The Monadnock Conservancy, a land trust for southwestern New Hampshire, held its 32nd Annual Celebration event earlier this month, during which two local conservationists were honored.
Ben Haubrich of Francestown was presented with the Abe Wolfe Land Protection Award. The award is presented to an individual, group, or organization that has shown outstanding leadership in land protection in the Monadnock region.
John “Jack” Kondos of Spofford was named the 2021 Volunteer of the Year, an award presented annually to an individual for outstanding volunteer service to the Monadnock Conservancy.
“It’s not an award that we give out every year, but this year we found somebody we thought really deserved it,” said Alex Metzger, stewardship director for the Conservancy.
“Ben Haubrich seems to be everywhere and seems to have worked with everyone [in the conservation world]; he’s held just about every volunteer position you can for a land trust.”
More than that, he is honored with this award for his leadership – organizing people, chairing committees, leading field trips, and taking on additional assignments.
“He doesn’t just do the work and go home. You can tell that this region is his home, and that’s how he treats it,” Metzger said.
Haubrich’s dedication to conservation and caring for his community extends well beyond the Conservancy. He retired from the New Hampshire Division of Parks & Recreation after a 32-year career serving as park manager (Monadnock State Park), region supervisor, and director of recreation services (which included administering the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund in New Hampshire). He volunteers with the Piscataquog Land Conservancy, the Harris Center for Conservation Education, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the Francestown Conservation Commission, and the New Hampshire Coverts program. He also serves as a board member and volunteer land manager for the Francestown Land Trust, tending the trust’s 580-acre Rand Brook Forest and other conserved properties.
“I want to thank the Monadnock Conservancy for this recognition, but more than that I’d want to thank the Monadnock Conservancy for all that they do to protect our future — we are so lucky in this region to have so much land protected,” said Haubrich as he accepted his award, a framed photo of Mount Monadnock as seen from Peterborough.
Kondos has been volunteering for the Conservancy since 2006 as a land steward, which means visiting and walking the boundaries of conserved properties to document any natural or man-made changes in the land. He monitors three to five places each year.
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, 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.