PETERBOROUGH, N.H. (Aug. 29, 2024)—The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests will host its 123rd Annual Meeting at the Monadnock Country Club on Saturday, September 21. The Forest Society’s Annual Meeting is an opportunity to connect, engage, and celebrate the accomplishments of the many people who help make the organization the most effective statewide land conservation organization in the country.

This year’s annual meeting will be held in-person, on Saturday, September 21 at Monadnock Country Club, 49 High Street in Peterborough. Optional local field trips begin starting at 7:00 a.m., followed by lunch at noon, and the afternoon program will feature the annual business meeting, Conservationist and Volunteer of the Year Awards, and will feature a keynote address by Annie Proulx, author of the non-fiction book Fen, Bog & Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis. Pre-registration is required.

“We are looking forward to welcoming members and friends to our Annual Meeting,” said Jack Savage, president of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. “Mount Monadnock is believed to be the most frequently climbed mountain in the world. Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and others hiked this mountain and wrote about it as a symbol of spiritual and environmental awareness. With over 40 miles of trails, our partnership with New Hampshire State Parks provides an extraordinary experience for the more than 125,000 visitors each year. It’s very fitting that we will be in the shadows of the mountain for our annual meeting, as we look to adapt to climate change, visitor usage, and the future of land conservation.”

Field trips at the annual meeting have always been popular and this year will include a variety of opportunities to explore local conservation areas, watch a film on Mt. Monadnock, or catch a sunrise for those who wish to participate. Directions for the field trips will be provided to participants upon registration. This year’s field trips include:

• Monadnock: The Mountain that Stands Alone film screening and Q&A with Dan White, director
• Mount Monadnock early-risers hike
• Explore the beauty of Sharon Bog- FULL
• Forestry in the Time of Climate Change Gap Mountain hike
• More than Meets the Eye, Welch Family Farm and Forest

Following lunch, the Annual Business Meeting will start at 1 p.m. and includes presentations of the prestigious Conservationist of the Year Award and the Trish Churchill Volunteer of the Year Award. The keynote address by Annie Proulx will explore the world’s rapidly changing wetlands. A lifelong acolyte of the natural world, Annie Proulx brings her witness and research to the subject of wetlands and the vitally important role they play in preserving the environment—by storing the carbon emissions that accelerate climate change. Fens, bogs, swamps, and marine estuaries are crucial to the earth’s survival, and in four illuminating parts, Proulx documents their systemic destruction in pursuit of profit.

Registration for the Forest Society’s 123rd Annual Meeting costs $50 if registered before September 1 or $55 after September 1 and includes a field trip, lunch, and the program. Registration ends September 15.

#####

ABOUT THE FOREST SOCIETY
The Forest Society is a private, non-profit land trust and forestry organization established in 1901. The Forest Society also owns over 190 forest reservations constituting nearly 60,000 acres in 100 New Hampshire communities It currently holds more than 750 conservation easements statewide, thus together permanently protects more than 190,000 acres of New Hampshire’s landscapes for the benefit of nature and people.