Join the Upper Saco Valley Land Trust and the Chocorua Lake Conservancy for a joint snowshoe exploration of the World Fellowship Center on Saturday, February 27 from 10AM to 12PM.
World Fellowship Co-Director Andrea Davis and Chocorua Lake Conservancy Stewardship Director Lynne Flaccus will lead us on a tour of the amazing natural resources at the World Fellowship Center, and we will do some winter tree identification and animal tracking along the way. Naturalist Lynne Flaccus has more than 30 years of experience in land conservation and stewardship, managing protected properties, studying wildlife, and educating adults and children.
In June 2020, the World Fellowship Center (WFC) granted three separate conservation easements to the Upper Saco Valley Land Trust (USVLT) in order to permanently protect nearly 400 acres of its campus and shorefront on Whitton Pond. Members of the Chocorua Lake Conservancy (CLC) helped with the fundraising to purchase the conservation easements, since about half of the conserved property falls within the Chocorua River watershed and feeds into the Chocorua Lake basin—the heart of their service area. A target property for USVLT for over 20 years, the conservation easements also protect water quality in Whitton Pond and the drainages and water bodies to the north, including Iona Pond, Meadow Brook, and Swift Brook, as they head toward the Saco River in Conway.
The area is also of special importance for the New Hampshire chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which has now conserved two other properties on Whitton Pond. The conservation easements held by USVLT and granted by the WFC nearly ensure the protection of the rest of the Whitton Pond waterfront, since only one private parcel on the pond is not yet conserved.
The World Fellowship property has been on the “wish list” for all three conservation organization (USVLT, CLC and TNC) for decades because of the exemplary habitat values found there. These include 70 acres of the Highest Ranked Habitat in the state, 223 acres of supporting habitat, over 3,000 feet of lake and pond frontage, over 2,800 feet of frontage on the Chocorua River, and complex, interconnected wetland systems. To learn more about the WFC conservation easements, please see: www.usvlt.org/home/our-lands/conserved-lands
This is an intermediate level outing—we will be snowshoeing on uneven terrain, both on established trails and off-trail. Please make sure to bundle up and bring your own snowshoes. Space is limited; reservations required. Please email info@usvlt.org to register.
This event is part of the Upper Saco Valley Land Trust’s ongoing Easement Exploration Series. For more information, email info@usvlt.org.
The Upper Saco Valley Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our motto is “Preserving Land for Community Benefit.” USVLT has completed 74 conservation projects since 2001, totaling over 12,800 acres throughout the towns of Hart’s Location, Bartlett, Jackson, Albany, Chatham, Conway, Eaton, and Madison in New Hampshire, and Brownfield, Denmark, and Fryeburg in Maine. Learn more about the Upper Saco Valley Land Trust by calling (603)662-0008 or visiting www.usvlt.org
Banner image: A snowy trail through the woods. Photo: Trisha Beringer