Preserving a Family Legacy – Conserving Water Resources Along the Warner River
Article and photos by Karinne Heise (May 2023)
May 2023 – To honor his family’s legacy as longtime landowners in Hopkinton, David Dustin is pursuing a conservation easement with Five Rivers. On the first Friday in May, Dave leads me uphill toward one of his property’s special attractions – a high promontory overlooking the Warner River. Trailing Arbutrus is blooming amidst vibrant green moss on the bluff, but the small white mayflower is easy to overlook because of the captivating sight of the sunlit river flowing at the bottom of a steep, sandy embankment. The riverscape that Dave’s ancestors surveyed when they acquired this land over 200 years ago must have been stunning then, too.
One of Dave’s earliest childhood memories is of sitting in a horse drawn wagon driven by his grandfather, Daniel Herbert Dustin, as his father and cousins pitched hay into the bed. His grandfather managed the 250-acre family farm without a motorized tractor. Sheep and cattle and horses grazed in pastureland, and hayfields provided food for the farm animals in the winter. Much of the property was forested, too, and Dave can point to where his father, Eben Dustin, grew pines for a 4H project. According to Dave, a conservation easement would be consistent with his father’s wish to keep the land in its natural state and accessible to the public.
Dave says that protecting the land from development and opening the trails for recreation would also be “good to do for the town.” At his church’s 2020 Christmas cookie exchange, an outdoor event because of Covid, Dave approached Dijit Taylor, the Chair of Hopkinton’s Open Space Committee, about the possibility of conserving his property. Her committee advises the town’s Select Board about projects worth funding for open space protection, and Dave’s property, with its riverfront location, recreation possibilities, and proximity to other protected lands, easily meets the committee’s selection criteria. Also, as Dijit notes, “It’s beautiful!”
The Dustin property abuts Bohanan Farm as well as Dan and Missy Dustin’s land, both also conserved by Five Rivers. Not only do trails link the three properties, but years of friendship and neighborly cooperation connect the Dustin and Bohanan families. At one of the trail junctions, Dave points to “The Plain,” a meadow with knee-high grass blowing in the breeze, and tells me about the families’ historic land swap. Eager to keep “The Plain” cultivated even though they were no longer farming, the Dustins traded “The Plain” for an equivalent amount of Bohanan forest. The Bohanans now use this parcel for corn and hay to feed their cows while the Dustins enjoy the view of the open field, which also holds many family memories.
A history major in college, Dave values the story-rich landscape surrounding his home. He notes that his forebears built the stone walls on his property and tells me about the U.S. Consul who introduced Merino sheep to New England in the early 19th century. I also enjoy learning about the wooden bridge that his father, siblings and a “brood of cousins” would cross near the confluence of the Warner and Contoocook Rivers to get to and from school. A gifted storyteller, Dave ends his tale by noting “that it all happened right here in River City.”
Dave’s allusion to lyrics from the 1950s Broadway hit The Music Man is fitting for a trombone player who founded the Tall Granite Big Band, a seventeen-piece dance band that performs all over the state. And “River City” certainly suits the three-river town of Hopkinton. Dave’s wife Kathi designed the beautiful log home that they built on their property along the Warner River. Since most of their land is listed as highest ranked wildlife habitat in the Granite State, it’s not too surprising that the Dustins have spotted lots of wildlife – deer, bears, wild turkeys – from their riverside perch.
Looking ahead, Dave will count on the expertise of Five Rivers to help him maintain this lush wildlife habitat while also promoting community access to his trail network. The old logging road we follow tunnels through a mature stand of white pines and hemlocks. The woods are alive with chickadees and black-throated green warblers and family stories—and the hope that future generations will have the chance to hear all this music, too.
About the Project
Conserving Dave and Kathi Dustin’s land on the Warner River is an active collaboration between Five Rivers Conservation Trust and the Town of Hopkinton. To date, the project has secured funding from the Town of Hopkinton Conservation Commission, an anonymous private donor, and grants from the State of New Hampshire’s Drinking Water and Ground Water Trust Fund and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Local Source Water Protection Program. Five Rivers and the Hopkinton Open Space Committee are working on additional grant applications to secure the remaining funding needed to complete the project. If all goes well, this property will be conserved by late 2024!
