Belmont – Tioga Marsh 2
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.
