In a scenic area near the north boundary of Bear Brook State Park, beavers will continue to build their dams, and this time it’s guaranteed.

Bobcat kittens will still leave their small paw prints in the snow. Moose, bears and deer will never be pushed from their home and food supply because of loud dump trucks and hulking cranes.

Not after the owner of that 116-acre parcel, married couple Laura Bonk and Phil Trowbridge, donated a conservation easement to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Donated, as in free of charge.

The land, known as Derevya Farms is now protected from development, theoretically forever. It has frontage along Little Bear Brook, which drains into Bear Brook and the Suncook River, which are tributaries to the Merrimack River.

“As a result, it ranks as a high priority for conservation in the Merrimack River Watershed Conservation Plan, which targets the protection of high-quality forested watershed lands to protect water quality throughout the region,” the Forest Society explained in its description of the parcel.

Bonk and Trowbridge remain owners of the land, which they purchased in 1997. Meanwhile, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests takes control of the upkeep, serving as the main watchdog over land that, legally, will remain in its natural state.

“We bought this knowing we would want this to be woods,” Bonk said. “It’s not like this was an investment for us.”

Bonk had early dreams of buying land and making sure it would remain undisturbed. First, she threw herself into education, graduating from Stanford and then MIT, where she met her husband. She spent seven years in the Peace Corps, serving in Paraguay and Asia. She hiked in Thailand and India. She worked in Armenia.

But there was always another land on her mind, and it stretched nearly as far as the eye could see.

“I always envisioned owning land, even more than a house,” Bonk said. “I had pretty much dreamed of it forever.”

She inherited $83,000 after her mother died and the house sold. She searched for land she could afford in the scenic areas of Western Massachusetts. Everything was too pricey.

She looked north, to the Granite State, and saw a sign near Bear Brook offering the land for $125,000. She knew the land, rich in wildlife and ponds and plant life. She knew it was great for cross-country skiing. Bonk said she was determined, negotiating the price down to $72,000.

“We negotiated for a few months,” Bonk said. “I kept calling, kept calling and saying I can’t afford this, this is all the money I have.”

Eventually, they closed the deal. Bonk conceded it was an intimidating process right up until the end.

“For a long time, I did not know what it meant to conserve land and the legal process involved,” Bonk said. “I didn’t know anything. There was a mechanism to do it and there was paperwork and we said we’d do this eventually.”

Eventually is now.

In a strange scenario last summer, Bonk’s husband inherited a decent sum of money as well. The days of procrastinating were over. An easement was affordable. A gift to the Granite State.

“I called the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests) and said, ‘Let’s make this happen, now,’ ” Bonk said. “I’ve always wanted this just to be woods.”

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