CONCORD — The holiday weekend didn't stop donations from pouring in to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, which has until Jan. 15 to raise $850,000 for the Balsams conservation easement in Dixville Notch.

“More than 100 gifts for Balsams (online, not counting checks that will likely come in the mail on Tuesday),” came in over the weekend, Forest Society spokesman Jack Savage wrote in an email Monday.

The Forest Society is making a bid to acquire a 5,800-acre conservation easement on The Balsams resort land.

That includes a deeded right to a transmission right-of-way also sought by Northern Pass officials for the $1.1 billion hydro-power transmission project.

Northern Pass Transmission, LLC, had offered $3 million for the right-of-way to the Neil Tillotson Trust for the land surrounding the Balsams Resort, but trustees decided in favor of the Forest Society, signing a purchase-and-sales agreement Dec. 6.

Northern Pass challenged the deal, but the Attorney General's Office responded that the trustees were acting within their rights.

Savage said he's optimistic the society can raise the rest of the money by the Jan. 15 deadline; the total was $315,000 as of Friday.

He said the society is doing fundraising online at the blog (savethebalsamslandscape.blogspot.com/) and forestsociety.org/balsams.

“We're receiving a high percentage of online donations and donations by phone. We will be dropping a postcard to our members, which is different than our traditional direct-mail package with a letter, map, and business reply envelope.”

Instead of a brochure, Savage said, the Forest Society created a video on YouTube.

The Forest Society has been able to raise money quickly in the past for conservation projects. It raised $1.3 million to conserve 1,000 acres abutting Mount Kearsarge last year, Savage said.

“That was a three-month campaign because the landowner wanted to close by the end of the calendar year, and we were able to complete that project,” he said.

Jane Difley, president/forester, said the society has considerable experience in raising money to conserve land.

“The short time frame just means that those who can and want to donate need to do so now instead of waiting until later,” she said.

Northern Pass officials won't say whether the loss of the right-of-way would kill the project, which proposes to deliver power to the New England grid over 180 miles of New Hampshire from Colebrook to Deerfield.

About 140 miles of the line would be using existing rights-of-way owned by PSNH from Groveton south. There is no existing right-of-way from Groveton to the Canadian border.

Society for the Protection of NH Forests' Youtube video:

Society for the Protection of NH Forests' VIDEO