EXETER – Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire (SELT) has purchased and conserved an approximately 71-acre tract of land in Epping that represents a key parcel of Pawtuckaway to Great Bay Greenway vision. This corridor represents a key strategic conservation initiative of SELT’s, designed to preserve wildlife habitat, protect water quality, and provide outdoor recreation opportunities for the public.
“The conservation of the Snow property fills in a vital piece of the Pawtuckaway to Great Bay Greenway puzzle,” said Duane Hyde, SELT’s Land Conservation Director. “This project presented an extraordinary opportunity to protect an area of the state that has traditionally experienced and is again experiencing rapid growth and development. The wetlands, vernal pools and forests found on the Snow property are important to the ecological integrity of the Pawtuckaway River and beyond.”
The Greenway connects a diversity of forest and wetland ecosystems that provide forest products, critical habitat for at-risk wildlife species, flood storage, and other ecosystem services vital to surrounding Seacoast communities.
The Snow property abuts nearly 2,500 acres of contiguous conservation land, nearly 600 acres of which is along the Pawtuckaway River, making it a critical component of the Great Bay watershed. In addition, the property falls within a New Hampshire Fish and Game-designated “Tier 1” block, due to its rare species, landscape diversity, landscape integrity and minimum human influence.
With SELT’s ownership, the property is open to the public and SELT will be evaluating how to link and integrate recreational activities on its abutting ownerships, with the Snow property filling in a critical link.
Funding partners included the New Hampshire Moose Plate Program, Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service Wetlands Reserve Easement program.
