A 55-acre field along the Contoocook River in Hopkinton has been conserved, protecting it from future development in an effort to maintain the area’s rural character.
The land, part of the Houston family’s Pine Lane Farm, is located in Contoocook Village behind Dimitri’s Pizza and the Colonial Plaza. Five Rivers Conservation Trust, which collaborated with the Hopkinton Conservation Commission, announced the conservation project this week.
Rich Houston, co-owner of the dairy farm with his mother, Edith, said he hopes to eventually conserve all 180 acres of the farm’s riverfront land.
“The viability of the farm depends on having enough good farmland to grow the corn silage and hay needed to feed our 450 milking cows,” he said.
Protecting the land will benefit the Houston’s farming operation while protecting the area’s agricultural aesthetic for years to come, said Beth McGuinn, executive director of Five Rivers, a Concord-based nonprofit.
“Conservation of this property means that this highest quality farmland will remain available for farming,” McGuinn said. “Nearly a mile of undeveloped frontage along the Contoocook and Warner Rivers will continue to be a feature of Contoocook Village for those who live nearby, paddle the rivers, shop at the farmer’s market or visit the covered bridge.”
The field sits across the Contoocook River from the town’s Riverway Park and near the covered railroad bridge.
The Houston family will continue to own the field “under conservation restrictions that prevent future development and require best management practices for agriculture,” the organization said in a press release.
Five Rivers will monitor the property on an annual basis while working with the Houstons and future owners to ensure conservation restrictions are being honored.