Earlier in May two workdays occurred on Forest Society properties at opposite ends of the state. On May 12th, a group of 20+ land stewards and other volunteers gathered at Lost River Reservation in Woodstock, NH to assist with trail maintenance and assorted spring cleaning tasks that needed to be accomplished in order to get the property ready for the Gorge's opening weekend. Lost River is the Forest Society's oldest reservation, protected in 1912. The portion of the property that contains the spectacular gorge and boulder caves is leased by SPNHF to White Mountain Attractions (WMA), which operates the Lost River Gorge. The funds from our lease agreement go directly towards stewardship of Forest Society reservations, as well as new land protection projects, so it's a win-win situation for both parties. Every spring we assist WMA with preparing for opening day, and also conduct maintenance on the other parts of the Lost River property that are not under lease agreement. Included in this area are two great trails- the 1/2 mile Kinsman's Notch Ecology Trail loop, and the much more strenuous Dilly Cliffs Trail.
There is always chainsaw work at Lost River
Volunteers spruce up the paint near the entrance
BBQ lunch after the Lost River workday
A second workday was held on May 14th at Gap Mountain Reservation in Jaffrey and Troy, NH. A group of volunteers led by Frank Bequaert of the Metacomet-Mondadnock Trail group built several new rock waterbars on the north trail up Gap Mountain and improved some stone staircases. Gap Mountain Reservation is also under lease agreement, to the NH State Parks, and is managed as a part of Monadnock State Park. The trails on both Mount Monadnock and Gap Mountain see very heavy use over the hiking season, so constant vigilance is needed and trail maintenance projects are never-ending! Just ask our land stewards at these properties....
Installing waterbars at Gap Mountain (photo: H.Lindquist)
photo: H. Lindquist
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