UVLT Conserves Rocky Hill Farm Meadows
"Farmland is a precious comodity," said Upper Valley Land Trust Conservation Project Manager Megan Chapman, "there is only a finite amount of it and when it's gone, it's gone. Conserving it is one way of making sure it stays available as agricultural land into the future." Chapman spends most of her time working with farmers interested in preserving their farms for future generations. Most recently she worked with Dale and Jackie Lewis of Haverhill, NH to protect their 40 acres of farmland adjacent to Bedell Bridge State Park.
Rocky Hill Farm Meadows is located along Meadow Lane in Haverhill, NH and consists of 40 acres of gently sloping, scenic fields. The Lewises used to use the property to grow corn for their dairy cows. Now the property is rented to another local dairy farmer to support his operation.
The New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan ranks 22 acres of Rocky Hill Farm Meadows to be of the highest ranked habitat in the biological region. The property is located close by two other UVLT agricultural conservation easements. It is the 13thconservation easement held by UVLT in Haverhill, bringing our conserved acreage in that town to over 1200 acres.
With momentum gaining in Haverhill, UVLT plans for more farmland conservation projects in the northern portion of its service area. The USDA-funded Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), the Upper Valley Farmland Protection Initiative, of which UVLT is the lead, is seeking farmers and farmland owners in Grafton and Sullivan Counties who may be interested in conserving their farmland.
UVLT recently hosted an informational gathering to introduce the new program and highlight the work they and others do in support of farmers and farming, at the County Complex in North Haverhill. Supported by the Grafton County Conservation District, Vital Communities, and Land for Good, they discussed the more flexible and unique aspects to the farmland conservation program, such as a dedicated funding source, and the benefits it provides the landowner and their communities. Another event is planned for Sullivan County this summer.
The Rocky Hill Farm Meadow conservation project was supported with funds from the sale of the Conservation License Plate (Moose Plate) through the NH State Conservation Committee Grant Program, with funds provided by NRCS, and with assistance from the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program.
