Great Bay Stewards announces launch of campaign for Glenn Cove
GREENLAND — The Great Bay Stewards announced the launch of its fundraising campaign to open public access along the shores of Great Bay. The “Great Bay Glenn Cove Public Access Project” represents an incomparable opportunity to connect more people to the estuary, and is an outstanding example of collaboration between federal and state agencies and community partners, the Stewards said in a press release.
When the project is complete, visitors to the property in Greenland, will be able to picnic, bird watch, fish, hunt, kayak, walk their dogs, ice fish, meet friends, snowshoe, cross country ski, and more. Long an important site in the region for winter smelt fishing, the Stewards is excited to be working with New Hampshire Fish and Game (NHFG) to reopen this significant recreational spot. Those of all mobility levels will be able to enjoy the property’s incredible views of Great Bay, which reach all the way to the headwaters of the watershed in the Pawtuckaway Mountain range. The parcel adds to a collection of four NHFG-owned parcels that protect approximately 130 acres of land and 4,000 feet of frontage on Great Bay, as well as the 154-acre Great Bay Farm conserved by the town of Greenland and Southeast Land Trust. Like all N.H. Fish and Game properties, there will be no fee to visit Glenn Cove.
The land at Glenn Cove had been in the Emery family since the 1930s, and had variously been used as a farm raising chickens and dairy cows, as vacation rental properties, and as a site for ice fishing access. The waterfront portion of the land and associated buildings have been held in a life estate since 2000; NHFG took over management of the property in 2018. In 2020, N.H. Fish and Game received a federal grant to restore and repurpose this area for use by the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. That initial funding, which included state match, is dedicated to renovating the property’s historic farmhouse for use as a visiting researcher dormitory and completing site work needed to use the parcel including stormwater improvements, road widening, utility work, and removing derelict structures.
In the spring of 2022, the Reserve applied for and received $1.5 million in funding through another federal grant. As part of the application, the Great Bay Stewards, as the nonprofit friends group to the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, committed to raising $450,000 in matching funds.
“We are thrilled at the opportunity to open another public space, especially one with even greater vistas of the Bay and places to gather, recreate, and explore,” says Steve Paquette, vice chair of the Board of Trustees. “We’ve seen the incredible demand for open spaces over the last several years and feel lucky to have the opportunity to restore this beautiful property along the Bay.”
The funds raised will complete plans for the public access portion of the project: building a picnic and education pavilion with restrooms, developing and installing historical exhibits, and supporting the site work to accommodate these uses. The picnic pavilion will be open to the public. Visitors will also be able to participate in Great Bay NERR educational and volunteer training programs, similar to those that currently take place at the Great Bay Discovery Center in Greenland.
The Stewards board is grateful to the businesses and community members who have brought us halfway to our goal of raising $450,000 toward the grant match and additional funds for landscape work, farmhouse furniture, and continued support for the property. Top local donors that kicked off this campaign include the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation's Madison Fund, Kennebunk Savings Bank, and Newburyport Bank.
Other generous supporters include the Davis Conservation Foundation, the Fuller Foundation, the K and K Moody Charitable Fund, Appledore Real Estate, Novocure, Aquarion Water Company, Cusa Consulting Corp., Duke Family Chiropractic, MCL Builders and Developers, JGroup, Hunterbid.com, The Law Offices of Justin Caramagno, and Compass Real Estate. Trustees of the Great Bay Stewards have so far individually contributed nearly $40,000 to the project, with an additional $50,000 in support from the organization.
For more information or to support the project, please visit https://greatbaystewards.org/glenn-coveproject/.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Great Bay Stewards announces launch of campaign for Glenn Cove
