Lebanon
The wooded parcel positioned between Dulac Street, Slayton Hill Road and Storrs Hill Ski Area is considered a high priority for conservation because it includes roughly 14 acres of wetlands. The land has 875 feet of stream bank along the Mascoma River and a network of trails and historic cellar holes.
“I think it offers nice opportunities for folks who live in Lebanon who don’t own land to get out and really enjoy the outdoors,” said Peg Merrens, vice president of conservation at the Upper Valley Land Trust, according to an audio recording of a Lebanon Conservation Commission meeting last week.
The commission voted unanimously to approve the use of $125,000 from its Open Space Trust Fund to purchase the property, a decision that requires final approval of City Council in February.
The state Department of Environmental Services has agreed to provide an additional $125,000 toward the purchase, and the land trust would hold a conservation easement on the property.
Merrens said the property is one of two parcels that make up the “Ticknor Woodlands,” so-called for the family that once farmed the land. The other parcel — 76 acres to the south — has been owned by the city since 2012.
The 108-acre property under consideration was appraised at $275,000, Merrens said. However, owners Audra Smith, of Lebanon, and Lois Hull, of Enfield, agreed to a price of $250,000. They also took it off the market as the city awaited grant approvals.
“There’s quite a bit of city-owned land in the vicinity and on that hillside,” Merrens said in the recording. “Some of it’s conserved and some of it is not, but it’s all very public.”
If the sale goes through, it would tie-together city-owned properties that encompass more than 300 acres from east of Storrs Hill to Slayton Hill Road.
Wetlands, vernal pools and ruins of historic farms would all be protected as part of the purchase, Merrens said. On Ticknor Road, the land trust found old cellar holes, stone walls and a well that was once used by residents, she said.
City Historian Ed Ashey said on Sunday the unmaintained road is one of many farm roads in the area. He’s walked some of them and found the same stone walls and evidence of past settlement.
“So it is a historic piece. It would help connect the conservation lands that are already in place, so I think it’s a good idea myself,” he said of the sale.
Several city residents also spoke in favor of conserving the land at the commission meeting on Thursday, saying the sale would protect it from development and possibly save them from future floods.
Carol Works, who lives on Dulac Street, purchased her home in 1994. Seven years later, the property the city is considering was logged and her basement flooded.
“I’m just worried that if there’s any building up there, that would happen again,” she said in the audio recording of the commission meeting.
Amelia Sereen, a Slayton Hill Road resident, had similar concerns.
“I’m really delighted about this because they have repeatedly wanted to put huge developments on this land,” she said, adding she’s happy it will be preserved.
The City Council is expected to set a hearing on the property purchase when it meets later this month.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.