Historic farm property conserved in Milton

From left to right, Michelle Beauchamp, Milton Town Clerk; Selectman Tom Gray, Jonathan and Anne Nute; Art Slocum, MMRG Chair; Cynthia Wyatt, MCC Chair, Selectman Mike Beaulieu; and David Levin of MCC. (Courtesy photo)

MILTON - Thirty-seven acres of land between Governors and Hare roads in Milton  have been preserved in perpetuity through two contiguous conservation easements donated to the town by landowners Jonathan and Anne Nute.

The donation and permanent conservation of the property was made official on Dec. 3 at the Milton Town Hall when the easement documents were signed by the Nutes and Milton Selectmen Tom Gray and Mike Beaulieu.

As holder of the easements, the Town of Milton takes responsibility for ensuring that the properties remain undeveloped and that other easement conditions are met.  Also signing was Art Slocum, Chair of Moose Mountains Regional Greenways (MMRG), which is taking ‘executory’ interest in the easements, as a backup to the town.

Also present were Cynthia Wyatt, Chair of the Milton Conservation Commission and MMRG Vice Chair; David Levin, Milton Conservation Commissioner and MMRG Director; Michelle Beauchamp, Milton Town Clerk; and Kim Ladisheff, Milton Land Use Clerk (not in photo).

The property, a registered Tree Farm with historic stone walls, has been in the Nute family since 1850, when, according to Jonathan Nute, “it was one of many prosperous farms along the Ridge.” Since then, most farms have been replaced by houses and the Nutes wish to preserve this remaining undeveloped area of the Ridge. Said Jonathan, “These easements protect 37 acres of working forest and more than 1,600 feet of road frontage.  In 1937, my grandfather and father planted white pine trees on the property, some of which have been already harvested; another thinning is planned soon. Knowing that this property will remain forestland, preserved in partnership with the Town and MMRG, really gives us peace of mind and helps to honor all those generations in the past.”

Moose Mountain Regional Greenways (MMRG) collaborated closely with the Milton Conservation Commission (MCC) and the Nutes to work out the details of the easement. To assist the project, MMRG donated the consulting work of their Director for Land Conservation, Keith Fletcher. Accepting this executory interest is the first step as a land trust for MMRG, which decided earlier this year to begin holding conservation easements.

Cynthia Wyatt, MCC Chair, explained that the Commission has set aside money from its conservation fund to enable it to carry out its future stewardship responsibilities and monitor the property yearly. The MCC undertakes this monitoring on all conserved town properties to protect their natural resources: forest, field, and most importantly, water resources.

Even with donated easements such as these generously offered by Jon and Anne Nute, financial partnerships like that between the MCC and MMRG are usually necessary to complete a conservation project. Furthermore, some easements may be beyond the ability of Milton’s Conservation Commission to hold but still essential to preserving natural resources that are vital to Milton’s economic health, in particular, the water quality of Three Ponds and the Salmon Falls River. “For these reasons,” mentioned Wyatt, “the Conservation Commission would like to be able to financially support Milton conservation projects in which the easement will be held by a private nonprofit land trust. To authorize this type of financial transaction, the MCC will have a warrant article on the 2014 ballot asking the town to approve use of the Milton Conservation Fund to assist organizations like MMRG and other land trusts to conserve properties in Milton.”

For more information on the Milton Conservation Commission, see their webpage http://www.miltonnh-us.com/conscomm.php. Fore more info on MMRG, visit www.mmrg.info.