NEW: On September 3, the Portsmouth City Council unanimously approved the Conservation Commission's recommended contribution of up to $1 million from the City's Conservation Fund to support the permanent protection of the 100-Acre Woods property.
As Portsmouth resident and retired attorney Peter Loughlin noted: “We are at one of those very rare moments in the modern history of Portsmouth where we have a landowner interested in protecting land forever, who is willing to make an incredibly generous financial contribution to promote the public good.”
Twelve years ago, Joe Cavaretta made a decision that will forever impact the community he and his family grew up in and came to love. He began having discussions with SELT to conserve his amazing 100-acre property, an expansive, resource-rich nearly-untouched forested canvas within the city limits of Portsmouth, NH.
Today, despite consistent pressure from developers (who correctly saw his land as highly desirable), Joe has chosen to conserve his property.
Together, we can protect The 100-Acre Woods, one of the precious few open spaces in the Seacoast.
Why Conserve The 100-Acre Woods?
- Identified Priority: As the largest, privately-owned, unconserved and undeveloped property in the City, this land is a top priority, as determined by the City’s own 2020 Open Space Plan and multiple other science-based, data-driven conservation plans on the regional and state level
- Protect Critical Natural Resources: These include wildlife habitat for rare and threatened species, the water quality of Berry’s Brook, prime wetlands for flood storage and pollutant capture, and wildlife travel corridors connecting large blocks of habitat
- Low-risk: The project contract and proposed easement roles minimize the immediate and long-term risk to the City and shift it to SELT, minimizing future costs for the City and its taxpayers
- A Strong Partner: SELT is an independently accredited, professional land trust, whose sole mission is to conserve and steward land, and which has the resources, expertise and capacity to monitor and enforce the Cavaretta easement
- A Future Option: Once the easement is completed, the existing contract provides for a “right of first offer and refusal” to acquire the ownership of the 100-Acre Woods. Ownership is preferred by SELT and the Conservation Commission, and with input from the City, would further benefit the community through trails and nature-based education for area youth
- Dedicated Funds Available: The City’s Conservation Fund, derived from the development of other land enrolled in current use, has been untapped for years and is available to provide the requested funds, at no direct cost to taxpayers through tax rate increases
- Leveraging City Funds: At 44% of the project’s easement value and project costs, the City’s contribution from the dedicated Conservation Fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar with other public and private funds raised by SELT
- Now is the Time: After 12+ years of efforts, an agreement has been reached to provide the chance for conservation. Should this easement purchase not proceed, rising real estate values and increasing development pressure only increase the risk of this property being developed
“The 100-Acre Woods is an identified top priority for conservation under the City’s Open Space Plan. After walking the property and seeing first-hand its significance and quality, the Commission knew it was worth permanently protecting and partnering with SELT to acquire a conservation easement."
Samantha Collins, Chair of the Portsmouth Conservation Commission
Documents
SELT Memo to Portsmouth Conservation Commission
(7-12-2024)
SELT Memo to Portsmouth City Council
(8-13-2024)
Portsmouth Open Space Maps
Click images to enlarge
Protecting Natural Resources
Preserves diverse wildlife habitat due to mix of upland forests (~40 acres), forested wetlands (~47 acres, based on National Wetlands Inventory mapping), and open fields and shrubland (~7 acres), including probable habitat for threatened and endangered turtles
Conserves travel corridors for wildlife, including a 1.8-acre portion of a regionally significant wildlife connectivity corridor linking and providing for the ability for wildlife to move between the large habitat blocks of the Urban Forestry Center and the Berry’s Brook area
Protects water quality of Berry’s Brook by conserving a 1/3 mile of a perennial tributary
Preserves significant wetland systems from development impacts, including at least three vernal pools and 47-acres of wetlands, primarily concentrated in the southern portion of the property and part of a larger 220-acre Prime Wetland. Vernal pools provide essential habitat for certain frog and salamander species and vernal pools are a food source for many other species
Provides green infrastructure services through flood storage and risk mitigation while capturing pollutants, as the property’s wetlands and forested buffers absorb and store run-off and assimilate nutrients from the more heavily developed surroundings and slowly release these waters
Supports dispersed public access through LCHIP’s passive recreation requirements while creating future opportunity for public ownership of the 100-Acre Woods with trails and nature-based education opportunities. Although needing further exploration, the conservation of the Cavaretta tract protects the opportunity for elementary education for not just one school, but two public schools: Portsmouth’s Dondero Elementary School and the Rye Elementary School.
Both of these schools offer outdoor education as part of their curriculum and reportedly the Dondero school lacks sufficient useable land; the Cavaretta’s tract’s proximity to the school could facilitate opportunities in the future. This will require further discussion with both the landowner and the schools.
