The Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust was granted a conservation easement on the O’Neil property in Sutton on June 13, 2019. This is a generous donation from landowner Robert O’Neil and a valuable asset to the Town of Sutton.

The 22.3-acre O’Neil Conservation Easement, located on NH Route 114 and Johnson Hill Road in Sutton, is the most recently protected property for Ausbon Sargent.  It is undeveloped and consists primarily of forestland, though it also has acres of open pastures. The property is listed as “farmland of local significance” for its valuable forestry and agricultural soils.  This environment provides great habitat for many animals, birds and reptiles and also offers the potential to use the land for agriculture.

The O’Neil Conservation Easement is an important conservation property for the Town of Sutton as it protects over 1,154 feet of frontage on Russell Pond and protects a feeder stream that flows from Russell Pond to Blaisdell Lake.  The O’Neil easement is adjacent to Ausbon Sargent’s Russell Pond Conservation Easement. Together, these two properties protect nearly 3,000 feet of frontage on Russell Pond and both the O’Neil property and Russell Pond are open to the public for low-impact recreation.

Landowner Rob O’Neil has owned acres of land on both sides of Johnson Hill Road for many years.  It always pleases him when neighbors who pass his property regularly thank him for his diligent stewardship of his property.  Rob shared, “I feel so positive about placing a conservation easement on my property. Knowing that it will never be developed and that I am helping to protect the watershed of Russell Pond forever is so important to me.  I feel very lucky to have this property and be able to make this decision.”

The completion of this project was made possible with the help of funding from the Sutton Conservation Commission.  Many thanks to Rob O’Neil for his thoughtful actions towards keeping this undeveloped special place, as is, for generations to come.  Ausbon Sargent now protects 11,590 acres on 149 conserved properties in the 12-town region it serves.