IN THE NEWS

Lakes Region Conservation Trust Is Named New Hampshire Magazine “Best of NH 2006”
June 22, 2006

Meredith – June 22, 2006 — The Lakes Region Conservation Trust has been selected as “Best of NH” in New Hampshire Magazine’s 2006 contest, for the category of “Preservation Coup.” The Trust was selected for this honor by the editors of New Hampshire Magazine for the preservation of the 5,420-acre Castle in the Clouds property in Moultonborough and Tuftonboro, which includes the 1914 mountaintop estate known as “Lucknow.”

The Lakes Region Conservation Trust completed the acquisition and protection of the Castle in the Clouds property in late 2003. Through the generosity of more than 2,000 individuals, families, businesses, and other non-governmental donors, the LRCT successfully completed a three-year, $5.9 million campaign to acquire the historic landmark property and ensure its protection in perpetuity.
Since the completion of the campaign, the Lakes Region Conservation Trust has worked to steward this extraordinary property and to maintain 45 miles of carriage roads and trails on the property that are open to the public for hiking free of charge. The Trust has also established a separate organization, the Castle Preservation Society, to be responsible for the operation, management, and restoration of the historic Castle in the Clouds, which is visited by more than 30,000 people each year.
Upon completion of the acquisition campaign, then LRCT President Tom Curren stated that "[w]e owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who stepped forward to save this land for public access. The support for this campaign was broad-based, with donations coming from year-round New Hampshire residents and summer visitors who reside all across the United States. The success of this effort is a tribute to the love that people have for New Hampshire's great landmarks.”

Current LRCT President Don Berry added that the success of the effort to preserve the Castle in the Clouds property is also a tribute to the leadership of Tom Curren and of LRCT Board chairs Fred Rozelle of Sandwich and Ann Hackl of Tuftonboro, whose commitment to the project and extraordinary efforts were essential to the successful result. Berry noted that the LRCT’s Castle in the Clouds acquisition is by far the largest conservation effort ever undertaken in the Lakes Region.

The Lakes Region Conservation Trust is an independent, non-profit, member-supported organization that protects key wildlife habitat, preserves freshwater and wilderness resources, and provides for public access to conservation lands for thoughtful recreation in the 30-town Lakes Region. The LRCT has protected more than 17,000 acres of conservation land in the Region, including more than 19 miles of shore frontage on the region's lakes and ponds.

Using only funds donated by individuals, families, businesses, and other non-governmental sources, the LRCT is now the largest conservation landowner in the Lakes Region and, based on acreage owned, is the third largest owner of conservation lands in the State of New Hampshire.

Those who are interested in supporting conservation in the Lakes Region are invited to contact the LRCT at 603-279-3246 or by email at lrct@metrocast.net and to visit the LRCT’s website at www.lrct.org and the Castle in the Clouds website at www.castleintheclouds.org.

New Hampshire Magazine is the State’s largest lifestyle magazine. It is part of McLean Communications of Manchester, a publishing company that also includes New Hampshire Business Review, NH.com, and The Cabinet Press. The entire list of 2006 Best of NH winners will appear in the July issue of New Hampshire Magazine.