On June 27, the Patten family closed on their 46.6-acre conservation easement that will be stewarded by the Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust (ASLPT). With the addition of the Patten property, ASLPT now protects 123 properties, covering 10,000 acres in a 12-town region that includes Andover.

The Patten property is primarily undeveloped and consists of a mix of fields and forest. It contains prime agricultural soils which are rare in the state of New Hampshire. The property is listed as Supporting Landscapes under the 2010 Wildlife Action Plan.

It falls within the buffer for New Hampshire Fish and Game’s McDaniels Marsh with one intermittent and one perennial stream that flow across the property into McDaniels Marsh. To ensure the protection of the water quality of McDaniels Marsh, New Hampshire Fish and Game listed the property as a target for conservation.

In addition to its conservation benefits, the Patten property also provides scenic enjoyment to the public traveling along George Hill Road and is open to the public for low-impact outdoor recreation.

The protection of the Patten property was made possible by the combined efforts of many friends, community members, and partners, including the following: the Bafflin Foundation, Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Fields Pond Foundation, the Springfield Conservation Commission, New Hampshire Fish and Game, New Hampshire LCHIP, and New Hampshire Moose Plate.