MMRG CONTRIBUTES PIPER MOUNTAIN LAND TO MIDDLETON TOWN

MIDDLETON, NH—In December 2001, the Middleton Board of Selectmen and Middleton Conservation Commission signed the deed on a property of rare natural beauty on Middleton's Piper Mountain. The parcel is partially wooded and contains a large granite outcrop that offers a stunning scenic vista (see pictures at right). The property overlooks a large wetland with a Great Blue Heron Rookery and views to the southeast of Teneriffe Mountain in Milton and Acton Ridge in Maine.

Middleton voters agreed to a warrant article at their town meeting to combine this newly acquired land with the adjacent 98-acre Town Forest. MMRG negotiated an offer of one half of the land's value through Larry Ramsey Real Estate (473-8699) and the owner agreed to donate the rest as a Conservation Bargain Sale. The MMRG Board was very supportive and they and Middleton residents made individual donations totaling over $2,156. The Middleton Conservation Commission also used Conservation Funds toward the purchase price. Don Black, Strafford County Forester, has been called upon to help the Conservation Commission develop a Forest Management Plan for all of Middleton's Town Forest properties.

A site assessment to document animal and plant habitat was done later that year. Since this purchase another property owner with land adjacent has contacted MMRG with the desire to donate her property. The owner read of MMRG efforts in the 2001 Fall Newsletter.