Local Farmers & Community Partner with GMCG to Preserve Farmland
“… farming as the proper use and care of an immeasurable gift.”
Wendell Berry, The Agrarian Standard, 2002
Eking out a 2009 closing on the 29th of December, GMCG facilitated the conservation of three more agricultural easements in the Ossipee Watershed: The Behr Farm in Tamworth Village and Wonalancet, and the Butcher-Nesbitt Whiteface Intervale Farm in Sandwich. These easements were purchased with federal funds GMCG secured for $447,500 from the United States Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP). The FRPP funds were matched by community fundraising efforts.
Protecting the Behr acreage in Wonalancet expands upon the recently protected Birches Intervale Farm and the adjoining Wonalancet Nominee Trust. The Behr Farm along the Swift River in Tamworth Village abuts the Remick Farm Museum properties ensuring the perpetual rural character of Tamworth Village. The Butcher-Nesbitt Whiteface Intervale Farm along the Whiteface River, identified as a key piece to protect in Sandwich’s master plan, adds to adjacent protected private property and the White Mountain National Forest.
Together these parcels:
· Preserve local agricultural soils.
· Protect local aquifer, water and associated natural resources
· Link to existing conservation lands and the White Mountain National Forest
· Ensure that future use of these lands will remain agriculture or forestry
Huge thanks go out to the Behr siblings and to Bob Butcher and Caroline Nesbitt for their vision and dedication to local farming and preservation of the land and all its associated natural resources. Thanks as well to all the generous donors who gave during very challenging economic times to ensure these properties would be protected in perpetuity. And much gratitude to the community volunteers who worked behind the scenes on fundraising, publicity, map making and technical support for the project.
Special thanks to Scott Aspinal who served on GMCG’s board for many years and was key to these and other many other GMCG easement projects.
Picture/Map
Butcher/Nesbitt Whiteface-Intervale Farm
