PROBLEM | The Huppe family wanted to conserve their 80-acre farm and woodlot located in Farmington, NH by granting a conservation easement to their local land trust, the Strafford Rivers Conservancy (SRC), and to the Farmington Conservation Commission. The Conservation Commission had some funds 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 ARM (Aquatic Resource Mitigation) Fund grant as a potential 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.
SOLUTION & METHOD | After garnering board approval, the Strafford Rivers Conservancy, now merged with the Southeast Land Trust of NH (SELT), engaged Truslow RC to complete the ARM Fund grant application as part of the land conservation and restoration proposal for the approximately 80 acre property. The grant request was fully funded and the easement transaction was completed in December 2014 as the last easement granted to the Strafford Rivers Conservancy before it officially merged with SELT.
(click map to view larger image)
Prior to the closing, which permanently conserves Berry Brook Farm, Truslow RC completed the due diligence for the conservation land transaction, the Phase I Environmental Assessment, the baseline documentation report, the updated forest management plan, and the stream restoration plan for the Huppe conservation easement. In spring of 2017, the restoration plan was implemented by Truslow RC in collaboration with the Huppe’s licensed forester, Jake Bronnenberg.
Client/Collaborators
- Strafford Rivers Conservancy
- Marc Jacobs, CWS
Services Provided
- Grant Writing
- Resource Planning and Management
- GIS Mapping and Analysis