Moose Mountains Regional Greenways (MMRG) was recently awarded a $31,600 matching grant from the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), which supports conservation and historic preservation projects across the state. This grant award is dedicated to the upcoming Great Meadow Expansion project that MMRG will be completing in partnership with the Town of Tuftonboro in 2023.
MMRG’s Executive Director, Jillian Eldredge, said:
“MMRG was thrilled to lend its support to this incredibly worthy project and to have the opportunity to be involved in the work of the Tuftonboro Conservation Commission to further preserve the prestigious Great Meadow wetlands complex. This is one of the premier conservation areas within our region, due to its significant natural resource values and the exemplary work of the TCC in making the complex accessible to the public as an educational and recreational destination. We look forward to upholding our commitment to stewarding this special place and working as partners with the Town of Tuftonboro in perpetuity.”
The Great Meadow Expansion project will permanently conserve an additional 20 acres of land to the 379 acre Great Meadow Preserve in Tuftonboro, a series of conserved parcels with an ecological study and conservation history spanning over 20 years. A large wetland, Great Meadow is an extremely important wildlife habitat with excellent water quality and abundant natural resources. Located at the headwaters of the Melvin River, Great Meadow also protects the Melvin Basin and Lake Winnipesaukee by capturing sediment and potentially harmful pollutants before reaching the lake.
LCHIP is a highly competitive grant program – this year, 34 conservation and historic preservation projects were awarded a total of $4.3 million dollars. Moose Mountains Regional Greenways has previously received LCHIP grants for protected lands, including the Snow Family Conservation Easement in Brookfield, NH and Leary Field and Forest in Farmington, NH. MMRG will match the award dollar for dollar, bringing total funding for the Great Meadow Expansion to $63,200.
This grant will support MMRG at a time of exciting growth and expansion for the land trust, which plans to complete six total land conservation projects by the end of 2023, protecting more than 600 acres in the Moose Mountains region. Funding will be used to support project expenses including transaction and legal fees, and stewardship responsibilities among others.
Featured photo is of MMRG Land Agent Veronica Bodge accepting the LCHIP grant award in Concord, NH with Governor Sununu, LCHIP’s board chair Ben Wilcox, and LCHIP’s executive director Paula Bellemore. Photo by Joe Klementovich.
