Land Conservation is Focus of Town Meeting Warrant Article

At the upcoming Town Meeting on March 12, 2025, voters will have the chance to support efforts to preserve more open space in Bow. The Bow Conservation Commission will seek approval, through a town warrant article,for a revised funding mechanism.

This change would allow the Commission to provide funding to Bow Open Spaces, a qualified land trust, for purchasing properties orconservation easements in Bow. This would give landowners another option to receive funds from the Conservation Commission in exchange for conserving their land. More than 40 New Hampshire towns have adopted similar funding mechanisms, resulting in financial support for local land trusts across the state.

The funds managed by the Conservation Commission come from fees paid by developers or property owners who remove land from “Current Use” for development. Many years ago, the Town designated these fees to the Conservation Commission’s conservation fund, which must be used for conservation efforts in Bow. These funds were previously used to purchase Nottingcook Forest and the Hammond Nature Preserve.

“Bow Open Spaces supports this change because it will boost our efforts to conserve the remaining undeveloped land in Bow,” said Bob Dawkins, President of Bow Open Spaces. “As a local land trust, we have the expertise and initiative to use this funding, along with grants and private contributions, to preserve open space in Bow for public enjoyment.

Importantly, with oversight from the Conservation Commission, this funding will stay within Bow, going directly to property owners who agree to permanently conserve their land, either through a sale or an easement.”The proposed funding mechanism falls under state law RSA 36-A:4-a, I(b), which was revised in 2008 to strengthen the protection of New Hampshire’s natural resources. This revision allows Conservation Commissions to contribute to land conservation projects without holding an interest in the property.

Transfers of funds from the Commission to a Bow landowner—on behalf of Bow Open Spaces or another qualified land trust—would occur only after a public hearing and after the town Select Board has had an opportunity to consider the proposal.