CONCORD, N.H. — A new wilderness preserve has been created, spanning 2,000 acres along a stretch of the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire.
The Northeast Wilderness Trust purchased the land earlier this month and is now working to enter it into a conservation easement that will ensure the Spruce Ridge Wilderness Preserve remains forever free of development or logging.
The $5.5 million project provides a wilderness buffer along about a 1.5-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail around Mount Cube in Orford, N.H., according to Jon Leibowitz, president and CEO of Northeast Wilderness Trust.
“The value that people have come to love about the Appalachian Trail is inherently at risk because so much of the surrounding lands that you look at when you’re on the trail itself are private, and they’re at risk of various uses,” Leibowitz said.
The Appalachian Trail covers more than 2,190 miles from Maine to Georgia.
Leibowitz said the new wilderness preserve will also serve as a corridor for wildlife moving along the Appalachian Trail, including moose and bears. He said migratory birds such as warblers are also expected to utilize the preserve. For human guests, the preserve will include a parking lot and walking paths as well as access to the Appalachian Trail.
While about 25 percent of land is conserved in New Hampshire, only about 4 percent is protected as a wilderness area free of logging, according to a study by the Northeast Wilderness Trust.
Leibowitz said placing this land into a preserve lays the groundwork to eventually create old-growth forests through a process called rewilding that can take decades or even centuries.
“We want to ensure that these landscapes have the time to heal and grow old,” he said.
Over the past 23 years, the Northeast Wilderness Trust has protected more than 100,000 acres of wilderness around New England and New York.
The organization has preserved about 20,000 acres in New Hampshire alone.
A version of this story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday, sign up here.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.