Land Protection Project Assistance

Bear-Paw's primary focus is to identify landowners interested in land protection and to assist them in accomplishing their land conservation goals through the use of reliable, voluntary techniques such as conservation easements. Conservation easements restrict the future development of land but allow it to remain in private ownership. Bear-Paw provides impartial, technical assistance to landowners and often serves as an intermediary between landowners, town officials, and other conservation partners (conservation organizations, grant programs, etc.).

Bear-Paw also works with our member towns to promote conservation planning, to identify valuable natural resource areas, to expand protected land, and to locate funding sources for land conservation projects. We encourage member towns to provide funding for conservation projects in their municipalities through a variety of ways (land use change taxes, warrant articles, etc.).



Outreach and Education

Bear-Paw uses a variety of ways to identify and educate landowners, town officials, members, and potential members about land conservation issues, the value of land protection, and our organization. Each year Bear-Paw hosts estate planning and land protection workshops, "community roundtables," fieldtrips, guided walks on conservation lands, other educational events. We also distribute a newsletter twice a year to over 1,300 landowners, town officials, members, and potential members. We generate additional funding and build awareness through our Down-from-the-Hill blue grass concerts, our annual meeting, a "Biothon," and other events that are open to the community.







Stewardship

Bear-Paw also operates a Stewardship program for monitoring the conservation easements that it holds and it actively supports conservation efforts throughout the region and New Hampshire. Bear-Paw holds twelve conservation easements that permanently protect over 900 acres of land from development. These properties are monitored annually to ensure that the natural resources that the easements were designed to protect are conserved.