Barrington’s Conserved Lands: Goodwill Conservation Area

Goodwill Conservation Area: Public Trails

Protection: Conservation Easement
Description: Town owned property with pond and extensive ledges.
Motorized wheeled vehicles are not permitted on the Goodwill Conservation Area. Snowmobiles are only allowed on designated trails.

The Winnie the Pooh Trail

The Winnie the Pooh Trail has been renovated. New signs and a new section have been added to the Pooh Trail, so feel free to get out there and see some new quotes from AA Milne’s classic and enjoy the new part of the trail that affords lovely views of Richardson Pond. The Barrington Conservation Commission and the Southeast Land Trust of NH (SELT) are delighted to announce the permanent conservation of 135 acres to be added to the Goodwill Conservation Area, nearly doubling the size of that conserved land. It is all open to the public for passive recreational activities and snowmobiling on designated trails.

The trail system for the new addition to the Goodwill Conservation Area is still being developed, and the map will be updated when that is done.

Also, there is firm evidence that some have been using the Pooh trail for horseback riding.  You are welcome to ride on the Goodwill trail, but confine your riding to there.  We love the Pooh trail, but are not as crazy about the “poo” trail!

Below is a Brochure and Printable Map of the Pooh Trail

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GOODWILL CONSERVATION AREA
(Richardson Pond)

This 156-acre property was acquired by the town in 2007. It was purchased using money from the town’s conservation fund as a bargain sale, meaning that much of the value of the land was generously donated by its former owner, Carolyn Goodwill. It was placed in a conservation easement held be the Strafford Rivers Conservancy at the time of the sale. The easement stipulates that the property cannot be developed and can only be used for passive recreation, forestry, and agriculture.

Its most visible feature is Richardson Pond, a small dammed pond that helps provide habitat for a wide variety of plant and animal species (see list). The outflow forms the beginning of Mallego Brook, which eventually flows into the Madbury Reservoir. The property is also geologically fascinating, as in the back of it there are substantial ledges of a sort found nowhere else in the area.

There is a hiking/snowmobile trail through the property, with several side trails. There is a small parking area off of Route 9, just to the right of the mailboxes at the end of Richardson Drive. The trail starts on the far side of the dam, and you have to climb over or under the gate (not hard to do) to access the trail from the parking area.

The property is open for hiking, cross-country skiing, hunting, etc., and snowmobiling. Motorized wheeled vehicles are not allowed.

Click Maps below for Printable-Downloadable Versions.

Goodwill Conservation Area Map 3/6/2022
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Species Observed on the Richardson Pond Goodwill Property

CREATURES

Mammals

  • Northern River Otter
  • American Beaver
  • Muskrat
  • Black Bear
  • White Tail Deer
  • Moose
  • Fisher
  • Eastern Coyote
  • Red Fox
  • Gray Fox
  • Long Tail Weasel
  • Mink
  • Red Squirrel
  • Gray Squirrel
  • Northern Flying Squirrel
  • Eastern Chipmunk
  • Short Tail Shrew
  • White-Footed Mouse
  • Raccoon
  • Porcupine

Amphibians/Reptiles 

  • Red-Spotted Newt
  • Grey Tree Frog
  • Green Frog
  • Bullfrog
  • American Toad
  • Northern Water Snake
  • Garter Snake
  • Snapping Turtle
  • Painted Turtle  (nesting)

Birds

  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Canada Goose  (breeding)
  • American Black Duck
  • Mallard
  • Wood Duck  (breeding)
  • Ring-necked Duck
  • Hooded Merganser  (in migration)
  • Scaup sp.
  • Osprey (in migration)
  • Turkey Vulture
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Green Heron
  • Spotted Sandpiper (in migration)
  • Ruffed Grouse
  • Northern Harrier  (in migration)
  • Red-Tailed Hawk
  • Great Horned Owl
  • Mourning Dove
  • Black-billed Cuckcoo
  • Belted Kingfisher
  • Northern Flicker
  • Downy Woodpecker
  • Hairy Woodpecker
  • Eastern Kingbird
  • Eastern Phoebe
  • Eastern Wood-Peewee
  • Least Flycatcher  (probably breeding)
  • Tree Swallow
  • Chimney Swift
  • American Crow
  • Northern Raven
  • Blue Jay
  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • White-breasted Nuthatch
  • Brown Creeper
  • Gray Catbird
  • American Robin
  • Cedar Waxwing
  • Red-eyed Vireo
  • Warbling Vireo
  • Black-Throated Green Warbler
  • Black-and-white Warbler
  • Yellow-Rumped Warbler
  • Pine Warbler (in migration)
  • Yellow Warbler  (breeding)
  • Common Yellowthroat  (breeding)
  • Ovenbird
  • Red-Winged Blackbird  (breeding)
  • Common Grackle (breeding)
  • Scarlet Tanager
  • American Goldfinch
  • Chipping Sparrow
  • Song Sparrow
  • Swamp Sparrow  (breeding)
  • White-throated Sparrow  (in migration)

INSECTS

Butterflies and Moths

  • Monarch
  • Orange Sulphur
  • Hummingbird Moth spp.
  • Waterlily Moth 

Dragonflies

  • Common Green Darner
  • Mottled Darner
  • Black-tipped Darner
  • Dragonhunter
  • Lancet Clubtail
  • Lilypad Clubtail
  • Petite Emerald
  • American Emerald
  • Baskettail sp.
  • Eastern Amberwing
  • Blue Dasher
  • Eastern Pondhawk
  • Spangled Skimmer
  • Slaty Skimmer
  • White Corporal
  • Chalk-Fronted Corporal
  • Common Whitetail
  • Twelve-Spotted Skimmer
  • Four-Spotted Skimmer
  • Calico Pennant
  • Halloween Pennant
  • Yellow-Legged Meadowhawk
  • Dot-Tailed Whiteface
  • Hudsonian Whiteface
  • Frosted Whiteface

Miscellaneous insects seen in, on, or over the pond/wetland 

  • Whirligig Beetle  (Gyrinidae)
  • Water Boatmen  (Corixidae)
  • Backswimmer  (Notonectidae)
  • Caddis Fly (Trichoptera)
  • Predaceous Diving Beetle (Dytiscidae)
  • Giant Water Bug  (Belstomatidae)
  • Water Strider  (Gerridae)
  • halictid bee
  • bumblebee  (Bombus spp.)
  • syrphid flies  (hover flies)
  • long-horned leaf beetle  (Donacia sp.)
  • dance fly (Empidae)
  • springtail  (Collembola)
  • delphacid plant hopper
  • Waterlily Leaf Beetle  (Pyrrhalta nympheae)
  • red water mite  (Hydracarina)

 FOREST PLANTS

Trees

  • Red Maple
  • Black Gum
  • Northern Red Oak
  • White Oak
  • Black Oak
  • Paper Birch
  • Black Birch
  • Yellow Birch
  • American Beech
  • Eastern White Pine
  • Pitch Pine
  • Eastern Hemlock

Miscellaneous Forest Plants

  • Trailing Arbutus or May Flower
  • Wintergreen
  • Rock Tripe
  • Goldenrod
  • Club Moss spp

Wetland and Forest Shrubs

  • Leatherleaf
  • Buttonbush
  • Speckled Alder
  • Sheep Laurel
  • Winterberry Holly
  • Witch Hazel
  • Red Raspberry
  • Meadowsweet
  • Steeplebush
  • Highbush Blueberry
  • Lowbush Blueberry
  • Maleberry
  • Northern Arrowwood
  • Staghorn Sumac
  • Swamp Rose

WETLAND PLANTS 

Aquatic Emergents  

  • Pickerel-weed
  • Broad-leaved Arrowhead
  • Broad-leaved Cattail
  • Scirpus spp.  (bulrushes)
  • Tussock Sedge, Three-way Sedge, and other sedges
  • Juncus spp.  (rushes)
  • Bur-reed sp.

Flaoting 

  • Fragrant Water-lily
  • Spatterdock
  • Floating-Leaved Pondweed
  • Water-shield

Miscellaneous Wetland Plants

  • Inflated Bladderwort and other bladderworts
  • Sphagnum spp.
  • Royal Fern and other ferns
  • Reed Canarygrass
  • Marsh St. Johnswort