The Hanover Conservancy is pleased to announce a new addition to its portfolio of protected lands, the Moister Meadow.  The conservation easement on the 21-acre property, set in the rolling hills of Hanover Center, is the gift of F. Corbin Moister, Jr., whose family has owned the land for over 40 years.

The open meadow, fringed by forest, represents an iconic historic farming landscape, ringed with stone walls dating from the early 19^th century. The property is located in the headwaters of the Slade Brook watershed and abuts over 700 acres of other protected land, including the Huntington Hill Wildlife Management Area and the historic Nutt Farm.

“Protecting this property accomplishes a number of the Conservancy’s strategic conservation goals,” observes Adair Mulligan, Executive Director. “The meadow provides an increasingly uncommon type of habitat for woodcock, bobolink, and other grassland birds and wildlife, and also has valuable agricultural soils.  As the forest reclaims many old fields like this, such habitat is becoming scarcer. The open views and rolling landscape are moving reminders of Hanover’s past.”

Just as important, the wetlands and rivulets on the property protect the waters of Slade Brook and supports flood security for neighborhoods below. Such headwaters help control stream flow and are the first line of defense against microbursts and washouts. The Conservancy’s Jim and Evalyn Hornig Natural Area at Lower Slade Brook, just off River Road, guards another 35 acres around this stream.  The Moister Meadow provides a link in the wildlife corridor that connects the Connecticut with Hanover’s uplands and Moose Mountain.

“My father and step mother chose to build their home in this meadow at least in part to allow their English Setter dogs a safe place to run,” Corb Moister says. “I am very pleased to be able to preserve a portion of this property exactly as they found it 50 years ago. I hope that future owners and neighbors will enjoy this beautiful place as my family has.”

The land will continue in private ownership and is currently listed for sale. Public access will be a decision of the future landowner. One need not step onto the property to enjoy it – beautiful views across the meadow from stone wall-lined Upper Dogford Road make for an enjoyable walk or drive.