Open Space

VI. Open Space

Nature & the Environment

• Very important not to allow erosion of people's connection with the natural world by gradual escalation of the ambient noise, number of cars and trucks, development that impacts scenic, recreational and other opportunities, significant wildlife habitat, etc.
• Let's be very careful to develop land in an environmentally responsible way.
• Active use of products of the land is important.

Agriculture

• Permit breeding, raising, training, sales of animals
• Gardens, vegetable growing
• Pastures

Wildlife

• Wildlife preservation is a very important goal.
• The pressure on wildlife from development, dogs, target shooting, etc. has become very great.
• We must leave some undeveloped land for the wild animals. They have no place to go.
• Actively encourage preserving wildlife corridors between conservation and Current Use areas.
• Need wider corridors and larger areas for some wildlife and migration. Historical data shows we haven't provided enough habitat or adequate migratory corridors for some animals and bird species.
• We need larger areas and more diverse flora.
• Overfishing of wild fish a problem. Stocked areas are OK.

General Comments on Open Space

• Town needs to get behind protection of all wetlands, special scenic vistas, restricting extent of development in and around preserved areas, waterways, etc., for the common good.
• Woods and forests
• No quarries
• Make every effort to keep the rural character, the wildlife area around Moose Mountain
• Encourage maintenance of open fields and farm use
• Farming is no longer financially viable. We all have to contribute to cost of conserving rural character of land.
• Farms are the essence of "rural". We have almost none left in Hanover, but all possible combinations of tax relief, purchase of development rights, etc. should be used to preserve those few - not only for the farmers, but for the rest of us.
• Encourage conservation easements
• Town should purchase development rights of critical land
• If you want to control land, you must buy it!
• Look for ways to keep larger tracts undeveloped.
• A precious, finite, fragile, and disappearing resource
• Open space is what makes up a rural area. Without it, it just becomes one big development.
• Sprawl is insidious and must be anticipated before everything is urban.
• The more open space, the better.
• Extremely important for air and water quality, health of wildlife and forest.
• Totally important. That, plus broad range of activities at Dartmouth, are why I'm here.
• We lose it, it is gone forever. Be careful!
• Hanover is unique for its highly developed Southwest corner and significant open space to the North and Northeast. Keep it that way.
• Let's take care of what we have.
• We are losing it fast. I'm thinking about leaving Etna after 20 years because so much is being built up in both open and wooded areas.
• We use all [of these open space factors]. It is a huge factor in our quality of life here.
• Let's not get sucked into a "bigger is better" mentality. Who wants to look like every other developed area?
• Open space is the backbone of the local economy. Establish stronger municipal policy to protect it in meaningful ways.
• The economic advantages of open space should be acknowledged and exploited by the town.
• Why encourage more development? Growth is not a good thing. It is very, very costly. Much has been lost in the past 20 years.
• Block Island, Rhode Island would be a good model.
• I love the open space, but there are more people. Try to preserve views, forests, etc., while increasing the number of units of family dwelling and access to necessary services and improve roads.
• A creative tension should exist between rigorous environmental protection and controlled development. Expansion of housing developments can be interspersed with open spaces without encroaching on environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands.
• This is the prime area of conflict between developers, private owners of land, and community interests. Full communication on conflicts and procedures is the chief responsibility of municipal authorities.
• May need farmland when western aquifers dry up and we need to produce more food in New England.
• I would weight preservation of large continuous tracts, such as Moose Mountain, as more important than "remnant" pieces.
• People are subdividing their lands, selling land that is not suitable for a leach field or well. Runoff occurs. Homes are sited too closely to others.
• Dangerous to micro-manage from Main Street.
• Board don't seem to care what citizens think - don't listen to Conservation Commission.
• People should be able to do what they want in their backyards. People should be able to do what they want with their land.
• Open space should serve the greater community, not the developer.
• None of the above should permit, allow or develop spot zoning.

Open Space Programs in Hanover

• A map of presently and permanently protected Open Space should be distributed.
• Use a tax on real estate transfers to fund open space.
• Create large local tax incentives for conservation easements.
• Residents and town should purchase land for preservation if land meets development regulations and for some reason the choice not to have it developed occurs.
• Need to be proactive. Offer to buy development rights and/or have a capital fund that buys larger properties, then developing a fraction to recoup funds so a majority is preserved.
• 1% tax to finance open space preservation? Outrageous! How would that money by used? Why needed?