A pristine lake, an undisturbed lakeshore, a forest in its wild state, a beautiful field—appreciating the beauty of nature is just the beginning for the Chocorua Lake Conservancy.
With each new (and old) conservation agreement comes a deep and permanent responsibility: we have promised to look after, or steward, the conservation protections placed on this land forever. Regular land stewardship satisfies the legal and ethical obligations created when the Conservancy, or one of our predecessor organizations, accepted a covenant or easement.
Past leaders of the Conservancy and its predecessor organizations carried out these responsibilities through personal connections with landowners who, in most cases, were the original donors of the covenant or easement.
Generational changes, both among landowners and among the leadership and volunteers of the Conservancy, and evolving standards of land trust practice and recordkeeping, now require that Conservancy approach this responsibility in a more systematic manner.
Today, all land trusts are obligated to establish and carry out a regular program of checking to be sure that the covenants on each conserved property are being honored. Building relationships with landowners — walking their land with them and working to address common concerns — goes a long way toward making sure that our conservation agreements are upheld.
After much debate, the Conservancy board decided in 2015 that our all-volunteer land trust did not have enough volunteers to fulfill its stewardship obligations towards 74 conservation covenants and easements covering almost 3,000 acres. The board voted to seek grant funding to hire a Stewardship Director. Thanks to the efforts of board members Peg Wheeler and Melissa Baldwin, the Conservancy was able to secure four grants totaling $22,500 towards this position.
We posted the Stewardship Director position in January and 18 individuals applied. Members of the Land Conservation committee, assisted by our consultants Paul Doscher and Jeff Lougee, conducted phone and in-person interviews with five finalists. In early April, the board enthusiastically voted to offer the position to Lynne Flaccus.
Lynne will be supervised by Peg Wheeler and Alex Moot, with support from Paul Doscher, who recently retired after 27 years at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
We are excited to welcome Lynne Flaccus to the position of Stewardship Director. Hiring Lynne and the adoption of modern stewardship practices will assure local residents and visitors that the Conservancy’s conservation holdings are being cared for in a manner that protects the interests of all and maintains the unique qualities which our predecessors worked so hard to preserve.
Banner: Heron Pond (Lonely Lake) in the Frank Bolles Nature Preserve. Photo: Alex Moot