Photo: Anne Skidmore Photography

Chain of Ponds Community Forest

Introduction

USVLT is partnering with The Conservation Fund and the Town of Madison to purchase Chain of Ponds Community Forest - 625 acres of forestland and inland waters in Madison, NH. This land contains headwaters of Pequawket Brook and Silver Lake’s North Inlet, and we need your financial support to protect this special place. A project 20+ years in the making, we are actively working to raise more than $1.7 million from state and federal grant makers, local foundations, and individual contributions.

The closing on Chain of Ponds is scheduled for the late summer or fall of 2025. While we originally aimed to close by the end of 2024, the project was delayed due to surveying and legal schedules.

About Chain of Ponds

Chain of Ponds Community Forest contains an ecologically important glacial-trough-valley featuring approximately 110 acres of wetlands and surface waters, over 300 acres of mapped aquifer, 4 miles of surface water frontage along several ponds and streams, glacial eskers, as well as cliff and talus slopes.

Due to the significant gravel deposits found within the esker complex on the property there is a substantial threat of the lands being acquired for extractive gravel mining which would pose a dire threat to the quality of groundwater resources, and be detrimental to the overall health and integrity of important natural communities found on the land.

The Chain of Ponds Community Forest is important to conserving the Silver Lake watershed, providing many benefits for residents and visitors including:

Protection of public and private drinking water supplies in Silver Lake, Madison, and further
downstream in Ossipee.
High priority protection of biodiversity and wildlife habitat, including threatened plants,
fish, and birds, as well as unique geologic features including kettle hole bogs, and eskers.
Public recreational opportunities for all ages such as hiking, biking, paddling, birding,
fishing, and snowshoeing on an existing network of trails.
Experiential learning opportunities for area students (Madison Elementary School sits 0.6
miles from the southern access point to the property).
Sustainable forestry operations that emphasize forest health, with restrictions prohibiting
commercial harvesting within 200 feet of wetlands, streams, and ponds.
Substantial carbon sequestration values.

Thank you to Joe Klementovich for making this incredible video

Funding

This project will require support from government grants, private foundations, and individual gifts.

Public Support

You can help protect and care for Chain of Ponds Community Forest by making a restricted gift. We are pleased to announce that public support is now over $110,000, and we can use your help.

Your contribution will be used for the protection and care of Madison's Chain of Ponds Community Forest. You can make a donation online. Or you can send a check, payable to "Upper Saco Valley Land Trust," to P.O. Box 111, Conway, NH 03818. Please put "Chain of Ponds Community Forest" in the memo line if you wish for your gift to be used only for Chain of Ponds Community Forest. Learn more about donating to USVLT.

Grant Support

To date, the following funders have joined with us to support Chain of Ponds Community Forest:

An anonymous foundation grant of $300,000
LCHIP grant of $250,000
USFS Community Forest Program grant of $400,000