Help protect nearly 400 acres on the slopes of Mount Monadnock
The Forest Society is working to conserve 390 acres in Jaffrey and Marlborough that would add to more than 6,400 acres of land we currently protect on Mount Monadnock and Gap Mountain, much of which is leased to the state and operated as Monadnock State Park.
The conservation of these lands will also protect the panoramic forested mountain views of Mount Monadnock, which are widely visible from across the region. Photos (including home page photo) by Jeff Sluder.
Critical Access to Key Trails
Protecting these lands will guarantee that important sections of active hiking trails will continue to be maintained and open to the public under Forest Society stewardship. One of the two parcels that we seek to conserve includes a key section of the Marlboro Trail, one of the main routes to Monadnock's summit.
The other parcel, which is surrounded on three sides by Forest Society land, abuts two class 6 roads that are heavily used as hiking trails, including part of a cross country ski trail that begins from the state park headquarters.
Ecological and Wildife Resources
With their forests and wetlands, these lands enhance the varied wildlife habitat that the region is renowned for. Several seasonal streams flow through one of these properties, converging into a single tributary that forms the headwaters of Mountain Brook, which supports a population of brook trout and other cold water fish. These lands also include several wetland complexes that provide important waterfowl nesting and feeding areas, as well as habitat for amphibians and reptiles. The waterways also serve as key travel corridors for mammals and birds, while the nut-producing trees provide food for black bear, deer, moose, turkeys, and many smaller animals.
Keeping an Iconic View Intact
The conservation of these lands will protect the panoramic mountain views of Mount Monadnock that are widely visible from across the region.
To ensure the permanent protection and stewardship of this land, we must raise $388,000. Your gift by March 20 will guarantee that it will remain open to the public and continue to provide food and shelter for moose, bear, and other wildlife.
For a gift of $50 or more you'll receive a full-color, waterproof Trail Map and Guide to Grand Monadnock with Gap Mountain and the surrounding area (1.0 MB JPEG)! 
Help the Forest Society Fight Northern Pass
More than a century ago, the Forest Society fought to protect New Hampshire's forests from the devastation wrought by unsustainable logging practices. During the 1800s, private landowners in New Hampshire's North Country laid waste to entire landscapes, cutting and hauling millions of board feet of pulp and lumber out of the White Mountains with no thought to future resources or the damaging consequences of aggressive overcutting.
These abuses motivated the Forest Society to advocate for the passage of the Weeks Act, which led to the creation of the White Mountain National Forest.
Today, New Hampshire's forests face a new threat: Northern Pass.
This high-voltage electricity transmission project would involve the construction of 180 miles of giant steel towers from the Canadian border to Deerfield, just south of Manchester.
The Forest Society believes that this project as it's currently proposed will be as bad for New Hampshire, its people, its economy, and its forests as the unsustainable over-logging practices of the 19th century once were.
Northern Pass devalues forests and lands. Our state's picturesque landscapes bring millions of visitors to New Hampshire every year and are a cornerstone of our tourism economy. At 135 feet, these obtrusive towers would be much taller than the surrounding trees, dominating the landscape and permanently altering the ground over which they crossed. The proposed transmission lines would have a severe impact on both our natural landscape and scenic views and would lower property values on which landowners and communities depend.
Northern Pass threatens already conserved lands. Lands that have been permanently conserved – including the White Mountain National Forest – have been protected to prevent the very kind of degradation proposed by Northern Pass. We have a legal and ethical obligation to defend the public benefits of these lands from unnecessary commercial developments like Northern Pass.
Northern Pass threatens local renewable energy suppliers. The Northern Pass proposal will jeopardize local markets for wood-energy and the jobs they support.
Northern Pass is bad for New Hampshire.
If you believe as we do that these towers would cost the state more jobs than they would provide, would lower property values, and would create an unnecessary and permanent scar on New Hampshire's landscape, please help us.
Please donate to the Trees NOT Towers campaign. Your contribution will be used exclusively to fight the proposed Northern Pass.
We don't fight battles on this scale very often. But when the threat to our landscape, our economy, and our way of life is real, the Forest Society rises to defend them.
Please join us.
Make your check payable to Forest Society/Northern Pass. For more information about making a donation, please contact Susanne Kibler-Hacker at 603-224-9945, or email  .
For details about the Northern Pass project, or to receive regular updates about Northern Pass and opportunities to make your voice heard, visit www.forestsociety.org/np.
Help Us Spread the Word about Forest Society Reservations
In an increasingly uncertain world, there's comfort in knowing that there are special, quintessential pockets of our state where our natural values still grow strong.
The Forest Society owns more than 165 reservations in over 95 New Hampshire communities. We invite you enjoy our properties, to return to your roots and reconnect with the natural world. We conserved these lands to save a place for wildlife, to promote sustainable forestry, and to share their natural beauty and tranquility with Forest Society members and visitors.
The Forest Society owns more than 165 reservations that are open to the public, like the Evelyn H. & Albert D. Morse, Sr. Preserve featured here.
Photo by Jerry and Marcy Monkman, EcoPhotography.
All of our properties are open to the public, and many offer a complete recreational experience with designated parking, kiosks, maps, and trails. We hope you visit these gems and share your experiences with us.
Curious if there's a Forest Society reservation nearby for a casual nature walk or a weekend adventure? We're developing an Online Guide to Our Lands to help you find one. When complete, the Online Guide to Our Lands will feature maps, photographs, trails, descriptions, and a short history of each Forest Society reservation. (The test version can be viewed at here.)
But pulling these resources together will require time and resources – $10,000 worth – to feature the first group of 40 reservations.
We need your help. We've barely scratched the surface, and we still have a long way to go. Please make your gift today, and help us share these special places.
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