Hanover
The Hanover Conservancy last week announced the acquisition of Britton Forest, a 79-acre parcel near Moose Mountain’s North Peak, in a gift from Norwich couple Doug and Katharine Britton. The donation increases to 503 the number of acres of protected lands owned or managed by the Hanover Conservancy on Moose, the hulking 8-mile ridge occupying the spine of Hanover’s eastern limits and containing the town’s highest summit at 2,303 feet.
A former timber lot owned and managed by Britton Lumber Co., the parcel had been identified as a high priority for protection by Hanover Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to conservation. The entirely forested land directly abuts a 92-acre parcel gifted to the Hanover Conservancy five years ago, Mayor-Niles Forest, as well as the Appalachian Trail, an important corridor for both hikers and wildlife.
“We set strategic conservation priorities, and Britton Forest checks off all our boxes,” said Adair Mulligan, Hanover Conservancy executive director. “It provides valuable wildlife habitat in a high-elevation area that has potential for trail growth. We’re very excited about it.”
Mulligan said the creation of Britton Forest augments a pair of broader initiatives, including the Quabbin-to-Cardigan Partnership, which is aiming to conserve a 100-mile corridor from north-central Massachusetts to the White Mountains. The other is the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership, a collaboration between the A.T. Conservancy and National Park Service to protect natural areas surrounding the trail.
Hawk Metheny, New England regional director for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, applauded efforts to conserve Britton Forest. In fact, Doug Britton had already sold land to the U.S. government in the 1980s as part of the latter’s goal to create 500-foot buffer zones on either side of the trail. Today, the A.T. is the only of the United States’ 11 long-distance National Scenic trails to have those 500-foot buffer zones throughout its length.
“Scientific research has shown that the A.T. provides important connectivity for wildlife habitat, which I know is also a priority of the Hanover Conservancy,” said Metheny, whose office is in White River Junction. “There is a healthy black bear population in that area, for example, and having additional conservation acreage allows them to thrive better. It also helps trail visitors when there is more conserved land because it creates less of a sense of development and additional access to wild areas, especially when there are side trails.”
High-elevation, wooded areas such as Britton Forest also help to mitigate the effects of climate change, Mulligan noted. Located within the watershed of Hewes Brook, the land’s rich soils and root systems help prevent flooding during major storm events.
“These huge, 500-year storms are happening every couple of years now, and we have to protect our sponges,” Mulligan said. “There has to be a place for the water to be stored or else it will flood the neighborhoods below.”
The land currently is accessible off of Class VI Plummer Hill Road on a path known as Harris Trail. Hanover Conservancy plans to expand public access and embark on trail-building efforts in Britton Forest following an inventory of natural features that can take up to a year to complete.
“Our policy is to observe the land over time, study the soil and drainage patterns so that we can build a sustainable trail network with minimal impact to the landscape,” Mulligan said. “Once that inventory is complete, we’ll put together a complete management plan.”
Britton Forest was last harvested for timber about 35 years ago, Doug Britton said, in part because of a battle with the saddled prominent moth, an invasive insect that threatened numerous tree species, especially maple.
“At the time, it was recommended to us that we do a fairly heavy cut to help slow the spread of the moth,” said Doug Britton, 57, who sold Britton Lumber nearly five years ago. “We did cut fairly heavily, but it hasn’t been touched since then.”
The land had been in the Britton family for about 75 years, first acquired by Britton’s grandfather, Alan Britton Sr., in the late 1940s as a lumber company asset.
Doug Britton said that John Niles, the former owner of abutting land gifted to the Hanover Conservancy, helped convince him to do the same with his own property.
“John strongly encouraged me to follow his lead, and after a couple years passed, I realized we weren’t going to be using it,” Doug Britton said. “Then I watched a presentation by the Hanover Conservancy about conservation properties, and it was clear that our land was high on the list (for conservation). We thought about keeping 1 to 2 acres for a camp but ultimately decided the best move would be to gift all of it.”
The Brittons also made a financial donation to assist in the land’s transition to a conservation area, including the upcoming natural resource inventory and future trail work.
“We think it can be enhanced for recreation purposes without interrupting the wildlife habitat,” Britton said. “We think it will be a nice mix.”
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.