Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

Founded by a handful of concerned citizens in 1901, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests is now one of the country’s most effective statewide land conservation organizations. In 2026, they marked 125 years of conserving and caring for New Hampshire’s forests — a legacy built by generations of members, volunteers, landowners, and partners.

Our mission statement, developed in 1904, remains our guiding compass today:
“We are a forestry association seeking to perpetuate the forests of New Hampshire through their wise use and their complete reservation in places of special scenic beauty.”

For 125 years, this balance of protection and wise use has defined who they are. As a nonprofit membership organization, the Forest Society is dedicated to protecting the state’s most important landscapes while promoting the thoughtful stewardship of its renewable natural resources — work that continues to evolve as New Hampshire’s forests face new challenges.

Jack Savage

Jack Savage is President of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. He was appointed as the Forest Society’s fifth President in September 2019. Previously the Vice President of Communications/Outreach at the Forest Society for 14 years, he has been a key contributor to many of the Forest Society’s successes over the last decade. He has guided the organization’s evolving use of digital media to accomplish its land protection and advocacy goals, and overseen the expansion of its education and volunteer programs.

Savage’s family has roots in the forest products industry — they owned the Charleston Lumber Company in Charleston, W.V.  in the 20th century. He and his wife, Cheryl, now make their home in a historic farmhouse in Middleton, NH, where they have lived with their dogs and horses since 1993.

As a writer and publisher, Savage has had broad experience in newspapers, magazines, and book publishing. He is a former editor of NH Profiles magazine, publisher of NH Seacoast Sunday newspaper, and operator of his own company, Carriage House Publishing. Savage is also a founding board member and past president of the New Hampshire Writers Project.

A certified Tree Farmer, Savage is active in his community, serving for the last 12 years as town moderator and formerly as selectman, chair of the Planning Board, and chair of the ZBA. As a volunteer and member of the regional conservation group Moose Mountains Regional Greenways, Savage helped facilitate the Forest Society’s conservation of more than 2,000 acres in the Moose Mountains range.