Tom Chrisenton has been on the NHTOA policy committee since 2021 but he and his wife Ginny of been members of NHTOA “forever.”
“We review all of the legislation and recommend that NHTOA support, oppose or be neutral about it,” Tom said. “This past year the carbon issue took a lot of time.”
He is also testifies at all the hearings for bills that interest NHTOA.
Why is this use of his time rewarding? Because he is a landowner and believes in getting involved in order to look after his own interests and those of his fellow landowners.
Tom graduated from UNH in 1971 with a degree in hydrology with a minor in geology and went to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in watershed planning with a focus on flood control dams. When this work was moved elsewhere in the country, he switched over to soil conservation operations in order to remain in New Hampshire.
In 1973 Tom and Ginny bought 78 acres of land in Lyndeborough, built a house through 1974 and moved there in 1975. As the acreage expanded to 1,100 acres they managed it as a tree farm. They have put conservation restrictions into the deeds before they sold parcels.
The Chrisentons signed up for Current Use as soon as it came into being, and Tom is currently on the Current Use Board.
He remains an active NHTOA member and advocate for timberland owners and the forest industry. Tom was instrumental demonstrating to the NH DES that stone fords need to remain an acceptable BMP for stream crossings at a time when the agency was seeking to eliminate their use.