The Monadnock Conservancy this week officially opened its new, 99-acre conservation area at Cunningham Pond in Peterborough. The area features a new trail network, a large open field and woods that offer key wildlife habitat, and frontage on the pond. Visitors will find a parking lot for three to four cars and a trail kiosk on Cunningham Pond Road near the intersection with East Mountain Road.
“There are new hiking opportunities, including along the old carriage road that follows the shoreline,” Conservancy Executive Director Ryan Owens announced in a video the organization posted on its YouTube channel and website (MonadnockConservancy.org).
The property will be managed as a public conservation area, and the heart of it is a 1-1/2-mile trail network. The main trail starts from the new parking area on Cunningham Pond Road, from there traversing through woodlands and a hemlock grove before crossing a stream and climbing to a large hay field with sweeping views of Pack Monadnock and Temple Mountain. Along the trail, hikers can find trees with woodpecker holes, mushrooms, and moss-covered rocks amidst the sounds of the stream and birds flitting above.
From the field, a spur trail winds down to an old carriage road at the pond’s edge. Another spur trail, branching off closer to the main trail’s beginning, connects visitors to the Goyette Natural Area, another Conservancy property, off East Mountain Road.
The trails were laid out by Rick Brackett, land manager for the Conservancy, and Lew Shelley of SnowHawk LLC, an independent trail design and construction firm. Most of the labor to build the trails was supplied by teams of young volunteers from the Student Conservation Association. Last fall, two teams spent one week each cutting brush, clearing leaves and pine needles, tamping soil, and building two rustic timber bridges to create a safe, scenic walking path.
“I can’t believe what has been back-breakingly accomplished in so short a time … a beautifully groomed and easily identifiable, but inconspicuous, path through this gorgeous forest we have worked so hard to protect,” shared Judy Blake, a Peterborough resident who was part of the group that spearheaded the conservation of this property.
The Conservancy strives to protect lands that are significant to communities and to the people who live there. Peterborough residents ranked Cunningham Pond first in a town-wide survey of conservation priorities, as reported in the Peterborough Master Plan.
“Conserving the property represents an important investment in open space, public recreation, clean water, wildlife habitat, and Peterborough’s iconic rural character,” Owens concluded.
In the shadow of Pack Monadnock, Cunningham Pond, a former public water supply, is a resource for people and wildlife alike. Apart from the town beach here, however, neither the pond nor the shoreline was protected from development. Now, the Monadnock Conservancy’s ownership of 99 acres, including a half mile of the pond’s southern shore and nearly a mile of frontage on Route 101, ensures the pond and its surroundings will benefit the residents of Peterborough and the greater region, now and for generations to come.
The Monadnock Conservancy, founded in 1989, is the only land trust dedicated exclusively to 39 towns in the Monadnock region of southwestern New Hampshire. Its mission is to work with communities and landowners to conserve the natural resources, wild and working lands, rural character and scenic beauty of the region. Based in Keene, New Hampshire, the Conservancy is an accredited organization that has protected 21,000 acres of forest, farmland, shoreline, wetlands, wildlife habitat and recreation trails in the region. For more information or to sign up for the monthly e-newsletter, visit www.MonadnockConservancy.org or call 603-357-0600.