A kayaker paddles west of the Shelburne Dam. Ginger Lawson
REGION — Last week, the Mahoosuc Land Trust received a $200,000 land conservation grant for their Shelburne Riverlands Project from the Randolph Area Conservation Opportunity Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
The grant is the first major one the MLT has received for the Shelburne Riverlands Project, which was announced earlier this year. The project will protect 853 acres of land located on along an 8.7 mile part of Androscoggin River. The Riverlands project will also hope to protect 14 miles of river shoreline, along with an additional four miles of inland stream frontage.
“We are thrilled about this. This is huge lift for this project,” Ginger Lawson said. Lawson is one of the people heading the Riverlands project. “The Randolph Fund likes to fund access for recreation, hunting, fishing and traditional uses — we checked all their boxes. It’s perfect conservation land.”
Lawson said two more large grant applications for the project are currently being reviewed and that they should know by the end of November how much funding they will be getting. Lawson is aiming to complete fundraising by the end of this year. Lawson said individuals who want to donate to the project are encouraged to do so. People can go to mahoosuc.org to donate and specify that their donation is for the Shelburne Riverlands project.
The MLT expects to officially close on the land in May of next year.
“The Mahoosuc Land Trust is a nationally accredited land trust founded in 1989. It operates in both western Maine and northern NH and has protected 8,600 acres of land including First Mountain and Crow Mountain Farm in Shelburne, NH.”
The Randolph Area Conservation Opportunity Fund was established in 2018 by a group of anonymous donors to help with conservation efforts in the Randolph area. The donors are hoping people in the area will donate to the fund to “increase its potential impact in the community.” People can visit give.nhcf.org/RandolphOpportunityFund. to donate.
Background on project
The Riverlands Project includes 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.
The project is unanimously supported by both the Shelburne Selectboard and Shelburne Conservation Commission.
A press release issued by MLT in the summer 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 Riverlands Project is part of MLT’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.
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