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Francestown commission approves $10,000 to protect 16‑acre peat‑bog parcel on Candlewood Hill Road
Summary
The Francestown Conservation Commission unanimously voted May 4 to spend $10,000 from the town conservation fund to secure an executory interest in a roughly 16‑acre parcel on Candlewood Hill Road (tax map 9, lot 36.3), citing rare peat bog and headwater stream habitat and a plan to convey fee interest to the Francestown Land Trust.
The Francestown Conservation Commission voted unanimously May 4 to expend $10,000 from the town conservation fund to secure an executory interest in a roughly 16‑acre property on Candlewood Hill Road identified as tax map 9, lot 36.3.
Commission Chair Betsy Hardwick opened a public hearing on the Knight/Jordan property after the meeting was properly noticed under RSA 34‑A:5, II. The commission described the parcel as containing a rare and irreplaceable peat bog/wetland, a headwater stream and a rare natural community, and noted that the land is adjacent to other conserved property.
The commission said the fee interest would be conveyed to the Francestown Land Trust and that deed restrictions required by the grant agreement would be enforceable by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services; the town would retain executory‑interest enforcement authority and contingent termination rights. Public commenters including Ben Haubrich and Hanna Proctor urged protection of the wetland and described the parcel as important wildlife habitat and unusually diverse forest and wetland terrain.
Jim St. Jean moved to expend $10,000 from the conservation fund to support the project; Elizabeth Hunter Lavallee seconded. The motion passed unanimously without objection. Commissioners characterized the expenditure as consistent with the commission’s land‑protection guidelines and appropriate for preserving the site’s ecological values.
Next steps identified at the meeting included finalizing the executory‑interest paperwork and coordinating the deed‑restriction language and grant agreement with the Francestown Land Trust and the State of New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
