In July, 2018, Five Rivers Conservation Trust announced the conservation of 77 acres of the Currier-Sanborn Conservation Area (Tioga Marsh 2), a significant parcel of land purchased by the Belmont Conservation Commission (BCC) for conservation purposes. The property is located between Silver Lake, the Winnipesaukee River, and 178-acres of conserved land known as Tioga Marsh. The BCC purchased the property from the Sanborn Family Trust, descendants of the long-time owners of the property, and donated a conservation easement to Five Rivers.

Highlights of the property are its half-mile frontage along the Winnipesaukee River, a significant marsh/flood-plain forest that ranks as “most significant wildlife habitat in the state”, a portion of the Tioga River, and it abuts another conservation parcel – the Tioga River Wildlife and Conservation Area previously purchased by the Town and conserved with an easement to Five Rivers. The property is a mixture of woodlands, marsh, and floodplain-forest. The BCC will manage the property and it is open to passive recreation, hunting, and fishing.

The BCC used monies from the town’s Conservation Fund, as well as grant funding from the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), the New Hampshire Dept. of Environmental Services Aquatic Resource Mitigation Program (ARM), and a State Conservation Committee Conservation Grant (Moose Plate) to purchase the property and cover the costs of the conservation easement.

Five Rivers is grateful to the BCC for their commitment to conservation of the Tioga Marsh and their efforts to raise funds to purchase this property for conservation.

Five Rivers holds a conservation easement on both of these parcels, collectively known as The Tioga Marsh, ensuring their undeveloped, protected status forever. As the easement holder, Five Rivers will monitor the property annually to ensure that the property remains undeveloped in the future.

LCHIP awarded Belmont a grant for the property’s protection. LCHIP is an independent state authority that makes matching grants to NH communities and nonprofits to conserve and preserve New Hampshire’s most important natural, cultural and historic resources.

The ARM grant was awarded based on the protection value of the wetland and contributing upland on the property. The ARM fund is collected from applicants who have impacted significant wetlands where on-site mitigation is not possible and have made an in-lieu fee.

The Conservation Commission received a Moose Plate Grant to offset the administrative costs of the conservation easement. The NH Conservation License Plate (Moose Plate) Program supports the protection of critical resources in New Hampshire, including scenic lands, historic sites and artifacts, plants and wildlife.

The BCC Conservation Fund receives 100% of the Land Use Change Tax, the 10% market value penalty when land is converted from Current Use. The Commission has used the Fund to protect a number of significant properties throughout town since it was established. The BCC manages just about 700 acres of property that has either been purchased or given to the Town. Properties fronting on the Tioga River have special significance to the BCC’s conservation priorities.

Route 140
188 acres of wetlands with frontage along the Tioga River
Public access
May 2012

In 2004, the Town of Belmont stepped in to rescue Tioga Marsh. The owner had been filling in sections so he could develop the property, ignoring multiple wetlands protection rules. The area is one of the highest ranked wetlands in Belmont and as such is an invaluable habitat for many flora and fauna. When the town saw what was happening, it offered to buy the land and the owner agreed. Since then, with new growth in the damaged areas, you would be hard pressed to spot the where the harm was done.

Despite being safe from development the wetlands face another problem; an infestation of the invasive plant, glossy buckthorn. This woody shrub was brought here from Europe and Asia by landscapers about a hundred years ago who thought its dark berries and thick leaves made it a fine ornamental shrub. But it likes marshes, grows quickly and keeps its leaves late in the season, all of which combine to squeeze out local plants.

Rick Ball, Belmont’s Land Use Technician has led the conservation efforts from the beginning to remove the glossy buckthorn. The Aquatic Resource Mitigation Fund approved a grant for the town to combat the infestation under the condition that the land was placed under easement. Belmont chose Five Rivers as a third party to handle that easement. Rick has enlisted the help of local high school students to help pull out the plants but it is likely that they will need a more efficient, mechanized approach to get the problem under control.

Tioga Marsh can be seen while driving along Route 140 and if you want to explore the land further there is a designated parking area and a walking trail that loops around the uplands portion of the property. The trail is not regularly maintained and can be hard to follow because of overgrowth. Parts of the trail also become washed out during periods of heavy rain. The best views of the marsh are from the road.