Spruce Ridge Wilderness Preserve

Orford and Lyme, Grafton County, New Hampshire 2,079 acres Download Map

A Forever-Wild Core in a Tapestry of Conserved Lands

The proposed 2,079-acre Spruce Ridge Wilderness Preserve in Orford and Lyme, New Hampshire has many of the hallmarks of a majestic Northeastern landscape: towering mountains, diverse forests, and a mid-elevation pond fed by cold, clear streams. But this property’s conservation significance transcends its beauty. Critical wildlife and riparian corridors cross Spruce Ridge, which falls within a locus of federally and privately conserved lands and abuts the famed Appalachian Trail.

One look at the prospective Preserve map reveals the property’s strategic location. Neighboring Spruce Ridge is the Upper Valley Land Trust’s Mountain View Farm Conservation Area and other privately conserved land to the west, south, and north. Meanwhile, the Appalachian Trail runs through federally protected land on the property’s eastern flank, and further afield sprawls the 800,000-plus acres of the White Mountain National Forest. Spruce Ridge adds more than 2,000 acres of core wilderness to this rich conservation mosaic, advancing the Wilderness Trust’s vision of an ecologically vibrant, connected Northeast.

Protecting Prized Habitat for Wildlife

The Preserve’s peaks, forests, and streams provide a suite of core habitat for all manner of wildlife, complementing the surrounding managed landscape. As the property rewilds, numerous species will benefit from increasing structural complexity and a future free of logging.

Signs of wildlife already abound at Spruce Ridge. The chewed bases of trees in the forests surrounding the property’s aquatic focal point, Mason Pond, signal the presence of beaver. An active lodge along the pond’s shore forms the nexus of their activity. Given the property’s location, wide-ranging species like moose, bear, and fisher also likely find plentiful forage and shelter here as they transit the wider landscape.

The property’s high wildlife value has earned the recognition of the state. Much of Spruce Ridge sits within a Prioritized Habitat Block identified in New Hampshire’s Wildlife Action Plan and within an Important Forest Block identified by The Nature Conservancy.

Opportunities to conserve large tracts of land are terribly important, as not only do they benefit large and small mammals, such as black bear, moose, and bobcat, they also benefit neo-tropical songbirds. They are important for clean air and water and provide a safe corridor for wildlife movement. These large tracts of conserved land provide the Kilham Bear Center with the forested ecosystem it needs to meet its mission of returning orphaned black bear cubs to the wild. Ben Kilham, President and Founder, Kilham Bear Center

Rising Elevation and Varied Natural Communities

The Preserve encompasses the summit of Bundy Mountain and a portion of Stonehouse Mountain and Mousley Mountain. The slopes of these peaks are home to at least two different forest types. Midway up, Northern Hardwood Forest blankets the terrain. As the land climbs higher, this natural community gives way to a beautiful spruce forest that is visible from the Appalachian Trail and inspired the name of the Preserve.

Spruce Ridge Wilderness Preserve, which would be the Wilderness Trust’s largest fee acquisition in New Hampshire, has a history of active forest management. Forever-wild protection of the property by the Wilderness Trust will ensure that every acre of Spruce Ridge has the chance to become an old-growth forest. Local communities will also have the opportunity to explore and appreciate the wild beauty in their backyard.

Spruce Ridge Wilderness Preserve at a glance

Size: 2,079 acres

Location: Orford and Lyme, Grafton County, New Hampshire

Context: Mountain slopes, a mid-elevation pond, and diverse ecosystems located near other conserved land.

Objective: Forever-wild preservation of core habitat and strengthening of landscape connectivity.

Spruce Ridge Wilderness Preserve needs your support

The Spruce Ridge Wilderness Preserve needs your support

Will you help Northeast Wilderness Trust continue its growing legacy of wilderness protection in the Northeast?

Your gift to the Spruce Ridge Wilderness Preserve helps protect rare ecosystems and species.

Together we can ensure a healthier future for Spruce Ridge Wilderness Preserve and the wildlife that depend on this habitat to survive and thrive. You can help by:

Sending a check made out to Northeast Wilderness Trust with “Spruce Ridge” written in the memo line
Making a gift online through the donation box on this page.
Giving through a Donor-Advised Fund (indicate “Spruce Ridge”) at https://newildernesstrust.org/giving
Making a gift of stock or other publicly traded securities. Please contact Nicie Panetta, Vice President of Advancement, at nicie@newildernesstrust.org

Thank you!

Photography: Spruce Ridge Wilderness Preserve images by Chris Gothberg, Shelby Perry, Eric Bailey, and Jerry Monkman. Wildlife and plant images by Shelby Perry, Paul Willis and David Middleton.

More like this... View All

Aug
26

Speaker Series Sign-Up, Information, and Resources Event NEWT's ongoing forum for education and inspiration about eco-centric topics. Read More >

Jul
30

Old Trees and the People Who Know Them Featured News Wildlands Ecologist Jason Mazurowski describes a day spent measuring tree diameters and collecting other ecological data at a rare patch of old forest in Vermont. Read More >

Jul
9

Rate That Snag! Featured News Southern New England Land Steward Joe Falconeiri pays homage to the tremendous variety and ecological value of dead standing trees at Muddy Pond Wilderness Preserve. Read More >