The Deerfield Road Town Forest is an 82-acre tract of land located in northeast Candia. It was purchased by the Town of Candia to permanently protect this important piece of unfragmented wildlife habitat.

History of the Land Purchase

From the beginning of discussions about purchasing the property, the owner of the land made clear her wishes for it to be placed under conservation easement. A conservation easement is the most permanent method we have to protect land. Methods such as deed restrictions offer only partial protection because they are not permanent and are often broken.

Prior to the purchase of the land, a public hearing was held on May 26, 2005. At that time it was explained that a conservation easement was a requirement of the Purchase and Sales Agreement and the reasons for permanently protecting this parcel were discussed. These included:

1. The land is in a high priority area as it lies approximately midway between Bear Brook and Pawtuckaway State Parks within a large unfragmented block of important wildlife habitat.
2. The land provides pristine water resources.
3. The land is ideal for recreational use.
4. The land has excellent wildlife and forest management opportunities.
5. The purchase of this land follows the objectives of the Candia Open Space Plan and the Candia Master Plan.
   

In August of 2005, the Town of Candia purchased the land. At the March 2006 Town Meeting, the management of the property was transferred to the Candia Conservation Commission (CCC) and it was added to the town forest properties as the Deerfield Road Town Forest.

Conservation Easement

After the purchase of the land, the CCC researched local land trusts and chose Bear-Paw Regional Greenways to monitor the easement. Since the Deerfield Road Town Forest will be the first town-owned land in Candia to be put under conservation easement, it may help to explain how a conservation easement works.

A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement between a landowner and an easement holder. The effect of this agreement is to ensure the permanent protection of the land while leaving its use and management in the hands of the landowner. In order to accomplish this, the landowner agrees to conserve the land and its resources by giving up the right to use the land for development or mining, thereby permanently protecting the significant natural resources that exist on the property for us and generations to come. To make sure the terms of the easement are upheld, the landowner enlists an organization to monitor the land annually. The organization is known as the grantee or easement holder.

It is a misconception that placing a conservation easement on land grants property rights to the easement holder. The development rights of the property are extinguished — not transferred, by a conservation easement. The only right Bear-Paw will have as the easement holder is the right to access the property for annual monitoring.

The CCC and Bear-Paw Regional Greenways have been working on a draft of the easement, and will hold a public hearing on it on Thursday, January 31, 2008. It is available for your review and comments:
Deerfield Road Town Forest Conservation Easement Draft (October 1, 2007)

Warrant Article 34

Although the land was purchased with money from the conservation fund with the full understanding it would be placed under conservation easement as specified in the Purchase and Sales Agreement, the town must vote to do so. Therefore, the CCC has submitted Article 35 to that effect to the 2008 Town Warrant. It will read:

Article 34: To see if the Town will vote to grant a conservation easement on Town-owned property known as Map 401, Lot 1-1, further described as the Deerfield Road Town Forest, in accordance with the terms of the Purchase and Sales Agreement signed by the Candia Board of Selectmen and Mary Girard on July 11, 2005. (By request of the Conservation Commission.)