SELT and its partners are working to permanently protect two adjoining properties in the Bedford-Ayers Pond Forest and Donigian Tract, totaling 516 acres in Barrington on the shores of Ayers Lake and the Isinglass River.
If successfully acquired, these two properties will be owned and managed by SELT as the Ayers to Isinglass Preserve, a reservation for wildlife and healthy forests.
The envisioned Ayers to Isinglass Preserve links Ayers Pond to the Isinglass River, encompassing hundreds of acres of healthy forests, thriving wildlife habitat, and diverse wetlands.
Local and regional conservation plans, including the 2021 NH’s Coastal Watershed Plan, have long recognized the importance of conserving these unfragmented and undeveloped lands due to known rare, threatened, and endangered species and water quality benefits.
SELT must raise $400,000 in private funds from individuals to permanently conserve these lands. Every gift matters - please consider contributing today. Our deadline is December 31, 2025.
With your support, these critical lands can be conserved for the benefit of people and nature.
How You Can Help
The total cost to acquire, conserve, and steward both the Bedford Ayers Forest and Donigian Tract and establish the Ayers to Isinglass Preserve is $1,299,000. SELT has secured or applied for grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Service NAWCA grant program and the NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), and is requesting support from the Town of Barrington Conservation Commission. Additional foundation applications are pending as well.
Contributions can be made via multi-year pledge, credit or debit card, check, gifts of securities, or Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) from your IRA.
To have a confidential conversation about how you can make the biggest impact with your gift, please contact Brian Hart, SELT Executive Director at brian@seltnh.org or Rhonda Bernstein, SELT Advancement Director at rhonda@seltnh.org. Feel free to call us at 603-778-6088.
The Bedford-Ayers Pond Forest
The first property is the 410-acre Bedford-Ayers Pond Forest, which consists of two tracts of land both owned by the Bedford family. One tract, at 352 acres, is the largest undeveloped property with the most shoreline (nearly one mile) on Ayers Lake. A separate tract of 58 acres lies along the Isinglass River, a state designated river recognized by New Hampshire in 2002 for its outstanding environmental, recreational, and historic resources.
Project deadline of June 2026.
Donigian Tract
Seeing this property listed with a realtor in July, SELT moved quickly to reach agreement on the proposed purchase of the Donigian tract due to the immediate risk presented by its potential sale and development. The 105-acre Donigian property offers a diverse selection of natural resources that will expand and enhance the Ayers to Isinglass Preserve. The property features mature oak and pine forests with varied topography that provides habitat for wide ranging species such as bear, bobcat, and deer.
The Donigian tract features a wetland complex that includes a tributary stream that drains into the Isinglass River, making it a critical safeguard of clean water.
Project deadline of December 2025.
