Saving Special Places

Conference Fee: $80

Includes: Keynote speaker, 17 workshops, exhibits, morning refreshments & lunch

Our 2026 Conference is SOLD OUT.

Cancellation & Health Policy

Refunds will be granted to participants who cancel their registrations before April 3, 2026.

For the health safety of all at the conference please stay home if you don’t feel well, have any COVID, Flu or RSV symptoms or if you have had close contact with a person who has tested positive or who has symptoms of COVID-19. We will refund your registration fee if you need to cancel for health reasons.  

KEYNOTE

9:15 - 10:00 AM

Partnering with Beavers for Climate Resiliency 

Leila Philip

In this illustrated talk, based on her recent book Beaverland, How One Weird Rodent Made America, New York Times best-selling author, Leila Philip discusses our long social history with beavers and how through the millennia, they have shaped and maintained the watersheds of North America. Called a  keystone species for their outsized impact on the larger ecology, beavers were almost wiped out by 1800 on this continent due to the fur trade.  But beavers are making a comeback and have a new increasingly important role to play in helping communities across the country create climate resiliency. Fun Facts: Beavers mate for life and are dedicated parents, raising their kits for two years.  The largest animal construction in the world is a beaver dam.

ABOUT LEILA

Leila Philip is an award-winning author whose most recent book, Beaverland, is a Times Editor’s Choice, New York Times Best Seller and NPR Science Friday Book Club selection which The Wall Street Journal called “as full of charm and wonder as its beguiling protagonist.” 

 A Guggenheim Fellow, Philip has also been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

She was a popular contributing columnist at the Boston Globe and teaches in the Environmental Studies Program at the College of the Holy Cross where she holds the Brooks distinguished Chair in the Humanities. Her writing has been selected for inclusion in Best American Essays and has appeared in national media including The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.  

She is at work on a new book on rivers which explores all the waters we usually never see in the river system.  Follow her journeys with beavers and current research at #theleilaphilip on Instagram and Facebook. www.leilaphilip.com

Gibson's Books will be at the conference with copies of Beaverland available for purchase.

SESSION 1 WORKSHOPS

10:30 - 11:45 AM
 

1A: 2025 NH State Wildlife Action Plan

Haley Andreozzi (UNH Cooperative Extension) & Sandra Houghton (NH Fish and Game)

The NH State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) is an assessment of the health of New Hampshire's wildlife and habitats and provides a framework for conservation organizations to take action; from using the SWAP mapping tools to identify high quality habitat, to implementing habitat stewardship for Species of Greatest Conservation Need. This session will provide background on the NH SWAP, an overview of the recently completed 2025 Plan and associated updates, and discussion of how conservation organizations and others across the state can use the 2025 NH SWAP to help us meet our conservation goals over the next decade.

1B: The Benefits of New Hampshire's Open Spaces

Matt Leahy (Society for the Protection of NH Forests)

New Hampshire’s forests, farmlands, and waters provide diverse and extensive natural resources that form the fabric of the Granite State. This workshop will highlight a recently released report that highlights and quantifies the many benefits that open space provides to our state. 

1C: White Mountain National Forest History: Part 2

Dave Govatski                             

This presentation is the second of three on the history of the 800,000-acre White Mountain National Forest (WMNF). After a quick review of WMNF's creation, we will explore the turbulent period from 1929 to 1945, including the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the 1938 Hurricane, and the impact of the Second World War on the White Mountains.  This presentation is a follow up from last year’s Part 1, but can be enjoyed even without having seen Part 1. 

1D: Camps Create Conservationists

Lizzy Franceschini (Southeast Land Trust of NH)

Camps create future conservationists through repeated wild play experiences in the natural world. Come hear about how one land conservation organization brings summer camp to life, how we collect data to demonstrate its effectiveness, and what our data shows us about the power of camp for developing nature connectedness within our children. 

1E: Recent Case Law from the Land Trust Alliance Defense Network

Lisetta Silvestri (Ransmeier & Spellman)

In this workshop we’ll review and discuss recent conservation case law shared from the Land Trust Alliance’s Defense Network. If time allows, we’ll also discuss important Conservation Easement provisions to include and why, as well as practical pointers for Conservation Defense.

1F: Start Deepening Your Organization's Culture of Philanthropy Today

Beverly Shadley (Demont Associates) & Robert Demont (Demont Associates)

You've likely heard the term "Culture of Philanthropy," but what is it and why is it so important? In this session, Bob Demont and Beverly Shadley of Demont Associates will accompany you on a deeper subject dive, explore opportunities for every organization to build its culture of giving, and describe Demont Associates' Culture of Philanthropy Evaluation®, a tool based on decades of consulting experience and designed to help groups understand and respond to their unique needs for building a philanthropic culture internally and externally.

SESSION 2 WORKSHOPS

1:00 - 2:15 PM
 

2A: Wildlife Road Crossings and Connectivity at a Land Trust Scale: The Upper Valley Connectivity Study

Jesse Mohr (Native Geographic) & Jason Berard (Upper Valley Land Trust)

Computer models can highlight broad areas important for wildlife movement and connectivity, but state and regional models are often coarse—and unverified—for parcel level decisions. This talk introduces the Upper Valley Connectivity Study, a collaboration of the Upper Valley Land Trust, Jesse Mohr, volunteers, and state agencies to produce a high resolution, field informed assessment of wildlife road crossings and ecological corridors using track and sign surveys, game cameras, and updated forest block mapping. We’ll review methods, motivations, and how this approach can be adapted elsewhere.

2B: NH Forests Past, Present and Future: 125 years Protecting NH Landscapes and Landmarks

Dave Anderson (Society for the Protection of NH Forests)

Imagine NH without landscapes including Mt Monadnock, Mt Sunapee, Mt Kearsarge, The White Mountain National Forest, Waterville Valley and Franconia Notch? How has land conservation saved these landmarks? This is the story of NH as shaped by forest conservation and land protection success over the past century and a quarter – since 1901. Where are forests conserved today? What is the economic value of open space? What challenges face our forests now and in the future? How will we address the challenges of forest health and climate change - keeping forests as forests in our growing state? 

2C: Harvesting Timber: Lessons for Landowners and Land Trusts

Steve Roberge (UNH Cooperative Extension) & Wendy Weisiger (Society for the Protection of NH Forests)

Given the lifespan of New Hampshire’s trees, a timber harvest may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a woodlot owner or land trust. It may be the culmination of years of hard work and substantial investment. Join us to learn the basics of timber sales, including the benefits of a timber harvest, how timber is sold, what a timber harvest might look like, and the factors you should consider before a timber harvest. We’ll share some success stories and some cautionary tales and offer suggestions for next steps and additional resources.

2D: Trail Easements and Agreements - What, Why & How

Russ Hirschler (Upper Valley Trails Alliance)

Do you want to: Create a lasting legacy for your community? Provide public trail access on your land to help improve your community? Permanently protect your trail as a vital community resource? This workshop will give a basic overview of the different types of trail protections - trail easements, agreements, licenses, etc. - and how and when to use them. Case studies will illustrate the variety of uses of each type. 

2E: Defending Forever: Conservation Defense, Legal Trends, and Investing in Stewardship

Deborah Goard (Southeast Land Trust of NH) & Tom Kester (Terrafirma)

Ensuring conservation defense in perpetuity is a big promise. With stewardship challenges and the cost to defend them on the rise, our stewardship programs need to be set up for success. As conservation defense insurance for land trusts, Terrafirma has the unique ability to understand the trends and risks related to these challenges. We’ll look at these trends and, using real examples, discuss how land trusts can minimize risk and ensure stewardship programs have the tools, knowledge, and funding to keep that promise.

2F: Strategic Planning Rooted in Vision and Mission

Karen Grey (Wildlands Trust) & Jen Plowden (Land Trust Alliance)

Strategic plan on the brain? Start here! In this interactive session, participants will explore the critical role that mission, vision, and values play in setting a strong foundation for strategic planning. Through practical frameworks, simple exercises, and guided discussion, attendees will learn how to develop a clear, inspiring vision, articulate a unifying statement of values, and assess and refine their organization's mission.

back to top of conference schedule

SESSION 3 WORKSHOPS

2:30- 3:45 PM
 

3A: Integrating Ecological Reserves into Conservation Planning

Sarah Robb-Grieco (Old Growth Forest Network) & Rick Van de Poll (Ecosystem Management Consultants)

Nearly 25% of the state of New Hampshire is under some form of legal conservation status, yet less than 10% of these areas are permanently protected from any kind of land use management. In a state where less than .34% of the remaining forestland is in an old growth condition, there are ample opportunities to increase this number to an optimal 5 - 10%. This workshop highlights the many, solid ecological reasons to do so, as well as the potential ecosystem services benefits that could arise.

3B: Teamwork and Tenacity: Land Trusts and Conservation Commissions

Duane Hyde (Southeast Land Trust of NH) & Barbara Richter (NH Association of Conservation Commissions)

What does it take to accomplish conservation projects with partners who may have different functions, limitations and interests, but who share a common goal? Partnerships between land trusts and conservation commissions can have challenges along the way. Learn how to set mutual expectations, defuse tensions, share the workload, and clarify and roles and responsibilities in order to ensure these two very different organizations function together best.

3C: Saving Strategic Places: Common Ground for Housing and Conservation

Kevin Porter (Kawasiwajo Community Land Trust), Mike Morin (Northern Forest Center), Nick Taylor (Housing Action NH) & Ben Wallace (The Nature Conservancy New Hampshire)

A presentation and conversation about opportunities for collaboration between the conservation and the housing sectors. Where is there ground for conservation and affordable housing? Are there "Nature-friendly" solutions for housing affordability? How has New Hampshire navigated these issues in the past? What are the opportunities for the future?

3D: 75,000 hours of trail work in a year with AMC!           

Matt Moore (Appalachian Mountain Club) & Nora Sackett (Appalachian Mountain Club)

Nora Sackett will share how the AMC supports 1,100 volunteers contributing more than 25,000 trail volunteer hours annually, and Matt Moore will share projects that AMC’s professional trail crew has worked on, from bridges to staircases to all persons’ trails. By the end of this workshop, participants will have lessons to bring back to their trails communities to engage volunteers and approach common trail issues. Participants will gain insight into what trail issues are best suited for volunteers and when you might hire professionals.

3E: Discretionary Consent: The Nuanced 'Yes'

Naomi Brattlof (Society for the Protection of NH Forests) & Nicole DeCarolis (Southeast Land Trust of NH)

So you have a Discretionary Consent (DC) policy (thanks Land Trust Alliance standards & practices!). Now what? In this workshop we'll talk through details to include in a DC policy, other guidance documents or procedures you may want to have accompany the policy and finally we'll deep dive into some tangible examples of a discretionary consent policy in action. Feel free to bring a tricky scenario with you - we'll leave time to analyze a few audience examples! This WILL be interactive!

back to top of conference schedule

Thank you to our additional 2026 sponsors:

Contributors

Access Conservation

Branch Hill Farm

Conservation Trail Services

FB Environmental

Land and Community Heritage Investment Program

Moose Mountains Regional Greenways

Moosewood Ecological

Ransmeier & Spellman P.C.

Southeast Land Trust of NH

Associates

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Belknap Range Conservation Coalition

Five Rivers Conservation Trust

Harris Center for Conservation Education

Monadnock Conservancy

State Conservation License Plate Program (Moose Plate)

Squam Lakes Conservation Society

Friends

Bear-Paw Regional Greenways

Francestown Land Trust

New England Forestry Foundation

NH Fish & Game

NH Preservation Alliance

Star Island Natural History Conference