Editor's note: This is the third part of a weekly series profiling various properties owned by the College outside Hanover.
The Second College Grant nearly 27,000 acres of undeveloped land near Erroll, NH and the Maine state line has served both as a source of revenue for the College and as a highly-regarded site for research and recreational activity for Dartmouth alumni, faculty, staff and students over the past 200 years.
The Second College Grant was one of two initiatives enacted by the New Hampshire state legislature to grant land to fund the College's development in its early years. The state legislature granted the land to the College in 1807 after Dartmouth sold large portions of the First College Grant which the legislature had given to the College in 1792 to keep the College running.
Despite receiving an offer for the Second College Grant in 1846, College administrators decided to keep the land as a source of revenue from timber and logging on the property, according to the history of the Grant complied by Jere Daniell '55 and Jack Noon '68.
College-owned properties are expected to either break even financially or produce a return on investment to the College, according to Lisa Celone, director of Operations Management and chair of the Second College Grant Management Committee.
The management committee that oversees the Grant, which was established in 2004 and is currently comprised of 11 members including students, faculty, alumni and College administrators, is charged with reviewing the effectiveness of the Grant and creating policy regarding activities on the property.
Although changes in the timber industry, such as a decline in construction material and paper production and a decreased demand for wood products, have affected timber production on the Grant, the property has returned revenue to the College over the past 10 years, Celone said.
The Grant is an integrated and important part of the timber industry in the Upper Valley, according to Andrew Harvard, former Outdoor Programs director and a current member of the management committee that oversees the Grant.
"The College maintains an exemplary timber harvesting program focused on management of sustainable forestry and care for wildlife habitats," Outdoor Programs Director Dan Nelson said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
In addition to timber production, the Second College Grant has hosted College recreational activities for over two centuries.
"It's an absolutely fantastic piece of property," said Larry Kelly, associate director of real estate at the College and member of the Second College Grant Management Committee. "It's a kick to put your gear on a sled and ski it all down to a cabin in the winter. It's really a fun place to go."
The Dartmouth Outing Club coordinates student excursions to the Second College Grant, which is also used for first-year trips.
"The Grant was an integral part of my first-year trip," J. Michael Mentrek '13 said. "To come to New Hampshire for the first time and realize such immense opportunities were available to me at this College was incredible."
Students, alumni and faculty have all enjoyed spending time at the Grant, according to chemistry professor Jon Kull, a faculty representative on the management committee who graduated from the College in 1988.
"When I was an undergraduate student, I helped build a cabin up there," he said.
Dartmouth faculty members as well as other academic researchers have increasingly used the Grant's natural setting as a place for ecological study and research.
"It's one of the few more or less untouched pieces of ecology up there," Harvard said.
Despite recent budget cuts, College administrators and faculty said they do not believe the Grant will be sold to bring in revenue. Budget cuts will likely impact the management of the Grant as College officials seek to cut back on expenses, according Celone.
"The importance of the Grant is pretty broadly recognized by the Dartmouth community," Kelly said. "It doesn't require a lot of financial support in the end."
Members of the management committee noted that the Grant provides unique recreation, education and research opportunities for the Dartmouth community, they said.
"It's one of the oldest natural forest preserve areas in the northeast that's undeveloped," Celone said. "There's not a lot of that left."
There may be other less-used woodland properties owned by the College that are suitable for sale, Harvard said.
"My hope is that no one is trying to think about cranking out a little more revenue," Harvard said. "The balance that we've developed at the Grant over a long time for sustainable forestry and recreation is a good balance."
