FARMINGTON, NH—Moose Mountains Regional Greenways is
pleased to announce the success of a public-private partnership that the
organization brokered with the Town of Farmington, The 500 Boys &
Girls Club of Farmington and Pike Industries, Inc. The land purchase ensures
the protection of 43 acres of land fronting the Pokomoonshine Brook just
outside the village center of Farmington, NH. The parcel is located in
a key position to support a planned multi-use trail system connecting
downtown Farmington with nearby recreation destinations, a daycare center,
and the shops and services centered around the intersection of Routes
153 and 11.
The property, zoned residential and located at the margin
of the Route 11 industrial zones, is ideally suited to provide much needed
open space where it can do the most good: accessible to the youth of the
residential districts, while simultaneously providing "green infrastructure"
adjacent to industrial sites. Open space adjacent to industrial property
helps to attract businesses that seek to relocate in communities with
an outstanding quality of life that offers recreational opportunities
for employees.
The 500 Boys & Girls Club will develop approximately
twelve acres into an athletic complex where regular sporting events will
service area youth, and where state and regional tournaments will be hosted.
In addition, water resources and wetlands are buffered by the acquisition,
protecting water quality while providing an expanse of highly scenic open
space.
Volunteers and staff from all four partner organizations
worked for more than three years to bring the purchase to a successful
conclusion. The transaction was completed with a mix of resources from
the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, the town of Farmington's
Conservation Fund, a special budget appropriation from the town of Farmington,
and funds from the 500 Boys & Girls Club fundraisers. All partner
organizations agree that Pike Industries' patience and flexibility throughout
the project lifecycle were essential to success.
"There's a lot of development pressure focused on
this corridor," said Derrick Hill of Pike Industries. "We were
happy to do this. It's a good way for us to give back to the community."
Moose Mountains Regional Greenways
facilitates land protection projects that offer community benefits while
helping to stabilize local property taxes by avoiding the costs of growth
that are associated with new residential development. In 1998 volunteers
from the towns of Brookfield, Farmington, Middleton, Milton, New Durham
and Wakefield came together for the common purpose of protecting some
of our region's most precious, irreplaceable open spaces. Moose Mountains
Regional Greenways – named after the mountain range central to our six-town
region - grew into a non-profit membership organization that assists landowners,
municipalities and others to connect islands of conservation lands into
corridors or "greenways." These connected islands provide habitat
for wildlife, protect critical drinking and surface water supplies, and
ensure that open space for recreation will be available to residents and
to our neighbors. The Moose Mountains Regional Greenways region contains
working farms, tree farms, mountain ranges, and the pristine headwaters
at the top of the Seacoast, NH watershed.
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