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Open Space Priorities Plan 2: Conservation / Recreation Action Areas
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In its analysis of the open space needs of Hanover, the Open Space Committee took a broad approach. Sizable conservation areas, each of which encompasses many lots, were selected as the building blocks of the open space system. The eleven most valued conservation/recreation areas and their open space benefits are described in alphabetical order. A table summarizing the degree to which each of the conservation/recreation action areas fulfills the open space benefits criteria follows on page 46.
(Photo in print edition) The Appalachian Trail Corridor, cutting diagonally across the town from southwest to northeast, needs to be buffered from new development.
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Appalachian Trail Buffers
The Appalachian Trail (AT) is a recreational corridor protected by the U. S. Government. It that threads its way through the heart of Hanover, along the spine of Moose Mountain, past rural homes, between suburban developments, and right down Hanover's Main Street.
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Connecticut River Shoreline
The Connecticut River is one of the most significant natural, scenic and recreational resources in Hanover. Yet public access to the Connecticut River in the Town of Hanover is limited to a few areas.
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Etna Walkway
In the context of the open space plan, the Etna Walkway is described as one example of the many opportunities in Hanover to create new public assets by linking existing protected lands and trail easements.
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King Hill Connections
This area extends from the Appalachian Trail corridor north of Ruddsboro Road south to the Lebanon border and east to Moose Mountain West.
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Lord's Hill
Lord's Hill is a very important topographical feature of Hanover's landscape, second only to Moose Mountain in its prominence and visibility.
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Mink Brook Corridor
Encompassing more than 40% of the land area of the town, the Mink Brook watershed is the largest in Hanover.
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Monahan Valley
The proposed protected land in the watershed of Monahan Brook lies at the geographical center of Hanover, bounded on the west and east by Two and Three Mile Roads and to the North and South by Slade Brook and the former route of the Appalachian Trail.
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Moose Mountain East
Moose Mountain East (MME) is the entire area of Hanover to the east of Moose Mountain. Within 1/2 hour drive of downtown and easily accessed by scenic dirt roads, the area includes Town Forest, a designated natural preserve, old farms, recreation areas, seasonal homes, and a portion of Goose Pond.
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Moose Mountain West
Moose Mountain West (MMW) extends from Hanover's northern border with Lyme to its southern border with Enfield, and from the mountain's ridgetop west to a line roughly parallel to Two Mile, Thompson, Three Mile, Old Dana and Ruddsboro Roads, and set back from those roads by a 500-foot strip zoned Rural Residential.
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Slade Brook
Slade Brook has been a relatively unknown area of Hanover that in recent years has gotten more attention as the population of rural Hanover has grown.
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Water Company Lands
The lands surrounding the three reservoirs in Hanover are approximately 1,250 acres in size. In an act of farsighted planning for the public good in the 1880s, this land was protected from development to ensure a safe water supply for the town and Dartmouth College.