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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 29, 2006
CONTACT: Richard Ober
(603) 357-0600
MONADNOCK CONSERVANCY RECEIVES AWARD FOR
LOCAL GREENWAYS DEVELOPMENT
Trail Network Will Connect Pisgah Park with West Hill
(KEENE)—The Monadnock Conservancy recently received a $1,000 grant from the Kodak American Greenways Awards Program to support the design and planning of a hiking trail in the California Brook Conservation Area between Keene’s West Hill and Pisgah State Park. In addition to receiving the grant award, the Conservancy will be showcased as a national model for its innovative efforts to develop a greenway in Keene, Chesterfield, and Swanzey.
The Kodak American Greenways Awards, administered by The Conservation Fund and funded with support from Eastman Kodak Company, provide seed grants to nonprofit organizations and government agencies to help develop new greenway projects. The awards are meant to provide initial funding to spark creativity in conservation, outdoor recreation, and trail and greenway development.
Selected as one of 44 groups nationwide from an applicant pool of 125 qualified projects, the Monadnock Conservancy will use the money to conduct a comprehensive GPS and GIS analysis of existing and potential trails and woods roads in the entire California Brook area (the largest unfragmented forest block in southwest New Hampshire), develop alternate routes for an end-to-end trail through the region, and develop an implementation plan for design/construction of the trail.
Said Tom Duston, chair of the Chesterfield Conservation Commission—one of the project’s many collaboration partner organizations, “The anchor of this landscape-scale corridor will be a low-impact recreational trail. For many years, a trail of this type has been the vision for individuals and groups at both the Pisgah Park end and the West Hill ( Keene) end.”
“This year’s award winners represent some of the best grassroots conservation and greenway development efforts in the United States,” said Larry Selzer, president of The Conservation Fund. “The Fund is proud to support these thoughtful, action-oriented local initiatives that will serve as models for other communities around the country.”
The Conservation Fund, a national environmental non-profit, is dedicated to protecting America’s land and water legacy for current and future generations. Since its founding in 1985, the Fund has helped its partners safeguard wildlife habitat, working landscapes, community “greenspace,” and historic sites, totaling more than 5.4 million acres nationwide. More information is available at www.conservationfund.org.
Founded in 1989, the Monadnock Conservancy is a non-profit land conservation organization that serves 35 towns in southwestern New Hampshire. Its mission is to identify, promote, and actively seek protection of significant natural, aesthetic, and historic resources in the Monadnock Region; and to monitor and enforce the protection of lands in the trust.
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