective conservation goals of communities, landowners, and environmental protection partners. Since LRAC land protection funds are provided by the US Congress, this policy also assures Washington that federal dollars are being leveraged at the local level. Expenditure of these funds is subject to the conditions of the 1995 Lamprey River Management Plan which was referenced in the federal designating legislation. The pertinent language in this regard is as follows:
The National Park Service will not own or manage any lands along the river and does not support condemnation of land along the river. Federal funds can be made available to land trusts and local communities for the purchase of lands or conservation easements that advance the purposes for which the river was designated (particularly ecological, archaeological, and fisheries protection). The National Park Service considers providing funds subject to the following conditions:
- The acquisition is from willing sellers only.
- Local municipal authorities approve the acquisition.
- An appropriate local, state, or nonprofit entity and not the National Park Service holds title and management responsibility for any purchased lands or easements.
The LRAC has developed a set of criteria for prioritizing lands for conservation. In addition to these priorities, each property is evaluated for its unique qualities.
- First Priorities:
- land with at least 1,000 feet of river frontage
- properties on which easements can be placed on the entire property
- properties which are threatened by development
- properties whose owners are ready to take steps to conserve the land, or whose circumstances require resolution of the land’s future
- properties with special features: soils, open space, cultural/historic features
- properties which have significant wildlife habitat
- properties currently being used as productive open space: e.g. farming, forestry, etc.
- Second Priorities:
- properties with at least 500 feet of river frontage
- properties on which buffers 500 feet deep from the river bank can be placed
- properties offering recreational access to the river
- first priority land whose owners are reluctant to take action imminently
- land which connects to other conservation lands
- land which is part of a large, unfragmented block of undeveloped land
- Third Priorities:
- land which must be purchased outright (as opposed to easements)
- parcels smaller than 5 acres
- parcels with less than 500 feet of river frontage
- properties on which river buffers of less than 500 feet are proposed
- parcels deemed to be largely undevelopable
Committee volunteers and land protection staff work with towns and partner organizations to contact owners of high priority properties. Property owners are urged to communicate with any of these to explore conservation options before making decisions to develop their land. The LRAC cannot pay more than the full appraised value for a property. Landowners may also choose to donate all or part (a bargain sale) of the property or easement value.
LRAC’s land protection effort has been a great success. In 1999, Paul and Mary Verrette of Lee signed the first conservation easement agreement. By November 2007, twenty properties with more than seven and a half miles of riverfront land and 1,072 acres have been preserved. These include all the river’s important habitat types: farmland, floodplain and upland forest, wetlands, and riparian habitat along the river and its tributaries.
Accomplishments:
- $1,862,500 spent to acquire conservation easements and/or fee title to properties along the river. These federal dollars have been highly leveraged through landowner donations of land value and matching funds from towns and conservation organizations. Each federal dollar expended has been matched by two non-federal dollars in cash or donated land.
- 20 properties, totaling 1,072 acres, and over 7 ½ miles of river frontage have been conserved.
Goals:
- Protect significant lands along the Lamprey and adjacent areas that support the ecological health of the river and its tributaries.
- Continue to work with municipalities and landowners to foster landowner interest in permanent conservation of lands within the Lamprey River corridor.
Key Future Actions:
- Continue to contact owners of high priority lands to inform them of conservation options.
- Raise the level of awareness of the importance of land conservation in this rapidly-growing part of the state.
- Continue to support research on the resource values of the Lamprey River corridor to identify key lands to protect. This includes inventories of rare wildlife and plants, important agricultural soils, sensitive or otherwise important habitats, and recreational assets.
- Work with partners to take advantage of funding opportunities, such as government programs, private fundraising, wetland mitigation funds, and municipal sources such as current use change tax funds or bonds.
- Review the New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan and the Land Conservation Plan for New Hampshire’s Coastal Watersheds to help identify lands for protection.
|