Let us return to 1975.  In that year, Stamp Act Island, the largest on the lake, was about to go on the market.  It is conceivable that up to 70 lots could have been developed on the Island. Forward-looking members of the Lake Wentworth Association wanted to protect this jewel in the center of Lake Wentworth.  The LWA began a fundraising effort.  In the nick of time the money was raised and Stamp Act Island was preserved for future generations.  The island is now owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed by a committee made up of members from both the Conservancy and the Lake Wentworth Association. This initiative served to alert friends and residents of the Lake Wentworth watershed to the importance of continued vigilance regarding development of parcels affecting the well being of the lakes.

More recently the lake community was threatened with a proposal to build a 400-unit RV park on the site of the old Allen 'A' Resort.  Also, development was planned for the land abutting Fernald Brook, a major tributary to Lake Wentworth.  In both instances, Linda Baldwin, a lifelong summer resident of Wentworth Park, came forward and used her personal financial resources to protect these parcels from harmful development.

In 1996, The Lake Wentworth Foundation was founded as a “sister organization“ to the Lake Wentworth Association to provide a means, as a 501(c) (3) entity, for people to donate with tax deduction benefits.

Linda died tragically in 2002, leaving many of her Wolfeboro real estate holdings to the Lake Wentworth Foundation.  With these gifts to the lake community, the LWF became a conservation land trust.  As other land trust organizations in New Hampshire, such as The Nature Conservancy and the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, have become larger, they are increasingly reluctant to take the kind of smaller parcels found on our lakes.  If, in the future, important parcels on Lake Wentworth and Crescent Lake are to be preserved, it is going to be entirely up to Lake Wentworth Foundation to make it happen.

The past two years have been exciting for the Lake Wentworth Foundation!  We were able to move forward with several important projects.

In the fall of 2005, the LWF conveyed a part of the former Allen 'A' Resort property to the NH Boat Museum.  In completing this transaction, the LWF was instrumental in securing a permanent home for the Boat Museum in Wolfeboro. The LWF continues to own the areas of the property abutting the Cotton Valley Trail and Hersey Brook.  We also retain a conservation easement over the environmentally sensitive portions of the Museum’s land. 

Linda loved boating, and the future of the Boat Museum was dear to her heart.  She was instrumental in bringing the Boat Museum to its present home in Wolfeboro.  Until her untimely death, she served on the museum’s Board of Directors as well as on the LWF Board.  The Foundation and our friends at the Boat Museum anticipate a long and collaborative relationship between these two organizations.

The LWF has retained scientists to complete environmental assessments on the properties that Linda Baldwin conveyed to the Foundation.  These assessments are providing important guidance so that we can manage these properties more effectively.  As we continue the process of evaluating Linda’s bequests in the light of these assessments, the LWF Board has already determined that two of the parcels should be maintained in their natural state.  One parcel consists of 67 acres that protect large sections of Harvey Brook on its voyage to Lake Wentworth.  The second parcel consists of lots at the intersection of Routes 28 and 109.  This land abuts the Fernald conservation easement and is an important protection for Fernald Brook and its wetlands.  To improve the appearance of this land, we have removed the dilapidated buildings that were on the site.

In August 2006, the LWF erected a stone monument and plaque in memory of Linda Baldwin at the Fernald Brook bridge on the Cotton Valley Trail.  To honor Linda’s life and work and her commitment to the Lake Wentworth watershed and the Wolfeboro community, a dedication ceremony was held on Sunday, August 6, 2006.  The Board of Trustees, many friends and Baldwin family members attended this ceremony.

The LWF is working with the Lake Wentworth Association on the ever-present issues of milfoil and water quality monitoring. Heavy spring rainfalls prevented the LWA from applying the scheduled chemical treatment in 2006 to the areas of lake Wentworth and Crescent Lake where the milfoil infestation is heaviest. The treatment was completed in 2007, and was very effective in both Crecent Lake and Lake Wentworth.

With a team of scuba divers and volunteers in boats on the surface, the LWA Weed Patrol will continue its weekly hand-pulling efforts during the warmer summer months in 2009.  The LWF provides financial backing to the milfoil eradication and control programs.  We also support for the LWA's participation in UNH's Lakes Lay Monitoring Program, and this year we purchased an oxygen meter for use by the LWA’s water testing volunteers.