CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire communities own more than 180,000 acres (72,845 million hectares) of undeveloped forests, fields and wetlands that generate nearly $146 million in economic benefits, according to a report released Wednesday.
That’s nearly 4 percent of the state’s total forestland. Two thirds of that land is protected from development or sale.
Researchers estimate the total economic benefits of community-owned land include $54 million from recreational users and more than $92 million from forest-related industries such as logging, milling, wood-products manufacturing and the maple industry.
“Town-owned conservation lands are an often overlooked and underused resource,” said Karen Bennett, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension forestry professor and specialist. “We’re now able to talk about town forests in terms of millions of dollars of annual economic and ecological contributions - important information when working to persuade people that town forests are worthy of owning, protecting and managing.”
The cooperative extension, the New Hampshire Association of Conservation Commissions and the Northern Forest Center researched community ownership of the undeveloped lands and developed a statewide forest inventory.
Some communities have official Town Forests, but don’t automatically have permanent conservation protection. The association plans to develop more tools to help towns with forestland acquisition and management.
“This project allowed us to quantify the combined contributions these lands are making toward clean air, clean water, and conserved lands for natural communities and habitat,” said Julie Renaud Evans of the Northern Forest Center. “The study brings awareness to town forest land as a resource for stewardship, recreation, and education.”
One of the towns that owns the most property is Randolph with 10,688 acres (4,325 hectares). The town received title to a parcel of land in 2001, subject to a conservation easement held by the state. The Randolph Community Forest is open to the public for outdoor recreation. A planning board approves timber harvests and other proposals.
The state says forests occupy 81 percent, or 4.8 million acres (1.9 million hectares) in New Hampshire.
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