New England BRINGING THE OUTDOORS CLOSER TO HOME IN 2026 AND BEYOND
PHOTO BY CHRIS BENNET T
Connecting Everyone to the Outdoors in New England Dear Friends, Access to nature isn’t a luxury, it’s essential. You make it possible for Trust for Public Land to protect and create community-centered outdoor spaces that improve health and wellness, increase climate resilience, and bolster social connections. You help TPL advance this important work through on-the-ground project delivery and comprehensive systems change, in New England and across the country. This is impact that not only benefits individual communities—but our nation as a whole. Together, we are advancing landmark projects— conserving land along the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire, supporting Tribal-led land returns in Maine, transforming public housing, open spaces, and schoolyards in Massachusetts, and expanding community forests and trail networks in Vermont. As a result, you are helping to ensure that communities across the region have healthier, more resilient places to live, play, and thrive. Each effort reflects our shared commitment to support both people and the places that matter most to them. As we celebrate all we have accomplished, there is more work to be done. The need for equitable access
to nature continues to grow, and so do the challenges and opportunities facing our health, climate, and communities. With your continued support, we can rise to meet this moment. Thank you for joining us as we connect everyone to the outdoors. With gratitude,
Shelby Semmes Vice President New England Region TRUST FOR PUBLIC L AND IN NEW ENGL AND
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Supporting Healthy Forests in Vermont The landscapes that define Vermont sustain far more than scenic beauty. Conserved lands safeguard clean water and critical habitat, strengthen local economies, improve climate resilience, and create opportunities for people to connect with nature. Across the state, TPL is advancing 16 active and emerging projects to protect 10,000 acres of land. These efforts will benefit 23 communities and help ensure that all Vermont residents and visitors can experience the joy and wonder of nature.
Celebrating Success in the Green Mountains While the Northern Green Mountains are a gem within Vermont’s landscape, they remain one of the least protected core forests in northeastern North America. In December 2025, TPL seized a rare opportunity to conserve 344 acres of unprotected forestland in the center of the 5,720-acre Eden Forest, which we conserved in partnership with the State in 2010. Now, with a conservation easement held by the State of Vermont, we have ensured permanent public access— supporting Vermont’s working forest economy, safeguarding critical habitat, and strengthening water quality for downstream communities. Eden Forest represents the first piece of the larger 2,298-acre Hazen’s Notch conservation effort. We are currently raising the final $450,000 towards the $2.5M cost to permanently protect the remaining acreage.
Protecting forests like Eden means clean water for our communities, good jobs in the woods, and outdoor spaces where families make memories … that’s a Vermont that works for everyone.” — Gus Seelig, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board Executive Director
Equitable Access: Conservation and Housing Partnership in Wolcott In Lamoille County, Wolcott residents experience challenges brought on by unaffordable housing and extreme flooding. To address the growing need for resilient community planning, TPL donated 1.9 acres adjacent to Wolcott Community Forest to Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity in March 2026. The lot will include a permanently affordable home and demonstrate the importance of protecting land to support vibrant communities.
Looking Ahead: Realizing the Velomont Trail Vision In partnership with Vermont Huts & Trails and the Vermont Mountain Biking Association, TPL is helping to create the Velomont Trail—a permanently protected, multi-use, hut-supported trail system that will connect hundreds of miles of existing trails, conserved lands, and rural communities across Vermont through a worldclass outdoor recreation experience. This bold vision will expand outdoor access, strengthen local economies, and protect critical landscapes for generations to come. Our priority Velomont projects include: • Protecting 178 acres of land to expand Emerald Lake State Park in Dorset • Acquiring 1,020 acres of high elevation forestland along Dorset Ridgeline that lie within five miles of New England’s longest bat cave • Working with a landowner to acquire a key 600-acre parcel in Rutland County
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Wolcott Community Forest. PHOTO BY CHRIS BENNET T
Safeguarding Special Landscapes in Maine
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. PHOTO BY CHRIS BENNET T
From rugged coastlines to remote mountaintops, TPL is protecting the forests, waters, and trails that strengthen Maine communities, reduce climate impacts, and ensure everyone can enjoy the outdoors.
Building Community and Coastal Resilience Your philanthropy empowers communities to shape green spaces that reflect local priorities and foster connection. In Portland, TPL is partnering with the City of Portland and Portland Parks Conservancy to shape a once-inaccessible section of the Eastern Waterfront into the city’s new signature park effort: First Light Commons. This spring, we celebrated the groundbreaking on a 3.5-acre lot along the waterfront that will soon offer public green space and trails for walking and biking in one of Portland’s most diverse neighborhoods. We are now working to advance Phase 2 of this effort to transform a patchwork of seven acres of parking, paved trails, and green space along the waterfront into a vibrant and flood-resilient community park.
The Iconic Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is one of America’s greatest public treasures, and protecting the land surrounding it is essential to preserving its iconic views, wildlife habitat, and outdoor experiences for millions of visitors each year. In 2026, TPL and Northeast Wilderness Trust successfully conserved the 1,845-acre Moxie Pond Wilderness Preserve, permanently protecting five miles of the A.T.’s scenic viewshed while advancing climate resilience, safeguarding wildlife habitat, and ensuring
this remarkable place remains protected for future generations to explore.
Wabanaki Land Return & Reconnection For Indigenous peoples, land is the foundation of culture, identity, history, and community well-being. TPL partners with Tribal nations and Indigenous communities to protect culturally significant places, support Tribal sovereignty, and expand opportunities for Indigenous stewardship to ensure that all communities have access to the outdoors. Our historic Wáhseht k w partnership, which is advancing the return of nearly 31,000 acres of land to Penobscot Nation, achieved a pivotal milestone this year. In 2026, we successfully returned the first 11,000 acres of the property to the Tribe. We are now focused on raising the remaining $6.5M needed to restore rightful governance and care of this land to Penobscot Nation while also improving access to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Through the Pugweliget effort we launched and completed with Mi’kmaq Nation this year, the Tribe has regained ownership of 83 acres in Aroostook County— adjacent to current Tribe-owned housing—which will create a larger, connected land base for Tribal citizens to gather, harvest traditional medicines, hunt, fish, teach younger generations, and spend time on the land. This connection to land is essential to sustaining cultural identity, language, intergenerational knowledge-sharing, and traditional lifeways. TRUST FOR PUBLIC L AND IN NEW ENGL AND
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Revitalizing Communities in Massachusetts In Massachusetts, we are reimagining underused and vulnerable lands—from public housing grounds and asphalt schoolyards to city-owned vacant lots—as vibrant parks that serve local needs. Through community-driven planning and design, we help create welcoming spaces where people feel a sense of belonging, ownership, and pride. The result is not simply a new or refreshed park, but a stronger, healthier, and more connected community.
The Power of Parks to Catalyze Thriving Communities TPL, Boston Housing Authority (BHA), and BHA residents are transforming underused housing grounds into welcoming, climate-smart parks in Roxbury, Roslindale, South Boston, and Mattapan. Guided by resident goals and priorities, these projects are creating healthier places for thousands of families to enjoy the outdoors. In spring 2026, Archdale Park and Playground—our first project with BHA—officially broke ground, followed by the start of construction at the West Broadway Community Garden. The first cohort of BHA parks will expand access to enriching outdoor spaces while building community connections and reducing climate risks. We are actively pursuing additional opportunities, including supporting the creation of an urban farm and park at the Gallivan Boulevard housing development.
NATURE FOR ALL Nationally, TPL has helped raise over $112 billion in voter-approved ballot measures for conservation, parks, and trails. This year, we are supporting the Nature for Massachusetts Coalition and November’s Nature for All ballot measure, which would dedicate funds from the existing state sales tax on sporting goods to raise as much as $100 million every year for protecting and conserving water and nature—without raising taxes. Get the latest at tpl.org/2026-ballot-measures.
Empowering Students to Shape Green Spaces In partnership with Boston Public Schools (BPS), TPL is leading a community-driven planning and design process to transform the Blackstone Elementary Schoolyard in Boston’s South End into a vibrant, climate-resilient space for learning, play, and neighborhood connection. In early 2026, fourth-grade students participated in TPL’s nationally recognized participatory design program, exploring landscape architecture, climate resilience, and problem-solving through hands-on STEM learning. Their ideas are helping shape a schoolyard designed to address heat, flooding, and the need for high-quality outdoor learning spaces.
What’s Next? The Future of These Partnerships BHA: TPL is assisting BHA in developing a data-informed, multi-year Open Space Framework Plan, which will institutionalize open space as a key priority for the agency and provide a strategic roadmap for future investments in partnership with TPL.
Chittick Elementary Community Schoolyard. PHOTO BY JUSTIN BARTELS
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BPS: TPL has established a three-year partnership with BPS to bring our participatory design process to one Boston school each year. Future sites will be selected based on community needs, ensuring more students and neighborhoods benefit from greener, healthier schoolyards.
New Hampshire: Connecting Corridors along the Appalachian Trail Our community-centric conservation approach in New Hampshire ensures that residents and visitors across the state can connect with transformative outdoor experiences. We are thrilled to share an update on an upcoming success in the Granite State.
A Big Win for New Hampshire Communities In January 2026, TPL acquired Pressey Brook Headwaters, a 74-acre property in Lyme that contains 0.4 miles of the A.T. as well as a trailhead. TPL will convey the property to the National Park Service (NPS) by the end of 2026. Pressey Brook is the latest in a long history of collaboration between TPL and NPS to protect the 2,190-mile footpath and the corridor of land that surrounds the A.T. on its route from Maine to Georgia. Over 3 million visitors use the A.T. annually, including over 4,000 ambitious “thru-hikers” attempting to complete the entire trail in a calendar year.
extreme flooding in Lyme and nearby Hanover, while creating a greener future for New Hampshire residents.
Advocacy Spotlight While TPL brings decades of experience conserving land and enhancing long-distance trails, our work is propelled by local partnerships. In June 2026, TPL received a signed letter of support for the Pressey Brook project from Governor Kelly Ayotte, meeting a new mandate from the Department of the Interior requiring local and state government support for many federal land acquisitions. Thanks to careful and coordinated partnerships and advocacy, we have Governor Ayotte’s support and can now proceed with the final steps in conveying the property to the NPS, Appalachian Trail unit. We look forward to celebrating this crucial milestone, which will mark the property’s official permanent protection, at the end of the year.
The protection of Pressey Brook Headwaters goes beyond supporting community health and well-being. It also safeguards essential wetlands, a wildlife corridor, and the forest that makes up the beautiful view from the A.T. By protecting the namesake headwaters, we can help ensure clean drinking water for the community and mitigate the effects of
Pressey Brook Headwaters. PHOTO BY TPL STAFF
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THANK YOU for helping create parks, protect special places, and connect more people to the outdoors across New England.
NEW ENGLAND ADVISORY BOARD We are deeply grateful to our New England Advisory Board members, whose leadership, expertise, and generosity help advance our mission to connect everyone to the outdoors. Interested in making an impact? We’d love to hear from you—contact us to learn more about volunteer opportunities with TPL.
Lorie Graham, Professor of Law and Co-Director, International Law Concentration at Suffolk University Law School
Marc Hiller, Director, Environmental Products, Mercuria
Joseph Stein, Director of Quantitative Research, Natixis Investment Managers
Laquisa Burke, Manager of Rental and Homeownership Services, Madison Park Development Corporation
Wendy Holding, Trustee, Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge
Ann Taylor, Physician, consultant, and Co-Chair, Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine
Carolyn Mansfield duPont, Chief Commercial Officer, Upstream Tech Amanda Garvey, Vice President, Sustainability and Resilience Practice at Thornton Tomasetti
Will Hewes, Water Stewardship Lead, Amazon, and Trustee, Portland Water District
Helen Kellogg, Director of Marketing & Program Strategy, Higher Ambition Leadership Alliance Will Lintilhac, Trustee, Lintilhac Foundation
Drew McConville, Senior Fellow for Conservation, Center for American Progress Richard Oetheimer, Retired, Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP Roland Price, Retired, Vice President & Treasurer, Point32Health
Dano Weisbord, Chief Sustainability Officer, Tufts University, and TPL New England Advisory Board Chair
6 Beacon St, #615, Boston, MA 02108 30 Danforth St, #106, Portland, ME 04101 3 Shipman Pl, Montpelier, VT 05602
Join us Your gift ensures everyone has access to the outdoors. Every park we create, schoolyard we transform, trail we extend, and landscape we protect is thanks to supporters like you. tpl.org/donate
Ally McDougal New England Director of Philanthropy 781.856.5564 ally.mcdougal@tpl.org Shelby Semmes Vice President, New England Region 917.658.2582 shelby.semmes@tpl.org
COVER, L ARGE: © CHRIS BENNET T; TOP TO BOTTOM: © BRIAN MOHR / EMBER PHOTOGRAPHY; © CHRIS BENNET T; © JUSTIN BARTELS; THIS PAGE: © BRIAN MOHR / EMBER PHOTOGRAPHY