Tamworth subcommittee advances conservation-priority mapping, schedules easement signings

The Conservation Land Review Committee, a subcommittee of the Tamworth and Sandwich conservation commissions, met March 17 and advanced plans to refresh how the two towns prioritize land for protection while confirming the pending signing of two conservation easements.

Committee members heard that the O'Bryan and Aprille conservation easements have been reviewed by the Town Attorney and required only minor edits; signing by the Select Board and Ned Beecher (for the Tamworth Conservation Commission) was set for March 24. Minutes from Jan. 20, 2026 were approved (motion by Dylan Alden, second by Anne Glavin; all approved).

The committee agreed on a focused goal: use co-occurrence GIS mapping to identify parcels most critical for natural-resource protection and ecological services, combining available data layers with local input. "GRANIT and similar layers work with polygons, not lines," David Little noted, and the group flagged gaps in conserved-land parcel layers and inaccuracies in local floodplain maps. Ned Beecher said he will re-contact the UNH staff who previously worked on updating conservation layers to check data quality.

Members discussed three options for proceeding: adopt recent work done by the Upper Saco Valley Land Trust or the Lake Region Conservation Plan, update Tamworth's 2000s mapping, or combine elements of both. Nancy Walser and Dylan Alden were tasked to create a comparison table of co-occurrence layers and priorities drawn from the various sources, and the committee noted that it may hire a consultant to compile layers and validate data.

The meeting closed with logistical items: the committee set its next meeting for April 21 at 5:00 p.m., likely to be held in Sandwich, and adjourned about 6:40 p.m.