Tin Mountain Conservation Center owns and manages 1,181 acres of timberland in Conway with the goal of educating the public about sustainable forest management and to impart a strong stewardship ethic.
The lands are a portion of the former Bear Paw lands that were donated to The Nature Conservancy in 1998 that include a 500-acre parcel south of Route 302 along the Fryeburg/Conway town line, as well as several separate and adjoining lots (67 to 239 acres in size) north of the East Conway Road approaching the Green Hill Preserve.
The Upper Saco Valley Land Trust holds and monitors a conservation easement on all of these forest properties. The easement allows for sustainable forest management, educational programs, and low-impact traditional public recreation, and prohibits clearcutting, subdivision and development.
Tin Mountain Conservation Center remains committed to educational efforts and forest management practices that promote ecological diversity, environmental stability, social responsiveness, long-term forest productivity, and economic viability. Overall stewardship goals for the forest and management practices are modeled after nature and the natural disturbance patterns that are responsible for the native forest systems found in the region.
These lands are also used extensively in our research program for avian monitoring, bird banding, vegetation plot surveys, brook trout habitat monitoring, and bat habitat enhancements. They are also used as a field trip for many local schools in the area.
Tin Mountain’s East Bear Paw property is open to the public for walking and mountain biking. There is a designated parking lot off Route 302.
