Location: Easton, Franconia, Sugar Hill and Landaff, NH
Acres:  843 for community benefit

The 843-acre Cooley-Jericho Community Forest is owned by the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust on behalf of four communities, Easton, Sugar Hill, Franconia, and Landaff. This ridge-top forest was on the verge of being developed—plans had been submitted to the Planning Board for subdivision and a wind farm—when the land trust engaged the owner in the idea of creating a Community Forest instead.

Now the forest continues to provide a much-loved scenic view from each of the four town centers, and towns and land trust work together to build recreational trails and provide long-term stewardship of the forest’s natural resources. The Community Forest is community owned, locally controlled, and conserved forever.

The Community Forest encompasses Cooley Hill and Cole Hill in Easton and sweeps down toward the Jericho area of Landaff. It is one of the largest, highest elevation, parcels in the area. It’s adjacent to the White Mountain National Forest and to other conservation lands, making it a key place for wildlife and for recreational trails. From the land itself, the views are unequaled. The Center helped create the Community Forest’s governance structure—unique in the country—which includes all four towns and the local land trust.