Robert Blake

The Blake timber farm has been family owned since 1930. The original 54 acre parcel was purchased from the Draper Corporation. In 1945 an additional 165 acres was purchased. In 1988 a 32 acre parcel was purchased, followed by a 1993 annexation of an additional 10 acres. The final 43 acre parcel was purchased in 2007. A conservation easement was donated to Upper Valley Land Trust in 2007. The current 304 acre farm is held under 4 lots. The property is a certified New Hampshire Tree Farm has been professionally managed for 40 years, guided by successive Ten Year Forest Management Plans starting in July 1985. Since that time there have been 14 timber harvests, producing 2 million MBF of lumber with a total net proceeds of $230,000. Harvest income only exceeds operating expenses + taxes approximately once every 4 years. New Hampshire HB 1691 will jeopardize implementation of comprehensive land stewardship and conservation practices. Limiting the total acreage to 40 acres coupled with restricting the benefit to a single Lot will result in disincentive to generate comprehensive land stewardship and conservation programs. A better option would be to encourage landowners to implement stewardship programs covering all contiguous timber/undeveloped land within their property. If the landowner implements state specified stewardship/conservation practices, then Current Use program tax reductions should be applied to all encompassed acreage.