Forest Society Marks 200th Conserved Forest, Honors Dottie Bean Of Farmington

By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH

Above, friends and supporters celebrate the Forest Society's 200th forest in Farmington. PAULA TRACY photo

FARMINGTON, NH — Approaching its 125th anniversary next year, The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests celebrated the protection of its 200th forest here Sunday and honored a dedicated member who made it possible.

The late Dorothy "Dottie" Bean was remembered for her love of the organization, her hard work in protecting her farm, forest and fields and her bequest of more than 300 acres to the state's largest conservation organization.

In a farm field bordered by stone walls and the 1818 home she once lived in on weekends with her parents, Joseph and Donna Bean, the family was remembered by friends and neighbors and Forest Society leaders Sunday at its official opening to the public.

Remarks were followed with cake, lemonade and a hike through the property which is on Meetinghouse Hill Road at the height of land.

She left the entire 340-acre property, mostly across the street with its trail up Chesley Mountain (elevation 1,035 feet), to the Forest Society. As part of her wishes, the farmhouse and its 16 surrounding acres were sold and the proceeds going to the perpetual maintenance of the remainder of the more than 300 acres.

It has a loop trail and views to Moose Mountain and as far away as Portsmouth.

Above, Jack Savage is pictured talking with Susan Arnold, a board member, at the dedication of its 200th forest Sunday in Farmington. PAULA TRACY photo

It will never be developed in an area of the state that is quickly growing, between the Seacoast and the Lakes Region.

The Demeritt Family settled the land in the late 1700s and the farmhouse has been restored by the new owners, Trip and Diane Morris, who keep horses in the field across the street and attended the celebration.

Dottie Bean was a research supervisor at Tufts University and her parents were living at the farm, where she would spend her weekends in the 1960s. She retired there in 1990. In 1992 she joined as a member of the Forest Society. About the same time she enrolled the property as a Tree Farm.

PAULA TRACY Photo

John Nute of Milton, who grew up in Farmington and was friends of the Bean Family from church, is also a retired forester, who attended to honor her and the milestone.

"She and her friend Jane Fall were loyal attendees of every SPNHF annual meeting no matter where it was in the state, they'd carpool all day," she said.

"So it is wonderful. This is a property that is protected as she wanted. She was not a wealthy woman, a very, very modest lady...but she saw her lands protected," Nute said.

He noted that this is a great success for the property as it will not be developed.

"We are trying to find some balance here," in terms of development.

"What you see now, is what you see forever...you could have had 60 houses here for God's sakes," Nute said. He noted farmland is disappearing faster in New Hampshire than the forests are.

Jack Savage, president of the Forest Society and a friend of Dottie's, said, "Dottie chose to work with the Forest Society to achieve her vision because in large part we had shared values. She was conservation minded as are we and she took an active role in forest management."

He wanted to recognize Bean's legacy and noted the 200th forest established by the organization which is located all across the state.

"Next year will be our 125th anniversary and it is just a remarkable legacy of work," he said.

"We are a collection of people...who facilitate the vision and legacy of others who come to us," like Bean who would invariably greet people at her door with 'what do you want?'...she was quite a character."

Miles Olstad, who was a caretaker of the property, said that happened to her as well.

He spoke about her somewhat gruff welcome and noted initially it was a bit off putting "but it took me a while to understand that that is just her way of accepting help. She would never ask you to help her...She was independent, strong, intelligent. She knew what she wanted. She knew what she wanted to do; she usually got it done, one way or the other and she was largely a chip off the old block," referring to her father, though he was "more than willing to accept a helping hand."

With the help of the Boy Scouts, who enjoyed camporees on the property, she let others enjoy the land. The Boy Scouts Troop 188 built the loop trail that leads to a scenic view near the top of Chesley Mountain that can now be enjoyed by all.

It is open to hunting and she was willing to let hunting occur on the property.

Olstad said her main interest was the Forest Society. He said he was amazed at the lengths she went to to protect the property and be a community member.

She died in August 2021 at the age of 84.

For more on the Forest Society forests, you can find a visitors guide at https://www.forestsociety.org/visitor-guide

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.