hb 1000

CHAPTER 148

HB 1000-FN-A - FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to the acquisition and oversight of certain rights in land located in Pittsburg, Clarksville, and Stewartstown, known as the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract and making an appropriation therefor; establishing funds for the stewardship of these lands; and allowing state agencies to hold certain rights under the New Hampshire land and community heritage investment program.

SPONSORS: Rep. Chandler, Carr 1; Rep. Burling, Sull 1; Rep. Stohl, Coos 1; Sen. Klemm, Dist 22; Sen. Burns, Dist 1; Sen. Hollingworth, Dist 23

I. Makes a bonded appropriation to the governor to provide funds to purchase certain property and interests in property in Pittsburg, Clarksville, and Stewartstown, New Hampshire and establishes endowments for monitoring, stewardship, and road maintenance of the property.

II. Establishes a committee to provide advice relative to management of the property.

III. Authorizes state agencies to hold certain rights under the New Hampshire land and community heritage investment program.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

148:1 Statement of Purpose. The purpose of this act is to make funds available for the purchase of a certain tract of land and related conservation easements located in Pittsburg, Clarksville, and Stewartstown, New Hampshire, known as the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract.

I. The general court finds that certain lands in Pittsburg, Clarksville, and Stewartstown, New Hampshire, known as the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract, have provided economic, recreation, and natural resource benefits to the state's citizens and visitors for generations. The owner of these lands has recently declared its intention to sell 171,500 acres, known as the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract. This land represents 3.4 percent of the land area of the state and encompasses the headwater tributaries of the Connecticut and Androscoggin Rivers. The general court declares that it is in the public interest to acquire fee ownership and conservation easement interests in these lands to ensure that they remain as a largely undeveloped, productive, working forest which also provides public access for recreation and conserves ecologically sensitive areas. The general court also finds that in addition to state capital and general fund appropriations, an effort of this scope requires the contribution of funds from many sources, including the federal government, a private timberland investor, and other private individuals, organizations, and charitable foundations.

II. The general court further finds that it is in the best interests of the state of New Hampshire that a conservation easement:

(c) Be recorded in the registry of deeds for Coos county where it can be viewed in its entirety by members of the public.

(e) Guarantee public access for recreation including, but not limited to, hiking, hunting, fishing, trapping, snowmobiling, and other motorized recreation.

(f) Provide for continued vehicular access to major portions of the property over the existing road network.

(g) Provide for monitoring and enforcement of the easement by the state of New Hampshire.

148:3 New Section; Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Citizens Committee Established. Amend RSA 12-A by inserting after section 9-a the following new section:

I. There is established the Connecticut Lakes headwaters citizens committee. Committee membership shall be as follows and shall include a minimum of 7 members who are residents of any community in the Great North Woods region association, as established by the state in February 1998:

(d) One person who shall have expertise in forestry and timber harvesting, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(e) One person who shall have expertise in monitoring conservation easements, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(f) One person who shall have expertise in outdoor recreation and tourism, appointed by the president of the senate.

(g) One person who shall have expertise in forest ecology and management of natural areas, appointed by the president of the senate.

(j) The commissioner of the department of resources and economic development, or designee.

(l) A representative of the largest private landowner within the borders of the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract, appointed by the landowner, who shall serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member.

II. Each member shall serve a 3-year term. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term of office in the same manner as the original appointment. Members may serve successive terms.

III. The members shall elect a chairperson from among the public members. Preference shall be given to a resident of the Great North Woods region if a member from that area is willing to serve as chairman, otherwise another public member shall be elected.

IV. The committee shall meet at least annually and at such other times as the chairperson deems necessary. At least once annually, the committee shall meet to review the management plan of the state-owned properties as prepared by the managing state agencies. The committee's meetings shall be open to the public, in accordance with RSA 91-A. Interested members of the public shall be allowed to speak before the committee or to submit statements. Records, reports, and working papers generated or used by the committee, or both, shall be made available to the public for inspection or copying. The committee shall not be responsible to the public for the costs of copying its documents.

(a) Providing advice to the monitoring entity for monitoring compliance with the terms and conditions of the working forest conservation easement covering approximately 146,400 acres of the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract.

(b) Providing advice to the department of resources and economic development and the fish and game department on the management of public recreational use of the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract, including the siting and approval of the first 10 new leases, the seasonal use of the road system, snowmobile trails and their use, and the terms for access and use of the tract by motorized vehicles. Such advice shall be offered in cooperation with the private landowner.

(d) Providing advice to the department of resources and economic development and the fish and game department on any proposed revision to the stewardship or management plans required by the conservation easements on the 146,400 acres or the natural areas and, should amendments to these easements ever be contemplated, on the proposed amendments.

(e) Exercising authority to decide if 15 leases in addition to those in subparagraph (b) should be allowed and where such leases should be located, if the private owner or any future private owner requests this action.

(f) Exercising authority to decide if the private buyer, or any future private owner, should be allowed to exercise its rights under the conservation easement for commercial recreational activities for which the private owner may charge fees.

(g) Exercising authority to decide if the state can build structures for visitor support facilities as described in the conservation easement for the 146,400 acres.

VI. The commissioner of the department of resources and economic development shall designate a state employee from the department as the administrative officer of the committee. The administrative officer shall attend each meeting of the committee and provide recordkeeping and related administrative and clerical assistance to the committee.

VII. The terms and provisions of the conservation easements shall at all times provide the legal basis for the committee's advice and authority, and any legal opinion of the easement's terms shall be rendered by the attorney general.

I. The governor is authorized to expend an amount not to exceed $10,000,000 to purchase fee real estate, conservation easement interests and to cover related acquisition costs for the property in Pittsburg, Clarksville, and Stewartstown, New Hampshire, consisting of approximately 171,500 acres known as the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract. The purchase price of such real estate and conservation easement interests shall not exceed the appraised value. The 171,500 acres known as the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract shall be purchased by The Trust for Public Land, a not-for-profit corporation, from International Paper Corporation on or before March 29, 2002 and such conveyance shall be recorded in the Coos county registry of deeds. The state shall then purchase real estate interests in the tract.

II. Of the acreage described in paragraph I, the state's fee ownership of 25,000 acres in natural areas shall be subject to a conservation easement to be held by a qualified not-for-profit conservation organization or other qualified entity or both, and shall be managed in the public interest by the fish and game department. The conservation easement for such 25,000 acres shall be negotiated between the fish and game department and The Nature Conservancy, shall be substantially in the form of the February 6, 2002 Draft Grant of Conservation Easement, and shall be guided by the December 7, 2001 Final Report of the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Partnership Task Force.

III. Of the acreage under paragraph I, 146,400 acres shall be sold to a private buyer subject to a perpetual conservation easement held by the state of New Hampshire under the jurisdiction of the department of resources and economic development. The conservation easement for such 146,400 acres shall be negotiated between the department of resources and economic development and the private buyer and approved by the commissioner of the department of resources and economic development, shall be substantially in the form of the January 18, 2002 Draft Grant of Conservation Easement, and shall be guided by the December 7, 2001 Final Report of the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Partnership Task Force. One hundred acres shall be managed by the department of resources and economic development as an addition to the Deer Mountain campground.

148:5 New Paragraphs; Land to be Retained. Amend RSA 227-H:5 by inserting after paragraph XIV the following new paragraphs:

XV. Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract natural areas, consisting of approximately 25,000 acres in the towns of Pittsburg and Clarksville.

XVI. Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract addition to the Deer Mountain campground, consisting of approximately 100 acres in the town of Pittsburg, to be owned and managed for conservation and outdoor recreation purposes only.

148:6 New Subdivisions; Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Tract Monitoring Endowment; Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Natural Areas Stewardship Endowment; Connecticut Lakes Headquarters Tract Road Maintenance Endowment. Amend RSA 216 by inserting after section 6 the following new subdivisions:

I. There is established an endowment fund, to be known as the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract monitoring endowment, for the purpose of ensuring a perpetual source of funds to monitor compliance with the terms and conditions of the conservation easement interests acquired by the state in the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract. The fund shall be administered jointly by the executive director of the fish and game department and the commissioner of the department of resources and economic development.

II. Funds added to the monitoring endowment pursuant to paragraph I shall be used to support monitoring by state agencies, local municipalities, and qualifying nonprofit corporations of conservation easement interests acquired in the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract. Such monitoring shall be to ensure that the tract will be managed according to the legal agreements embodied within the conservation easement, which is recorded in its entirety in the Coos county registry of deeds.

I. The monitoring endowment established by RSA 216:7 shall be maintained in perpetuity and shall be utilized only for the purposes of monitoring and enforcing the conservation easement acquired through the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract purchase.

II. The principal of the endowment shall be managed by the state treasurer for the sole purpose of providing interest earnings for the purposes set forth in this subdivision and expenditures from the endowment for these purposes shall be limited to the interest earned thereon.

III. Any interest earned on the endowment principal which is not used for the purposes set forth in this subdivision within the fiscal year in which it is earned shall be nonlapsing. The state treasurer is authorized to accept gifts, donations, and grants, including federal gifts, donations, and grants, for the purposes set forth in this chapter, and such gifts, donations, and grants shall be added to the principal amount.

IV. The executive director of the fish and game department and the commissioner of the department of resources and economic development shall, pursuant to the monitoring endowment established under RSA 216:7, I, jointly prepare an annual report to be presented no later than December 1 of each year to the speaker of the house, the president of the senate, the governor, the house clerk, the senate clerk, and the state library. The report shall include a listing of all lands and interests in lands subject to the monitoring provisions of RSA 216:7 and a complete financial accounting of the funds in the monitoring endowment including expenditures for the most recent full fiscal year. The report shall also summarize monitoring activities and findings for each property, as conducted in the most recent full fiscal year.

I. There is hereby established an endowment fund to be known as the Connecticut Lakes headwaters natural areas stewardship endowment account.

II. The stewardship endowment shall be maintained in perpetuity and shall be utilized jointly by the executive director of the fish and game department and the commissioner of the department of resources and economic development only for the purposes of habitat and public use management of 25,000 acres of natural areas owned by the state of New Hampshire, and for the purposes of recreation, use, and the conservation easement management of the 146,400 acres on which the state shall hold a conservation easement within the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract.

III. The principal of the endowment shall be managed by the state treasurer for the sole purpose of providing interest earnings for the purposes set forth in this subdivision and expenditures from the endowment account for those purposes shall be limited to the interest earned thereon.

IV. Any interest earned on the endowment principal which is not used for the purposes set forth in this subdivision within the fiscal year in which it is earned shall be nonlapsing. The state treasurer is authorized to accept gifts, donations, and grants, including federal gifts, donations, and grants, for the purposes set forth in this chapter, and such gifts, donations, and grants shall be added to the principal amount.

V. The executive director of the fish and game department and the commissioner of the department of resources and economic development shall, pursuant to the stewardship endowment, prepare an annual report to be presented no later than December 1 of each year to the speaker of the house, the president of the senate, the governor, the house clerk, the senate clerk, and the state library. The report shall include a listing of all natural area lands within the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract under their joint stewardship and a complete financial accounting of the funds in the stewardship endowment including expenditures for the most recent full fiscal year. The report shall also summarize stewardship activities and findings for each natural area, for the most recent full fiscal year.

I. There is established an endowment fund, to be known as the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract road maintenance endowment, for the purpose of ensuring a perpetual source of funds to maintain the system of roads that exists within the conservation easement and property interests acquired by the state in the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract. The fund shall be administered jointly by the executive director of the fish and game department and the commissioner of the department of resources and economic development.

II. Funds added to the road maintenance endowment pursuant to paragraph I shall be used to support road maintenance under the authority of state agencies within the conservation easement and property interests acquired in the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract.

I. The road maintenance endowment established by RSA 216:10 shall be maintained in perpetuity and shall be utilized only for the purposes of maintaining the road system acquired through the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract purchase.

IV. The executive director of the fish and game department and the commissioner of the department of resources and economic development shall, pursuant to the road maintenance endowment established under RSA 216:10, I, jointly prepare an annual report to be presented no later than December 1 of each year to the speaker of the house, the president of the senate, the governor, the house clerk, the senate clerk, and the state library. The report shall include a listing of all roads subject to the maintenance provisions of RSA 216:10 and a complete financial accounting of the funds in the monitoring endowment including expenditures for the most recent full fiscal year. The report shall also summarize maintenance activities for the road system, as conducted in the most recent full fiscal year.

148:7 Exemption From Real Estate Transfer Tax. The provisions of RSA 78-B shall not apply to transfers of real estate or any interest in real estate to or from any organization exempt from federal taxation under section 501 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, that are necessary to achieve the purposes of this act. The exception provided in this paragraph shall apply only to the exempt organization. Any non-exempt sellor, grantor, assignor, transferor, or purchaser of any real estate or interest in real estate shall be liable for the payment of the tax imposed by RSA 78-B:1.

148:8 Appropriation. The sum of $10,000,000 is hereby appropriated to the office of the governor for the purchase of a certain tract of land and conservation easements in the towns of Pittsburg, Clarksville, and Stewartstown, New Hampshire known as the Connecticut Lakes headwaters tract.

148:9 Bonds Authorized. To provide funds for the appropriation made in section 8 of this act, the state treasurer is hereby authorized to borrow upon the credit of the state not exceeding the sum of $10,000,000 and for said purpose may issue bonds and notes in the name of and on behalf of the state of New Hampshire in accordance with RSA 6-A. Payments of principal and interest of the bonds and notes shall be made from the general fund of the state.

148:10 State Agencies Authorized to Hold Rights Under the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program. Amend RSA 227-M:8, II to read as follows:

II. Other parties wishing to participate in the program may partner with one or more eligible applicants. At the option of eligible applicants and with the approval of the board, state agencies may hold rights in resource assets acquired through the program by eligible applicants. The applicant must demonstrate the commitment of the owner of the assets to participate in the proposed action.