A kayaker enjoys the fall foliage while paddling the river. Other scenery includes all the different wildlife that can be seen, including bear, moose, deer, otter, beaver and numerous waterfowl. Submitted photo.
REGION — The Mahoosuc Land Trust and The Conservation Fund announced the “Shelburne Riverlands Project,” last week, which will protect 853 acres of land located on along an 8.7 mile part of Androscoggin River.
If fundraising is successful, the purchase will ensure that the stretch of river remains a quiet and peaceful place for anglers, kayakers, canoers and outdoor goers alike to enjoy.
The expected purchase will also protect 14 miles of river shoreline, along with an additional four miles of inland stream frontage.
The project will also include 12 mainland parcels and 22 islands.
The section of river runs from Shelburne, N.H. to the state line in Gilead.
All the land in the project will be open for quiet recreation and three mainland parcels allow for extensive trail building to occur.
The Shelburne Trails Club, already heavily involved in the community, plans to aid the MLT with trail development and eventual maintenance, after fundraising is finished and the property is officially acquired.
“I have lived in Shelburne for 58 years and I treasure the beauty of the Androscoggin Valley. The Riverlands project ensures that future generations can experience the same river that I have known,” Stan Judge said. Judge serves on the Shelburne selectboard and the town’s conservation commission.
A press release issued by MLT said the project will “provide permanent trail access over the last section of the locally-loved Philbrook Farm Inn, White Trail, to the Crow’s Nest, completing a conservation corridor from Philbrook Farm Inn to Crow Mountain Farm. The Shelburne Trails Club is very active in the community and intends to help MLT create and maintain hiking trails. The land trust will form a stewardship committee with Shelburne residents as members to help guide the management of the property.”
The press release went on to say, “the section of the river widens and is braided with oxbow and flood channel wetlands. Half of the town’s floodplain forest is contained in this project, and this land helps protect both the town and the dam from upstream and downstream flooding issues in high water events. The property provides a significant wildlife corridor along the river and also between the larger forests of the White Mountain National Forest and the Mahoosuc Mountains.”
The Riverlands Project is part of the landtrust’s “Campaign for the Androscoggin.” The campaign includes the 973-acre Tumbledown Dick Mountain, located three miles downriver in Gilead, and a section of 15,000 acre Chadbourne Tree Farm Lands.
The CTF land was recently bought by The Conservation Fund, a partner with MLT on both the Shelburne Riverlands Project and Tumbledown Dick Project.
Mahoosuc Land Trust is a nationally accredited land trust founded in 1989. It operates in both western Maine and northern NH and holds 6,132 acres of conservation easements including First Mountain and Crow Mountain Farm in Shelburne, NH, and owns 2,617 acres of properties in fee.
More information and a video of the project is available at www.mahoosuc.org.
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