Wendler Property, Berlin

Wendler Property
Wendler Property
Wendler Property.

SVT has worked with the Town of Berlin to protect the 30-acre Wendler Property near the town's boundary with Bolton. SVT temporarily purchased the property until Berlin could free up the necessary funds. On March 30, 2020, the Town purchased the land from us, and SVT holds a conservation restriction over it.

In July 2020, the Town of Berlin combined this property with an adjacent 50 acres that it already owned to create the Peach Hill Conservation Area. The Town and SVT opened a new hiking trail at Peach Hill that connects with trails on conservation land owned by the Town of Bolton.

SVT is proud to collaborate with municipalities and local land trusts on projects like this. Our efforts to assist local partners and facilitate cross-boundary conservation projects leads to stronger protections for the region's natural areas.

The Wendler property is a 30-acre forest block located off Peach Hill Road in north Berlin, abutting the town line with Bolton. The property abuts 50+ acres of conservation land owned by the Town of Berlin and sits just across Lancaster Road from the Forty Caves Conservation Area.

The property abuts another 157 acres of conservation land in Bolton, including the Fyfeshire Conservation Area and two APR (Agricultural Preservation Restriction) protected farms. The Wendler property provides a key connector between the conservation areas in the two towns to create a contiguous wildlife corridor and forest block totaling more than 1,150 acres!

The property's strategic location also allows it to provide a key connection between trail systems in Bolton and Berlin. Keep an eye out for an announcement of the completion and opening of the trail!

  • The property provides a key connector for a forest block and wildlife corridor totalling more than 1,150 acres.
  • The property is entirely within an NHESP (Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program) Priority Habitat for Rare Species. 
  • The property provides a trail connection between Bolton and Berlin conservation areas. 
  • The property provides a buffer to North Brook (a certified Coldwater Fisheries Resource) and its tributaries, one of which runs across the property's northwestern border. 

The Town of Berlin now owns this land, but SVT stepped in to purchase and hold the land on behalf of the Town while they sought grant funding. Now that the Town of Berlin is in ownership of the land, SVT will hold the conservation restriction in order to ensure its protection in perpetuity. 

Additionally, the Town of Bolton was given a small portion of the land (0.8 acres) that was situated in Bolton. This parcel adds to the Town of Bolton's Fyfeshire Conservation Area and allows its trail system to connect to the planned trail on the Wendler property. 

SVT received funding from the Merrimack Conservation Partnership, the Fields Pond Foundation, and the William P. Wharton Trust in support of this project.