Friends of Mount Sunapee is an alliance of neighbors, town leaders, conservationists, and civic-minded advocates from towns across our mountain region and from across New Hampshire and the country.
Supporters include business owners, skiers, hikers, outdoor enthusiasts, and families with current and generational ties to Mount Sunapee State Park. Friends of Mount Sunapee brings a voice to issues and concerns of people who love Mount Sunapee and our state parks.
Our mission advocates for the protection of Mount Sunapee State Park for its essential public values; conservation of the Mount Sunapee highlands and watersheds; and preservation of the unique character and natural beauty of the rural communities in the mountain’s shadow.
Our goal is to maintain our region’s essential qualities of clean air and water, large forest tracts and open lands, wildlife, and their habitats, and the traditional methods of enjoying these resources. We advocate for local land-use measures, regional planning practices, and land protection initiatives that safeguard livable and healthy communities.
Seeking to promote government and corporate leadership and accountability, we encourage public participation and openness in all policy-making processes that determine our region’s future. With education, information, and citizen involvement, we will preserve the unique character of our state park, our mountain, and our region.
Action Goals for Friends of Mount Sunapee
• To compel the state of New Hampshire to recognize that its primary responsibility is to serve as guardian of the public interest at Mount Sunapee State Park, and to deny efforts that undermine the essential conservation and public recreational values for which the park fundamentally exists to provide.
• To support efforts to build a connected constituency for conservation in the Mount Sunapee region.
• To protect land under threat of development through acquisition in part or whole and by supporting existing land protection efforts.
• To engage, inform, and activate citizens in a variety of public policy-making opportunities, including the five-year Master Development Plan process at Mount Sunapee State Park.
• To encourage the establishment and enforcement of local land use regulations in communities impacted by current and potential resort-driven growth.
• To actively network with individuals and groups across the state that support the wise and thoughtful use of New Hampshire’s public parks and forested lands so as to protect their natural heritage for future generations.