Forest Society preserves 230 acres of private land near Mt. Kearsarge summit

A full 108 years after the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests bought the first parcel of land on Mt. Kearsarge to keep it from development — a move that led to the creation of a state forest and two state parks — the organization has preserved another 230 acres near the summit. 

The purchase is one of the final remaining private parcels within the boundaries of Mt. Kearsarge State Forest.

“For over a century, the Forest Society has worked to protect the lands on and around Mt. Kearsarge with the goal of holding them in the public trust,” said Jack Savage, president of the Forest Society. “Had it not been conserved, this land could have been developed as private camp lots, despite sitting behind the state forest gates.”

The entire $500,000 project cost was raised from private sources, thanks to the generosity of over 425 individual donors.

In 1918, the Forest Society bought 521 acres, later named Rollins Memorial Park in honor of Governor Frank West Rollins, a founder of the Forest Society. That land was transferred to the state in 1950 to establish the State Forest. The new 230-acre addition contributes to a corridor of over 9,500 acres conserved on and around the mountain through cooperation between the Forest Society, the state of New Hampshire, local towns and regional land trusts.

The newly protected land features frontage along Kearsarge Mountain Road. According to the NH Wildlife Action Plan, nearly the entire 230-acre area is ranked as Tier 1 habitat, the highest designation for biological diversity in the state.

Mt. Kearsarge remains one of the most accessible peaks in the region, the site of two state parks — Winslow and Rollins — as well as the state forest.

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