Straus Property

“Description of site from Ben Engel, Southeast Land Trust – December 23, 2025”

Conservation Context: The property consists of 18.5 mostly-forested acres in Madbury and Durham, with 3.2 acres of scrub/shrub habitat and 0.5 acres of wetlands. It is part of a 541-acre unfragmented forested block. The property abuts the 38-acre Tasker Lane Open Space owned by the Town of Madbury. The back part of the property abuts the 0.6-acre Water Tank property owned by the Town of Durham located at the top of Beech Hill, the highest point in Durham. Across the road from the property is the 51-acre Tibbetts Field owned by the Town of Madbury, which is part of a 753-acre conserved block which includes Powder Major's Forest and Tuckaway Farm. Approximately 1,000 feet south of the property is a 6,000+ acre block of conservation land which includes UNH's Horticulture Farm and College Woods. This property acts as a bridge between these blocks to the north and south, and will hopefully act as a catalyst to conserving some of the surrounding land.

Coastal Conservation Plan: Over 80% of the property (15.2 acres) is located within a Coastal Conservation Plan Focus Area.

Wildlife Habitat: The property is fully ranked by the Wildlife Action Plan with the following WAP Habitat Tiers: Tier 1 – 3.6 acres, Tier 2 – 5.2 acres, Tier 3 - 9.8 acres. The entire property is within a New England Cottontail focus area as well as the US Fish and Wildlife Oyster-Dover-Bellamy Great Thicket Refuge Focus Area. The swath of WAP Tier 1 scrub/shrub habitat along the transmission line corridor could well serve as a corridor and habitat for cottontails and other species that rely on that early successional habitat type.

Wildlife Connectivity: 1.5 acres of the property are within a Prioritized Habitat Block identified in “Connect the Coast”, and 13.5 acres are in a Connectivity Corridor.

Drinking Water: 7.4 acres are within the UNH/Durham Water System Hydrologic Area of Concern. Another 4.2 acres are within the Moharimet School Wellhead Protection Area.

Rare Species/Natural Communities: Within 1 mile of the property, NH Natural Heritage Bureau has documented occurrences of 1 state Endangered and 2 state Threatened reptiles, 4 state Endangered and Threatened plants, and one Special Concern fish.

Water Resources: The property contains approximately 270 feet of a perennial section of Beards Creek, a tributary to the Oyster River, as well as its intermittent stream headwaters. The property has a half acre of wetlands surrounding the creek.

Forest Resources: All of the upland soils on the property are Group 1A important forest soils, and the property features natural and mature woodlands.

Public Access: Several trails (hiking/mountain biking) bisect the property and connect to a larger trail system on adjoining land. The area south of the powerlines will remain open to the public for passive recreation.