On August 21, Patricia Sorento of Sunapee donated the 37-acre Sorento Conservation Easement to the Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust (ASLPT). This property is a beautiful, undeveloped mix of fields and forests with a stream that flows through the southeastern portion of the property, providing a natural habitat for many woodland birds, animals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. The soils are highly ranked for forest production. There is a snowmobile trail that winds through the Sorento easement, offering opportunities for low-impact public recreation.

In the late 1960s, when Pat’s husband was nearing retirement from the Air Force, they began looking for a piece of property to settle on during their retirement. They were hoping to find a piece of land with some open fields, woods, and a nice view. Pat says they found everything they wanted with the Avery Farm in Sunapee. She shares, “The views from this property are spectacular. Every season has its own special features.”

The gift of the Sorento Conservation Easement is important for the many assets listed above, but its proximity to other important protected properties makes this property even more valuable. The Sorento property lies near Ausbon Sargent’s Wendell Marsh easements and the New Hampshire Fish and Game’s Dobles Tract, as well as the Town of Sunapee’s Webb-Flint Lot and Dewey Woods Preserve. Regarding the mission to protect this property, Debbie Stanley, executive director for Ausbon Sargent, says, “We are very grateful for the stewardship support of the Sunapee Conservation Commission; but there were also several silent contributors who made the conservation of this property possible. The extensive snowmobile trails that wind through the Sorento property offer great public benefit. We thank all who contributed to this project.”

With the addition of the Sorento Conservation Easement in Sunapee, ASLPT now protects 136 properties covering 11,040 acres in its 12-town region.