Berry Brook Farm Conservation Project, Farmington, NH
PROBLEM
The Huppe family of Farmington, NH wanted to conserve their 76-acre farm and woodlot by granting a conservation easement to their local land trust, the Strafford Rivers Conservancy (SRC), and the Farmington Conservation Commission. The project would permanently conserve Berry Brook Farm including 2,370 linear feet of Berry Brook and a tributary, which flow to the Rochester Reservoir and the Islinglas River. The Conservation Commission had some funding to compensate the Huppe family for the value of their easement but substantial additional funds were needed.
The Strafford Rivers Conservancy identified the state’s Aquatic Resource Mitigation (ARM) Fund grant as a good source of matching funds, but as a small nonprofit land trust, they did not have the in-house expertise to complete the wetland functional value assessment (NH method) or internal capacity to complete the grant proposal for this land conservation project on time.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
- Wetlands functional values assessment
- Aquatic Resource Mitigation (ARM) Fund grant application
- Phase 1 environmental assessment
- Land conservation project management and funding
- Baseline Documentation Report
- Stream bank restoration planning
CLIENT / COLLABORATORS
- Strafford Rivers Conservancy (now merged with Southeast Land Trust of NH) – Client
- Marc Jacobs – Certified Wetland Scientist
- Town of Farmington Conservation Commission
- The Huppe Family
SOLUTION & METHOD
After garnering board approval, the Strafford Rivers Conservancy engaged Truslow Resource Consulting to complete the Aquatic Resource Mitigation (ARM) Fund grant application to fund land conservation and restoration for the approximately 76-acre property. The grant request was fully funded and the easement transaction was completed in December 2014 — the last easement granted to the Strafford Rivers Conservancy before it officially merged with the Southeast Land Trust of NH (SELT). Prior to the closing, Truslow RC completed due diligence for the conservation easement closing, a Phase I Environmental Assessment, the baseline documentation report, the updated forest management plan, and the stream restoration plan for the Huppe conservation easement.