Easton / Franconia / Landaff / Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

Cooley-Jericho Community Forest

Problem

Public assets—parks, greens, waterways, buildings—slip into neglect, privatization, or misuse when no one clearly owns their care.

Solution

The Cooley-Jericho Community Forest is an 840-acre tract in the northwest corner of Easton, New Hampshire, bought by the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust in September 2013 for $600,000 on behalf of the towns of Easton, Franconia, Landaff and Sugar Hill, each of which voted $5,000 at its 2013 town meeting. A Stewardship Team of select-board-appointed town representatives, ACT and user-group members oversees it under a stewardship plan prepared with consultant Jesse Mohr, finalized in May 2015 and amended in 2020.

Patterns used: Commons Stewardship

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