A large, privately held piece of land in Hanover will be protected under a new agreement between the land's owners and the Hanover Conservancy, a private non-profit conservation group.
The land, just over 300 acres northeast of town, overlaps with the Appalachian Trail and is home to woods, streams and wetlands. Those features, plus its location and high elevation, made it particularly attractive to the Hanover Conservancy.
"We're working so hard to try to add to our community's resilience to the effects of climate change," said Adair Mulligan, executive director of the Conservancy.
Climate change forecasts predict that heavy rainfalls will become more common in this area. The land's wetlands can act like a sponge to absorb some of that water, minimizing flooding in neighboring towns.
Tours and celebration of the land's conservation will be held Monday morning.
