Plans for 2025
With a fully-staffed team, 2025 is shaping up to be a fruitful year for USVLT. With many land acquisition projects, improvements to existing lands, and work building our operations, there’s a lot on our plate. Fortunately, we’ve got quite an appetite!
Chain of Ponds. After 20+ years in the making, Chain of Ponds is scheduled to be acquired in the fall of 2025. For those unaware, the Chain of Ponds Community Forest is 625 acres of forests and waters in Madison, NH. The project is only possible with the generous support of individuals like you, foundations and agencies, including $400,000 from USFS Community Forest Program grant, $350,000 from NH DES Drinking Water Groundwater Trust Fund and $250,000 from NH’s Land and Community Heritage Investment Program. Our fundraising for this $1.75M project is continuing, particularly as we track federal funding decisions that could cut the USFS grant.
Jockey Cap. While Jockey Cap may be preserved, there’s still work to be done. Phase III is all about improving and repairing the two trails, making the Jockey Cap experience more enjoyable for hikers and climbers alike. This includes constructing timber steps and retaining structures addressing the severe erosion on the 200 foot Climber Access Trail; construction of a timber staircase along the 1,000 foot Summit Trail; and the closing and restoration of 160 feet of redundant and severely eroded trails. We are working with AMC to rebuild these trails at a cost of $151,000.
Land Action. Many of our in-the-works projects must remain anonymous out of respect for the property owners, but we’re still excited to share what we can. We are currently working on 10 new land projects in 2025 with another 11 additional active projects in the works. Conservation agreements are being worked on in Fryeburg, Albany, Madison, Brownfield and Conway, totaling over 1,400 acres. Additionally, 925 acres at four land acquisition projects are underway in Madison and Bartlett, three of which are being generously donated.
Stewardship. With 86 properties, including 21 preserves and 65 easements, and over 12,000 acres, we conserve the farms, wildlife habitats, forests, scenic beauty, and community well-being of the Upper Saco Valley. In addition to our regular monitoring work, we are focusing on addressing invasive plant species at several properties, creating consistent signage and replacing worn kiosks, and trail improvements.
Operations. While our major focus is on land conservation, our internal operations are critical to making that work possible. We are excited to receive two grants focused on three areas of our infrastructure to improve our work. The first grant supports a fundraising audit which is helping us find ways to improve our development operations. Secondly, we are working with a communications group to help us improve how we share our conservation stories, and includes an upgrade to our website. And thirdly, our Board is working with an outside expert to help us shift the focus from a working to a governing and fundraising board. In addition to this work, we are also bringing back regular programs (formerly named Easement Explorations) that encourage everyone to get out on the land.
Stay tuned for more information on all these topics and more!
