DECEMBER 2021 2021 GRANT RECIPIENTS PREVIOUS GRANT RECIPIENTS CONTACT US Welcome! LCHIP is pleased and excited to announce the 2021 grant award recipients! The forty new projects are listed at the end of this issue of the newsletter, with two highlighted here. The grants total $4.7 million and include ten natural resource projects ranging in size from eleven acres in Wolfeboro to 2,700+ in Shelburne. The historic resource projects range in date from 1738 in Salem to 1906 in Wilmot. As always, the LCHIP Board of Directors worked hard and successfully to allocate the funding to the projects that best fit LCHIP’s mission and that have the greatest chance of success.    Winter holidays are upon us. I wish you joy in your celebrations and much enjoyment of New Hampshire’s natural, cultural and historic resources as the winter unfolds. Dijit Taylor Executive Director

Protecting New Hampshire's Natural, Historic, and Cultural Resources

Growing the Piscassic Greenway Thirty-Two Acres Added

The 445-acre Piscassic Greenway’s four-mile-long trail system in Newfields and Newmarket has long been popular with walkers, bikers, bird-watchers, photographers and other outdoor enthusiasts. In 2020 the popular trail system, which links to the Rockingham Recreational Trail, saw an unprecedented increase in use, highlighting the need to expand access to trails in the heavily populated seacoast region. A $150,000 LCHIP grant will help the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire add 32 acres to the Greenway, preserving sweeping views from the trail system and strengthening important water quality and wildlife habitat protection. Plan your visit HERE. Photo: Jeffrey Goldknopf

Come One, Come All!

New Hampton's Huckins Farm Welcomes Visitors

People traveling Magoon Road in New Hampton are welcomed to stop by Huckins Farm to sample the milk, cheeses and yogurts which are sold at the farm and at retail stores state-wide. Visitors enjoy spectacular views of the Lakes Region from the fields of this iconic New Hampshire hill farm, fields that were among the first areas cleared for agricultural use in the town. This sixth-generation farm has been owned by the same family for more than a century. It stands as one of only four remaining commercial dairy farms in all of Belknap County. The Lakes Region Conservation Trust has been awarded $236,500 to acquire a 127-agricultural land easement on the farm, helping to ensure these fields remain available for farming far into the future.

A Narrow Escape!

Belmont’s Gale School and Manchester’s Chandler House Saved from Demolition

Belmont’s Gale School – constructed in 1894 with a bequest by Laconia banker Napoleon Gale – served the community for a century before being shuttered in 1985. A group of citizens concerned about its planned demolition formed Save Our Gale School (SOGS) and worked for a quarter of a century to realize this goal. They found a partner with Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD). SOGS would move the building and LRDG would seek redevelop it. The building was moved in the summer of 2020. A 2021 LCHIP grant of $369,000 will assist with the building’s comprehensive rehabilitation. The anticipated new use is as a community center for the developmentally disabled and as a child-care center, restoring the prominent role that the structure once played in the community with children and families.

The Chandler House in Manchester followed a similar arc: George Byron Chandler – also a banker – built the house in two phases, one in 1863 and another in 1888. Following his death, his widow sold the property to the Catholic Church, which used it as a home for the bishop and for religious orders for a century. With a demolition permit pending, a community group formed to save the building. By fall 2020, the building’s neighbor, the Currier Museum of Art, was able to purchase the property. A $300,000 LCHIP grant will fund a comprehensive rehabilitation. When complete, the house will be open for public tours, art classes, and community group gatherings.

Don’t Be Late! Monitoring Reports Due at Year End December 31, 2021 is the due date for annual monitoring reports from previous grant recipients. This is both a legal obligation and an opportunity to be eligible for annual monitoring incentive payments. Download report form from LCHIP's website. Email your reports to kpowell@lchip.org (historic resources) or Pbellemore@lchip.org (natural resources).  Questions? Call (603) 224-4113. 

Congratulations to all 2021 LCHIP Grant Recipients

Alstead - Kroka Farm Conservation Easement Andover Town Hall Andover - Potter Place Railroad Station Antrim Grange Hall Belmont - Gale School Berlin - St. Anne Church Charlestown - Former Connecticut River Bank Claremont City Hall / Opera House Conway - Pine Hill Community Forest Cornish - Beaman Casino House Derry - Old Academy Building Dover - First Parish Church Durham - Bickford-Chesley House Exeter - Wiggin-Raynes Barn Francestown - Rand Brook Connectivity Franklin Congregational Christian Church Gilmanton - Old Town Hall Grafton Center Meetinghouse Greenland - Great Bay Farm Jackson Community Church Keene Unitarian Universalist Church Langdon Congregational Church Manchester - Chandler House Mont Vernon Town Hall Nashua - First Church New Hampton - Huckins Farm Newmarket - Piscassic Greenway Newport Opera House Rochester - Champlin Forest Addition Rye - St. Andrew’s By-the-Sea Salem Old Town Hall Shelburne - Bald Cap Peak Shelburne Valley Forest Initiative South Sutton Meetinghouse Wakefield - Union Hotel Wakefield - Drew Mill Dam North Wilmot Union Meetinghouse Wilmot Town Hall Wolfeboro - Whiteface Access Lot Acquisition Statewide - Preservation Planning Grants

Farewell and Welcome at the Office Manager's Desk

Barb Beers served as LCHIP’s Office Manager from February 2016 until December 2021. A retired science teacher, Barb excelled at coaching LCHIP applicants through the “mysteries” of the LCHIP website and fillable PDF forms. Her calm presence at the LCHIP end of telephone calls and email reassured many applicants that success was possible. Staff especially appreciated her ability to predict and avoid any number of possible undesired outcomes. Barb is also a skilled amateur photographer, capturing images of many LCHIP sites. Farewell Barb! We wish you much happiness in your re-retirement and great enjoyment of more time outdoors engaged in your favorite activity, birding.

LCHIP welcomes Katie Midolo as the new Office Manager. Katie moved to New Hampshire from Minnesota in 2018 and is happily settled in, enjoying the many opportunities for outdoor recreation. Katie is returning to the workforce after some years as a stay-at-home parent. Her previous professional experiences were as an educator. Since coming to Concord, she has been an active volunteer, serving as President of the Junior Service League of Concord. Because of COVID-related restrictions, Katie’s early training/overlap with Barb was carried out on Zoom instead of in person, but it seems to have been effective. She is off to a flying start, enjoying and flourishing in the new position. Welcome Katie!

The NH Conservation License Plate (Moose Plate) Program supports the protection of critical resources in our state. You can purchase a Moose Plate at any time - even for a friend! Find out more at mooseplate.com. Income from the Moose Plate Program pays for much of LCHIP's administrative expenses. Thanks Moose Plate holders for your support!

Header photo:  Project proponents and LCHIP Review Panel check out Salem's Old Town Hall

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