Easement allows Moultonborough and the Conservation Trust to preserve valuable watershed

MOULTONBOROUGH — The Lakes Region Conservation Trust and the town of Moultonborough signed on as partners in the Moultonborough Falls Conservation Area. Both parties signed easement documents on June 4 to preserve the Moultonborough Falls Conservation Area in perpetuity for the use and enjoyment of the community and visitors.

Work on the documents has taken more than a year to complete. The Moultonborough Conservation Commission now will be able to develop plans for a parking area and trails, and the Lakes Region Conservation Trust will monitor the area over the years.

Once a parking area and trails are created, the Moultonborough Falls Conservation Area will be open to recreational and educational activities, including hiking, snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, picnicking, and cross-country skiing.

The town purchased the land of August 2018, after voters at the 2018 Moultonborough Town Meeting agreed to the acquisition. The Moultonborough Conservation Commission raised the money to buy the land and build a parking area and trails.

The Moultonborough Falls Conservation Area is a 37-acre parcel with 3,800 feet of shoreline on Lees Pond and the Red Hill River. The property is an integral part of the Red Hill River Watershed and will support the protection of the water quality in the Moultonborough Bay inlet. It connects to preserved land along the Red Hill River in Sandwich and Garland Pond in Moultonborough.

Moultonborough's 2016 Natural Resource Inventory identified the conservation area as a high-priority wildlife habitat area. The land extends a wildlife corridor from Red Hill to Lees Pond. The extensive marsh area along the shoreline provides habitat for birds, waterfowl and other aquatic animals.

The parcel also shares in the early history of Moultonborough. Moultonborough Falls, a thriving village of the 1800s, was located in that area, at the intersection of Route 25 and Sheridan Road, and several of the foundations remain.

There has been significant progress in recent years to save environmentally sensitive land in the Red Hill River Watershed area. The Red Hill River flows through Sandwich and Moultonborough into Lake Winnipesaukee at Moultonborough Bay. The Red Hill River Watershed includes Berry Pond, Garland Pond and Lees Pond and is one of a number of such watersheds that surround Lake Winnipesaukee. There is a concern that overdevelopment in the area may decrease water quality.

The community’s and friends’ financial support and good will were essential as the commission worked to purchase and provide an easement for the property.