Ben Kilham, a world-renowned bear expert who has studied wild black bears in a vast tract of Northern New Hampshire woodlands for decades, was a major inspiration for the preservation of land surrounding Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge. Ben has been studying and rehabilitating black bears for over 27 years; he founded Kilham Bear Center in 1993, a 501(c)3 non-profit regional rehabilitation and research facility in Lyme, New Hampshire.
In partnership with Bear Hill Conservancy and Kilham Bear Center, WildLandscapes recently permanently protected over 2,300 acres of land in New Hampshire, now added to Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge and we have plans to conserve over 12,557 more!
EXPANDING SILVIO O. CONTE NATIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE REFUGE
Recently, WildLandscapes permanently protected 69 acres of private land that have now been added to the Blueberry Swamp Division of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge! The property lies in northwestern Coos County in the town of Columbia, New Hampshire, about 5 miles southeast of the town of Colebrook, New Hampshire. Blueberry Swamp Division is 1,023 acres in size and the habitat is primarily mixed-wood forests and lowland spruce-fir. Blueberry Swamp is a large wetland in the northeast corner of the division consisting of shrub swamp, freshwater marsh, and cedar swamp communities. The division is adjacent to the Nash Stream Forest (40,000 acres) and The Nature Conservancy’s 18,680-acre Bunnel Tract. It is an area frequented by moose, black bears, and many species of migratory birds. Permanently protecting this region ensures ecosystem stability, wildlife movements, and long-term survival of the state’s treasured wildlife.
PROTECTING 14,817 ACRES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE’S HARDWOOD FORESTS
WildLandscapes is working with Bear Hill Conservancy and Kilham Bear Center to protect 14,817 acres by placing them into a conservation easement held by Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. As the project is divided into phases, we recently completed the second phase of this project, having conserved 2,243.5 acres of the 14,817 acres.
Permanently protecting 14,817 acres of New Hampshire’s northern hardwood forest is a unique opportunity to secure a critical natural corridor along the Appalachian Trail to White Mountain National Forest, protect the state’s treasured wildlife, provide public access to the outdoors, promote the careful use of renewable resources, and grow the state’s economy.
Bear Hill Conservancy consists of mature forest (nearing old-growth status) connected to an exemplary 62,000 acres of unfragmented wildlife habitats, natural communities, embedded wetlands and streams, and unique landscape features that support high biological diversity.