The state has reached a deal on the management of the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Working Forest, a 146,000 acre property spanning the towns of Colebrook, Pittsburg and Stewartstown and constituting 3% of New Hampshire's forests, according to Gov. Kelly Ayotte.
The forest is privately owned but is under a conservation easement, which means the state has oversight regarding how the land is managed and can ensure it remains a working timberland.
Since the land was purchased in 2022 by an out-of-state carbon offset company, now known as Aurora Sustainable Lands, local loggers have raised concerns about reduced timber harvesting on the property. As a carbon-offset company, Aurora curbed logging in favor of letting trees grow in order to sell the carbon they stored. This carbon then could be available to other companies and individuals to “offset” other emissions.
In 2024, the state rejected Aurora’s proposed management plan over concerns the plan would violate the forest’s easement by reducing logging too significantly.
In the plan agreed upon last month, Aurora will increase the average annual timber harvest to 30,000 cords per year, provide more robust support for forest roads, and work with state and local authorities on forest health, recreation and security efforts.
“The Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Working Forest is critical to recreation, tourism and the timber industry in our North Country,” Ayotte said in a press release.
According to logging proponents, the North Country timber industry not only provides jobs in the region with the state’s highest unemployment numbers, but also contributes vital tax revenue through the timber tax. In 2023, Pittsburg earned $175,000 from the timber tax, 8.75% of its annual municipal budget.
The plan agreed upon last month protects this tax base by making sure even if Aurora falls short of the 30,000 cords goal in one year, the towns where the cutting happened will still receive the equivalent tax revenue. Plus, the company will have to ensure it makes up the deficit the following year and pay equivalent tax on any production figure greater than 30,000 cords.
Ouellet said ideally he would have preferred to see the harvest goal around 40,000 cords annually and more money set aside for motorized recreation, but he acknowledged that it addressed various concerns from different stakeholders.
“It's an agreement that neither side likes, so that probably makes it a pretty good agreement,” he said.
Experts say the forest can achieve multiple different aims — like logging, conservation and recreation — all on the same land, an idea known as “multiuse,” which is a foundational concept in modern forestry.
“There's plenty of timber that grows [in the forest] that allows the owner to sell carbon and timber at the same time,” said Charlie Levesque, a member of the forest’s citizens committee.
“Aurora Sustainable Lands appreciates the opportunity to continue our partnership with the State of New Hampshire and Governor Ayotte’s office. This agreement helps align our shared priorities for the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters conservation easement and reaffirms the importance of supporting a productive working forest that serves timber, recreation, and local access,” Blake Stansell, President and Chief Operating Officer of Aurora Sustainable Lands, said in a statement to NHPR.
Additionally, under the plan, the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources will produce public quarterly reports monitoring Aurora's management.
This agreement will be up for renegotiation in five years, according to Ouellet.
