Letter from Cynthia Wyatt - Salmon Falls Celebration

First, I am so sorry I can't be with you all today to celebrate the accomplishment of this extremely important land protection project for Milton and the entire Salmon Falls Watershed. I am with my Mom in CT who isn't well.

I was hoping to personally thank Mr. Jappe and his family for all your efforts to forever conserve this beautiful property. My good friend Cherie Corbett lives alongside this property, and over the years our families and friends have enjoyed walking and skiing the scenic woodland trail that follows the river. So thank you Mr. Jappe and family from my family and all the other local families for helping to ensure that this spectacular land will stay open for all of us and for future generations to enjoy.

On behalf of Moose Mountains Regional Greenways, Milton’s Conservation Commission, and the Carl Siemon Family Trust, I would like to give our heartfelt thanks to The Forest Society, most especially Mike Speltz. Mike and the dedicated staff at the Forest Society spent several years securing funding, and solving a myriad of complications to realize this conservation prize. Now this property has become an important piece of the Forest Society’s vision of NH Everlasting. Our NH communities are extremely lucky to have such visionary leadership not only from the Forest Society, but also from our NH Congressional Delegation.

MMRG and Milton's Conservation Commission are so pleased to have played an important role in conserving one of the most strategic natural resource areas in our town and region. Milton’s Conservation Commission through the Natural Resource Chapter of Milton's Master Plan designated the Salmon Falls River watershed as the top priority for protection because it is the source of our public drinking water supply, and replenishes the Milton Three Ponds. MMRG has also prioritized the Salmon Falls Watershed for protection, and this property is another important step toward creating and connecting greenways throughout our MMRG region. Our family conservation lands are only a few miles from here, much of which is along the Salmon Falls River, and so our family also has a vision of connecting our easement properties with this property.

And finally, I would like to thank the Orlando and Karcher families for their generous donations of conservation easements on their properties as match properties, which helped enormously in the LCHIP grant process. Again, these properties are important pieces of the greenway puzzle we are striving to piece together to ensure our vision of preserving our scenic vistas, open spaces for wildlife and recreation, and most importantly, clean air and water for our future generations.

I leave you with an impressive comment from a scientist speaking about ANWR: “History will not judge us so much on the progress we make, but on what we allow to endure.”