Fish and Game Acquires New Wildlife Management Area in Coos County

CONTACT:
Jim Oehler, NH Fish and Game: (603) 271-0453
Josh Lynsen, The Conservation Fund: (703) 908-5809
Paula Bellmore, NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program: (603) 224-4113
October 16, 2023

Concord, NH – With facilitating support from The Conservation Fund, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHFG) purchased approximately 820 acres of land in Dummer, NH today. The expanse will be known as the Glover Farm Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and was acquired to protect its outstanding wildlife, water, and upland resources and to provide the public with recreational opportunities such as hunting and wildlife watching.

This WMA is significant because it secures regional environmental connectivity for wildlife and includes a variety of habitats such as fields, wetlands, and a diversity of forest types that support iconic Granite State game species in addition to state and federally threatened species. The WMA’s 85 acres of old fields, orchards, and shrublands support abundant upland gamebird and snowshoe hare populations and a range of pollinators and species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) such as American kestrel and bobolink. The property includes a cedar wetland, which is an active deeryard, and the woodlands have the potential to support American marten (SGCN) and lynx.

“This property is a real gem,” said NHFG Habitat Program Supervisor Jim Oehler. “Its diverse habitats already support excellent native small game populations that are enjoyed by area hunters as well as several species of conservation need. A property of this size affords the opportunity to improve habitats through field and forest management that will provide tremendous benefits to local wildlife populations and that will help to keep the landscape from becoming fragmented.”

With a total project cost of over $1.2 million, the partners involved used a combination of funds including the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife Restoration Grant Program, which is derived from a tax on firearms and ammunition, NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), the Randolph Area Conservation Opportunity Fund at the NH Charitable Foundation, and private donations secured by The Conservation Fund.

“By conserving this land and enabling the state to establish the Glover Farm Wildlife Management Area, we are ensuring locally cherished opportunities for public access and recreation, and as a result, supporting the economies and community vitality across the region,” said Sally Manikian, The Conservation Fund’s Vermont and New Hampshire Representative. “The foresight and commitment of the Glover family and the Clayson Glover Estate to see this landscape protected in perpetuity is to be commended.”

The Farm, owned by the Glover family for multiple generations, is locally beloved for its hunting and public access opportunities in addition to its scenic beauty. Nearly two years ago, the Glover family chose NHFG to be the steward of their family legacy in perpetuity. The Conservation Fund made this purchase possible by leveraging its Revolving Fund, which uses bridge capital to protect large ecologically and economically important lands from subdivision and fragmentation, allowing time for permanent conservation solutions to be implemented.

“Our grandfather Robert Glover started purchasing this property in 1912,” said Regina Saucier. “Selling it for development wasn’t an option. The entire family is so happy and relieved that our grandfather’s and father’s farm land will never be built on and that it will be left forever to New Hampshire’s wildlife and the people who enjoy it for hunting and fishing like we all did.”

Of their contribution to the project, the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program’s Executive Director Paula Bellmore said, “LCHIP is delighted to contribute to the conservation of this large parcel, land that will now be available to the public forever for a wide array of outdoor recreation activities, including hunting and wildlife watching, which are so important to the culture of the North Country and New Hampshire in general. The Glover Farm WMA also conserves the views from the Route 16 Scenic Byway, offering residents and visitors to Coos County an unobstructed perspective of the upper Androscoggin River’s mountainous backdrop.”

To learn more visit NHFG at wildlife.nh.gov, The Conservation Fund at www.conservationfund.org, and LCHIP at www.lchip.org.

The Randolph Area Conservation Opportunity Fund supports conservation projects in Coos County and neighboring communities in Vermont and Maine. To learn more visit www.nhcf.org/what-were-up-to/new-fund-to-support-conservation-projects-in-northern-new-hampshire/.