Second Tioga Marsh Property Conserved in Belmont
July 2018 – Five Rivers Conservation Trust announces 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 and Tioga Rivers. The land abuts 178 acres of land previously conserved by Five Rivers and the Town of Belmont. The BCC purchased the Tioga Marsh 2 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 and Tioga Rivers, a significant marsh/flood-plain forest that ranks among the most significant wildlife habitat in the state, and the additional land creates a block of over 250 acres of conserved land. The property is a mixture of woodlands, marsh, and floodplain-forest. The property will be managed by the BCC and 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 for and 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.
