Protecting New Hampshire's landscapes since 1901…

1901
Eight concerned citizens form the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Their mission: to protect the White Mountains, which are rapidly being clear-cut.

1908
The Forest Society urges the state of New Hampshire to buy Crawford Notch.
It does three years later.

1909
As a result of Forest Society urging, the state of New Hampshire appoints a state forester, and passes its first forest fire prevention laws.

1911
The Weeks Act is passed by Congress, after intense lobbying by the Forest Society and other conservation groups, creating the White Mountain National Forest.

The Forest Society buys 656 acres on Mount Sunapee to save it from being clear-cut.

1912
The Forest Society buys 148 acres around Lost River Gorge.

1915
The Forest Society acquires title to 600 acres on Mount Monadnock, beginning a process that ends up protecting more than 4,000 acres on the landmark mountain.

1918
The Forest Society begins work to acquire 1,500 acres on Mount Kearsarge.

1920
The Forest Society releases two breeding pairs of Minnesota beavers at Lost River. Prior to this, beaver had been extinct in New Hampshire for 30 years.

1923
The Forest Society leads a campaign to purchase 6,000 acres in Franconia Notch, including the Old Man of the Mountain, the Flume, the Basin, and two mountain lakes.

1927
The Forest Society helps the state to buy Franconia Notch. The Forest Society retains ownership of 913 acres, including the Flume, and runs the park for 20 years until 1947.

1932
The Forest Society opens its first annual Nature Camp at Lost River. Sixty years later, the Forest Society is still teaching people about the wonders of forests.

1934
The Forest Society helps defeat a proposal to build a "skyline drive" across the Presidential Range.

1937
The Forest Society begins publication of its magazine, Forest Notes, which is still published today.

1943
The Forest Society helps protect land surrounding Echo Lake and White Horse Ledge in North Conway.

1942
The state passes a constitutional amendment to end the annual taxation of growing timber — a victory the Forest Society had fought for since 1901.

1945
The Forest Society helps form the New England Forestry Foundation to promote better forest practices.

1948
The Forest Society transfers its 1,116 acres on Mount Sunapee to the state of New Hampshire.

1949
The Forest Society brings the Tree Farm program to the state, which encourages landowners to manage their woodlands for the long term.

1950
The Forest Society gives its final 520 acres on Mount Kearsarge to the state for the Frank Rollins Memorial Park, honoring the Forest Society's first president.

1959
The Forest Society opposes a super highway through Franconia Notch.

1960
Mr. & Mrs. Clarence L. Hay give the Forest Society 675 acres of woodland on Lake Sunapee.

1962
The Forest Society stops a plan to floodlight the Old Man of the Mountains.

Working with the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, and the state Fish & Game department, the Forest Society purchases land in the Hampton Salt Marshes to thwart a major development project.

1963
The Forest Society leads the way on legislation that creates town conservation commissions.

1966
Thirty-eight towns now have conservation commissions.

1969
Plans for a nuclear power plant at Seabrook spur the Forest Society to lobby for extensive review of all major power installations.

1970
The federal government withdraws its plans for a tunnel and four-lane highway through Franconia Notch.

The Forest Society forms an interstate coalition to fight a proposed east-west superhighway across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

The Forest Society opens an EcoCenter at Mount Monadnock to teach the 75,000 annual visitors about the mountain's ecology.

1971
The Forest Society negotiates its first conservation easement, which allows landowners to keep their land while preventing future development.

1972
The Forest Society begins a campaign to protect Sandwich Notch — the last unprotected notch in the state.

1973
After years of debate, the legislature enacts Current Use taxation, allowing millions of acres of land to remain as open space.

A plan for a smaller parkway through Franconia Notch wins Forest Society support.

1974
The Forest Society purchases 726 acres on Gap Mountain. The next year, Mrs. Francis Fiske donates the south peak to the organization.

The Forest Society owns 7,189 acres in the state.

1976
The Forest Society celebrates the re-opening of the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, first laid out by Forest Society President Phil Ayres in 1925.

1978
Groundbreaking for the Forest Society's new headquarters begins. The award-winning Conservation Center gets over 80% of its heat from the sun and is an appropriate symbol of the organization's commitment to renewable resource use.

1982
The Forest Society works to get a bottle bill passed in the state, but it fails by one vote.

1983
The Forest Society helps raise awareness about the impacts of acid rain on New England's forests, laying the groundwork for important amendments to the Clean Air Act.

1984
The Wilderness Act passes the US Congress, designating 77,000 acres in the White Mountain National Forest as wilderness. Forest Society President Paul Bofinger chaired the committee that reached consensus on the bill.

The Forest Society owns 16,184 acres in the state.

1986
The Forest Society starts the Trust for New Hampshire Lands/Land Conservation Investment Program, a public-private six-year partnership that would protect over 100,000 new acres in the state.

1987
A 10-year management plan is approved for the White Mountain National Forest. The Forest Society played a lead role in helping finalize the plan.

1989
The Forest Society, the state, The Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. Forest Service help save 40,000-acre Nash Stream forest in northern New Hampshire.

1990
The Forest Society serves on the Northern Forest Lands Council to find ways to sustain the four-state, 26-million acre forest and its people.

1993
The Forest Society creates the New Hampshire Conservation Institute to enhance and streamline its education and research efforts.

The Forest Society produces its award-winning Guide to Logging Aesthetics and a companion video to promote low-impact forestry without high impact costs.

1994
Forest Society reservations add up to 24,584 acres.

1995
The Forest Society creates its Living Landscape Agenda, a two-pronged plan to save special places and take care of land into the next century.

1996
The Forest Society acquires its 96th forest reservation – the Millicent Scott Gardner Memorial Forest in Hollis.

1997
The Forest Society acquires its 100th reservation - the High Watch Preserve in Ossipee.

1999
The Forest Society becomes the first private landowner in New Hampshire to have its land green-certified by SmartWood.

2001
The Forest Society celebrates its 100th anniversary — a century of outstanding accomplishments in the conservation and reservation of New Hampshire's forests.

2002
The Forest Society and the Museum of New Hampshire History launch a joint-project entitled Claiming the Land: Our past, our future, our choice.

The New Hampshire House and Senate pass legislation regarding all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The bill sets a policy for new ATV trails on state land and increases registration fees with revenue directed to enforcement, education, and trail acquisition. The Forest Society lent strong support to this bill.

The Forest Society, New Hampshire Public Television, and Cross Current Productions collaborate to produce Livable Landscapes: Chance or Choice , a one-hour documentary about citizens combating sprawl in their communities.

2003
The French Wing addition to the Forest Society's Conservation Center earns national recognition for innovation in "green building" design and construction. The U.S. Green Building Council awards its gold certification to the organization under the rigorous standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

The Forest Society, federal and state officials, and other partner conservation organizations celebrate the permanent protection of 171,000 acres in northern New Hampshire. The Connecticut Headwaters Project is the largest contiguous block of New Hampshire land in private ownership, comprising roughly three percent of the state.

2007
The Forest Society protected 3892 acres in fiscal year 2007, including 845 acres (10 projects) in forest reservations (land we own, 2,995 acres (27 projects) on which we hold conservation easements, and 52 acres (two projects) that we protected and will be transferred to a third party.

The Forest Society is also pleased to announce permanent LCHIP funding. The New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) is an independent state authority that makes grants to New Hampshire communities and non-profits to conserve and preserve New Hampshire’s most important natural, cultural and historic resources. Through this grant program every dollar invested brings in significant local, private, federal funds, and helps New Hampshire businesses and traditional business districts.