Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests honors Ben Gayman with Conservationist of the Year award

Ben Gayman was named the 2018 Conservationist of the Year by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.  Courtesy of Whalen Public & Media Relations
Ben Gayman was named the 2018 Conservationist of the Year by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Courtesy of Whalen Public & Media Relations

On Sept. 29, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests presented the organization’s Conservationist of the Year award at its 117th Annual Meeting. Among the organization’s most prestigious recognitions, this annual award honors those exemplary people who have worked to promote land conservation through many different avenues, often with significant sacrifice.

The Conservationist of the Year honors people whose work to promote and achieve conservation is exemplary, people whose actions have made a difference not just in their own backyards, but also have advanced the protection and stewardship of land statewide.

This year, the Forest Society is honored to present the award to Ben Gayman of Manchester. Gayman became involved with the Forest Society in 1986, when he was enlisted to become an incorporator and then a trustee and vice chairman of the Trust for New Hampshire Land. In 1993, Gayman was elected to the Forest Society’s board of trustees, serving terms as treasurer from 1994 to 1997, vice chairman from 1997 to 1998 and board chairman from 1997 to 2001. He remains the longest-serving member of the development committee.

“While Ben’s résumé is quite extensive, it is his list of accomplishments that have helped shape New Hampshire’s landscape that we are honoring today,” said Jane Difley, president/forester of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. “Ben was an invaluable advisor and solicitor for land campaigns that conserved more than 46,000 acres in Forest Society reservations. He was instrumental in extraordinary land conservation projects, including the 171,500-acre Connecticut Headwaters Project and the conservation of 5,800 acres of land surrounding the Balsams. All total, Ben was instrumental in more than 400,000 acres of New Hampshire’s protected lands. Ben’s conservation legacy has had tremendous impact on New Hampshire’s special landscape and for that we recognize him today.”

Past Conservationists of the Year include Gov. John and Anna King, U.S Sen. Judd Gregg, descendants of John Wingate Weeks and naturalist John Hay. It is the Forest Society’s highest recognition.

 About the Forest Society: The Forest Society is a private, nonprofit land trust and forestry organization established in 1901. The Forest Society owns and manages more than 185 forest reservations constituting more than 56,000 acres in 100 New Hampshire communities, and holds more than 700 conservation easements statewide permanently protecting more than 130,000 acres of New Hampshire’s landscapes.

Kelly Cioe

Author: Insider Staff

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