Written by Brian Hart, Executive Director
Recently, Land Conservation Director Duane Hyde and I attended the 25th anniversary celebration of the establishment of LCHIP. The evening reception and awards were hosted by Canterbury Shaker Village, one of NH’s iconic historic sites supported by the program. LCHIP – the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program – is NH’s signature program supporting the permanent protection of land and the historic preservation of buildings, the only program in the country working on both the built and natural landscape.
For many reasons, it was a joyous night, a rare bipartisan celebration of the collaboration that created LCHIP and sustains it now. As one example, former US Senator Judd Gregg (R) and soon‑to‑be former Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D) were on hand to receive the inaugural LCHIP Legacy Award, a recognition of their unique roles shaping the protected landscape of NH. Their brief remarks reflected humility for their roles and genuine gratitude for the work of others to create and continue LCHIP.
SELT was asked to attend to share the story of Flag Hill Winery in Lee, one of the earliest conservation projects completed during my tenure and one of 25 select projects chosen to help tell the story of LCHIP’s history.
For me, the evening also had great personal meaning, almost an old home day feeling, as my early career as the coordinator of the Citizens for NH’s Land and Community Heritage focused much of my professional time organizing the public to learn about and support the idea of LCHIP. This grassroots coalition – representing more than 150 organizations across the state at its peak – rallied public and legislative support to create and fund LCHIP, which was signed into law by then‑Governor Shaheen in 2000 with its first grant round in 2001.
Beyond my ties, other leaders of SELT played key roles too. Pam Hall, SELT Board member, served as a volunteer on the Land and Community Heritage Commission, which proposed the idea of LCHIP. Former SELT Board member Rick Russman, then a state senator, was the prime sponsor of SB 401, the enabling legislation. And once the program was created, Mandy Merrill served on LCHIP’s Board and was an interim Executive Director of the program, guiding it during transitions in leadership, all before she joined SELT’s Board. Little did any of us know that LCHIP would have such a huge and continuing impact on the fabric of our state or in the success of a future job I would hold with SELT.
Statewide, 90% of NH towns have had a local project funded by the program – a breadth of impact hard to fathom. On the natural resource side of LCHIP’s work, the cumulative impact is more than 200,000 acres of land. Narrowing that impact to SELT, LCHIP has been a crucial funder of iconic properties now part of the fabric of our organization and the communities we serve through the special places you know and love – including Barker’s Farm in Stratham, Stonehouse Forest in Barrington, Birch Ridge Community Forest in New Durham, the 100‑Acre Woods in Portsmouth, and Monahan Farm in East Kingston.
SELT has received funds for both conservation and historic preservation at the same property – Burley Farms – through the 2015 conservation of Burley Farms and the 2020 historic preservation grant to rehabilitate the John Prescott Chase Farmhouse. This year, SELT has requested grants from LCHIP to support the Banks Living Landscape in Lee and the John G. and Cecilia H. Torr Wood Lot in Rochester. If we are fortunate to be awarded for both, LCHIP will have supported 33 different SELT projects. Amazing!
Twenty‑five years after LCHIP became law, times are much different. Today the effectiveness of government is hard to see through the blind partisan dysfunction and acrimony. But the story and trajectory of LCHIP reminds me – and gives me hope – that lasting change through government policy remains a possibility, even during the most contentious of times. The key is people – you and me, your friends and your neighbors – advocating, organizing, and pushing for the policy changes needed to shape the world for the benefit of all. So when the call or email arrives asking you to take action for something you believe in, I hope you will heed that request. It made a huge difference 25 years ago – and will again.
Thank you for continuing to support SELT and our efforts to save, share, steward, and sustain the lands you love.
