Forest Society Land Stewards BLOG

A Winter Tour of the Morse Preserve with the Marvins!

2012-02-15T12:41:00.000-08:00

Hikers climb Pine Mountain on the Forest Society's Morse Preserve (photo: S. Marvin)

Forty-two people gathered together on Saturday at the Mike Burke Parking Lot to hike Pine Mountain, more recently known as the Forest Society's Morse Preserve. The hike was planned to be a snow-shoe hike. The leaders, land stewards Ken and Suzanne Marvin, picked February this year thinking that there surely would be a thick cover of snow on the ground by then. The thin cover of snow, which had previously melted and then crusted over with ice, made wearing some type of crampon the best footwear.

The group, many previously strangers to each other, set out together for the 1.7 mile trek. Stopping often along the trail to talk about various animals, trees, insects and area history, Ken Marvin lead the group to the top where they got out their packed lunches and enjoyed the somewhat clouded view of the Belknap and Ossipee Ranges. The group ranged in age from 1 year to 80 years of age.

Hazy but still beautiful views from the top (photo: S. Marvin)

Following the hike, Suzanne said, "I was reminded again, New Hampshire is a great place to live or visit! People who don’t know each other, gather together in a group of all ages and hike a trail. Because of the generosity of people like Mary Jane Morse Greenwood, there are many trails in NH open to public hiking. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the hikers from Saturday try that hike again in July to see if there are any blueberries on those bushes..."

A grey fox specimen (stuffed) placed by the Marvins to talk about wildlife habitat. (photo: S. Marvin)

Winter on Gap Mountain?

2011-12-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

[Post by Gap Mountain Land Steward Hiel Lindquist]

The first day of winter on Gap Mountain was quite warm. Hard to believe we had over 4 feet of snow this season already as there is no snow left anywhere on the 22 day of December. It was almost tee shirt weather for the hike up the south trail. Nice veiws off the summit today and with the low clouds and falling temperatures, maybe there will be some snow in the near future?

Until then, I want to wish everyone at the Forest Society and all the Land Stewards a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year !!!

There is not much left of the old ski tow building and equipment. Easily visable just off the south trail (look for a T on a pine tree near the first steep section) (Photo: H.Lindquist)

Mt. Monadnock in all its glory, from the middle summit of Gap Mountain (photo: H. Lindquist)

Gap Mountain South Peak on the left and the twin white spires in Fitzwilliam village on the right (photo: H.Lindquist)

Looking southeast from Gap Mountain towards Pack Monadnock - North and South Peaks (photo: H.Lindquist)

Early Winter Ashuelot River Headwaters Hike

2011-12-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

Ashuelot River Headwaters Forest (photo: S.Lichty)

Fourteen hikers made the trek up Silver Mountain on the Ashuelot River Headwaters Forest last weekend as part of a land steward-led hike co-sponsored by the Harris Center for Conservation Education and the Forest Society. Ben Haubrich (steward for High Five Reservation and Hedgehog Mountain Reservation, both in Deering) and Susan Lichty (steward for Ashuelot River Headwaters Forest in Lempster) worked together to plan and implement this early winter event. Many of the participants were Forest Society members, but not all of them had experienced this gem of a hike before, especially on such a clear and beautiful day. The bare summit of Silver Mountain offers stunning panoramic views from which hikers can easily discern iconic NH peaks like Mounts Monadnock, Sunapee, and Kearsarge. When the hike concluded last Saturday, most of the participants opted for an "extension" - which was a visit to the nearby Silver Mountain Winery that sells locally-produced hard ciders and fruit wines and offers tastings to the public. A nice way to warm up from the outdoor chill!

Hikers ready to get started (photo: S.Lichty)

Well-worn flag flies atop Silver Mountain (photo: S.Lichty)

View from Silver Mountain summit (photo: S.Lichty)

Heading up the trail (photo: S.Lichty)

Cabin at ARHF (photo: S.Lichty)

Little Harbor Loop Trail - A Collaborative Effort in Portsmouth

2011-11-01T09:44:00.001-07:00

The Little Harbor Loop Trail, a new 1.5 mile walking loop in Portsmouth, NH, was constructed last weekend by local volunteers. This trail connects three parcels of land which are open to the public: the Forest Society’s Creek Farm Reservation, the state’s Wentworth-Coolidge Historic Site, and conservation land owned by the City of Portsmouth. More than 30 volunteers, including a scout troop, members of the Friends of Creek Farm and Portsmouth Conservation Commission, and several Forest Society land stewards gathered Saturday morning to clear the route and install guiding signage. It was a spirited workday, and a satisfying one as participants got to enjoy the results of their efforts immediately. Several walkers along Little Harbor Road also detoured to explore the new trail just as the work group was finishing up... ahead of the impending snow, luckily! The Little Harbor Loop trail is a terrific example of collaboration between individuals, governmental organizations and non-profits, and the new route through open forest and along scenic Sagamore Creek will be a wonderful addition to recreational opportunities already available for Portsmouth residents. A hiking map of the new trail is available on the Creek Farm page of the Forest Society's Online Guide to Our Lands.

Scouts taking a quick break

Part of the trail clearing crew last Saturday

Moose Mountains is Cooking!

2011-11-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

Recent snow and fall colors at Moose Mountains (photo: J.Morris)

Land Stewards Jason Morris and Scott Lavoice have been super active at Moose Mountains Reservation in Middleton ever since they decided to take the steward training last May. They've jumped into things with what I like to think of as "wild abandon," marking and clearing out all the neglected trails, making and installing signage, and creating cool trail maps for hikers that they leave at the kiosk. And the really great thing is that as they work, they're always exploring too... turning over leaves to look at delicate little spiders, discovering glades of beautiful wildflowers, or having run-ins with the local wildlife. Jason, who has been blogging about hiking in NH for years, has also started a blog and a facebook page just for Moose Mountains, where he posts his amazing photographs and describes their adventures in stewarding. Check out the blog here, and there's also a link on the sidebar of this blog too.

Scott installing snow markers for their routed signs (photo: J.Morris)

A recent wild encounter! (photo: J. Morris)

Recently the Forest Society led a hike on Moose Mountains to raise funds and awareness about our efforts to add additional conservation lands to this already 2,300 acre block. Mike Speltz, SPNHF Land Protection Specialist, led the trek up the steep slopes of several mountains to an unusual pitch pine natural community with over two dozen people in tow. Jason and Scott were extremely helpful to Mike on that day with such a large crowd, and Jason also wrote up a neat description of the day in the MM blog. Be sure to check that out when you get a chance! Originally I was apprehensive about assigning such a huge reservation to any particular steward, but now I'm just hoping that Moose Mountains is large enough to keep Jason and Scott interested for years to come!

Moose Mtns hike on Oct 22nd (photo: J.Morris)

Back to Work (and Bears) at Buxton-Simons Forest

2011-10-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

One view from Mt. Wallingford (photo: T.Iriwin)

Terry Irwin, land steward for the Buxton-Simons Forest, has been back at it organizing workdays to clear a spectacular view from the top of Mount Wallingford in Weare. He's building a local cadre of helpers now and is quite self-sufficient, stopping in to pick up enough tools for everyone and then dropping them off after his workday is finished. A few days later, land management staff will receive a report and photos of the work completed - voila! On this latest workday there were five participants including abutting landowners Remi Lisee and Charlie Bowen, land stewards Terry Irwin and Len Martin (Bockes-Ingersoll Forest) and the Forest Society's VP of Land Protection, Paul Doscher (who also happens to live nearby in Weare). The views were significantly expanded, but Terry reports that there's still work to be done next spring!

The crew minus Terry (from L to R): Remi Lisee, Len Martin, Paul Doscher, Charlie Bowen (photo: T.Iriwin)

It seems humans are not the only residents of Weare that appreciate all the work on Buxton-Simons Forest. Charlie Bowen, an abutting landowner, sent this photo in of a mother black bear and her three cubs just after the workday. (photo: C.Bowen)

Morse Preserve Dedication

2011-10-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

Morse Preserve in Alton Bay is looking more spectacular than ever lately. Though the Forest Society has owned the property for a few years now, we held a formal dedication earlier this month to honor the donation of this 431 acre reservation by Alton native Mary Jane Morse Greenwood. The property had been her family's land for generations, and she grew up harvesting and selling blueberries, eggs, and other produce on the slopes of Pine Mountain. To prepare for the dedication, a number of land stewards got together to spruce up the trails and make sure everything was in top condition. The Forest Society has also been doing some heavier duty habitat management on the property lately: mowing and brontosaurus clearing in order to maintain a mosaic of open areas and early successional forest that will favor a great number of wildlife species. The openings will also serve to maintain the blueberry barrens for public picking, as well as preserve the amazing views of Lake Winnipesaukee and the Belknap and Ossipee Mountains.

Our land steward crew preparing for the dedication

Morse Preserve steward Suzanne Marvin points out a landscape feature to steward Jennifer Mayor (Hills Forest) while her granddaughter and pup sit nearby

Also honored at the dedication was David Roberts, who has spent a good deal of his life exploring, mapping, and photographing the Belknaps and Ossipees. On our land steward workday, we erected an interpretive display showing the different peaks that are visible from Morse Preserve, which is in honor of Dave's work and generosity. If you want to check out some of Dave's photographs of mountains in this area, click here. The mountain profile sign we installed had to be affixed to bare granite bedrock, so it was quite the challenge to get in the ground. Thanks to a rock drill obtained by Jason for the day, we were able to get it done in time!

Drilling into granite to get the interpretive display sign up (photo: W.Weisiger)

Dave Roberts (left) with his friend Glenn Lush, standing in front of the new mountain profile display on the top of Pine Mountain.

SCA Work Crew on SPNHF Lands

2011-10-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

The Forest Society was lucky enough to be awarded another Recreational Trails Grant this year, making it the fourth year in a row that we are able to hire a Student Conservation Association (SCA) work crew to tackle trail projects on our lands. The six-person crews do all sorts of work across the state in their year-long commitment to SCA New Hampshire, from conservation projects to outreach to environmental education in local schools. On the 20 day Forest Society hitch, this particular crew started at Cooper Cedar Woods in New Durham, completing a trail relocation and over 200 feet of bog bridging. Cooper Cedar Woods is such an interesting place to take a walk, as the trail skirts a state-threatened (and very prehistoric looking) Atlantic White Cedar swamp, but for years the trail has been a bit confusing to follow and very wet in stretches. Not anymore thanks to the recent efforts of the SCA crew and our land stewards for the property, Dan and Dianne Monahan. The trail is now well-marked and much more accessible, so we hope it will see lots of local use in the future.

Dan & Dianne Monahan @ Cooper Cedar Woods, checking in on the crew

The crew's next stop was Gap Mountain in Troy and Jaffrey. Here they worked on a very steep degraded section of trail that at some time in the past had been fortified by huge creosoted railroad ties. These were all undercut, eroding, or washed out entirely, so the crew had a busy time pulling them out and re-setting them, as well as cutting and peeling new logs to increase the number of steps and reduce the erosion problem here.

Newly reset steps at Gap Mountain (photo: H.Lindquist)

Finally, the crew moved over to Gap Mountain's bigger sister, Mount Monadnock. They worked about half way up the mountain (a good 45 minute hike in with tools) on the Marlboro Trail, creating new stone staircases and creating an elevated walking surface (rustic bog bridges and step stones) on an especially soggy stretch of trail. This was the most challenging project, especially the rock stair work, as there is not much soil to work with and the terrain is extremely steep here. But, true to form, the crew puzzled out the best ways to tackle each problem area and left the area much more hiker-friendly than it started out. Thanks to our 2011 SCA Crew and to all the stewards who checked in on their progress and worked along side them this year! Wonderful job!

Bog bridges and step stones on the Marlboro Trail

Backyard Collective!

2011-09-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

The Conservation Alliance (CA) is a group of outdoor industry businesses that have banded together and pooled their "membership dues" to distribute money in the form of grants to worthy environmental organizations. The group was founded in 1989 by outdoor industry giants like REI, The North Face, Kelty and Patagonia, and today it disburses about $1 million to projects across the country that protect wild lands where people recreate. Employees of Conservation Alliance member companies also get their hands dirty now and then for a day of environmental volunteerism to benefit their local communities, which they call a "Backyard Collective."

The Forest Society was a direct beneficiary of a large Backyard Collective that took place recently involving employees from Eastern Mountain Sports, Nemo Equipment, Jetboil and other outdoor businesses in the Northeast. A group of hearty volunteers gathered at the McCabe Forest in Antrim to help construct a trail from our new trailhead on Route 202 to the existing trail system. Four footbridges were also built during this workday, to span small drainages along the trail. Forest Society land stewards and a handful of staff were there to organize and lead the volunteer teams, and an amazing amount of work got done in just a short time. Following the trail project, a pizza party was held at EMS headquarters in Peterborough, and more than 100 volunteers gathered to celebrate the success of different Backyard Collective projects that had taken place earlier that day. Here is a link to the story on the Conservation Alliance's blog!

Bird Survey Work

2011-09-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Land Steward Brett Hillman has a been doing some interesting volunteer work for the Forest Society this summer as part of his gradutate coursework in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England. He has been conducting surveys of breeding birds at two Forest Society reservations where there is significant early successional habitat: the Morse Preserve in Alton Bay, and Harmon Preserve in Freedom. Early successional habitats such as grasslands, pine barrens, and shrub/scrub areas provide important nesting habitat for some of the state's declining bird populations, such as Eastern Towhee, Golden- and Blue-Winged Warblers, Field Sparrows, and Bobolinks. New Hampshire is, percentage-wise, the second most forested state in the nation (behind Maine) and as old pasture and field land has reverted to forest over the last century, we are at risk of losing some of the wildlife that depend upon open areas.

Early Successional Habitat at Morse Preserve (photo: C.Deegan)

Harmon Preserve and Morse Preserve contain very different habitat types (Harmon is a pine barrens natural community while Morse contains old fields and a former comercially-managed blueberry operation) but both will require considerable active management on the part of the Forest Society if we are to maintain the early successional habitats here. In both locations we are considering controlled burns to re-establish natural communities - in the case of the pine barrens, this community actually depends upon fire in order for the pitch pine to regenerate successfully. The baseline bird surveys that Brett is conducting for us will help us determine which species are currently using the properties, which can be compared with future surveys conducted following any management prescriptions.

A big thank-you to Brett for doing this survey work on his own time! Brett also has a blog about New England's natural evironment, so check it out in the links section of this blog. For his post on bird work at Harmon and Morse Preserves click here.

Thank You SPNHF Volunteers!

2011-09-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

(photo: J.Savage)

The annual Summer Volunteer Appreciation BBQ was held on September 1st this year. The weather was nice and warm despite the September date, and we were able to celebrate on the Forest Society's back deck with its views of the Merrimack River floodplain and state house in the distance. This event is held each year to recognize and celebrate all of the amazing and varied work that the Forest Society's volunteers do for the organization each year. From land stewards working on their adopted reservations, to green building tour leaders, to the "stuff it" club that helps with getting out large mailings... all our volunteers are essential to the success of the organization in meeting its goals.

SPNHF Forester Wendy Weisiger talks with steward Kamal Nath (photo: J.Savage)

This year we honored Rhoda Mitchell with the Trish Churchill Volunteer of the Year Award, presented annually to a volunteer who has given exceptional service over the past year or years. Rhoda has been caring for the many plants inside the Conservation Center, quietly, expertly, andpersistently, for more than a decade! We were glad to be able to recognize her contribution after so many years of service, and hope that she will continue to have a hand in making the Conservation Center a more beautiful place to work and conduct the business of land conservation for many years to come.

Here's the press release from the Forest Society's website about Rhoda's award if you're interested!

President/Forester Jane Difley presenting the Volunteer of the Year Award to Rhoda Mitchell (photo: J.Savage)

Rhoda with one of her "charges" (photo: J.Savage)

Dragonfly Walk

2011-08-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

Twenty adventurous people joined me and my husband Andy Deegan (Ausbon-Sargent Land Preservation Trust) on a dragonfly walk at the Forest Society’s Langenau Forest in Wilmot last week. In our spare time we volunteer for the New Hampshire Dragonfly Survey (NHDS), an effort coordinated by NH Audubon, UNH Cooperative Extension, and NH Fish & Game that seeks to catalog as many of the dragonfly species that exist in NH within a 5-year time period. One of the sites where we collect data is SPNHF's Langenau Forest in Wilmot (a little known and underappreciated little gem of a forest with plenty of well-maintained hiking trails (thanks to steward Dave Cook) and a small wildlife pond). We decided to host a dragonfly walk for the public at Langenau Forest, partly because we're very familiar with what's there, and partly to acquaint local residents with this conservation property! Participants in the walk learned about dragonfly identification, biology and behavior, as well as why conservation of land and aquatic habitats is important for the perpetuation of the state’s dragonfly populations. Many aerial nets were passed around during the walk to allow people the opportunity to try catching and releasing “dragons” in the field. More than a dozen species were caught, inspected, and released by the group... including several not before identified in the town of Wilmot! Very cool!

Field Trip 101

2011-08-03T13:01:00.001-07:00

The Forest Society held a workshop in conjunction with UNH Cooperative Extension staff last month entitled “Field Trip 101: You Can Lead a Guided Walk!” This workshop was the result of a brainstorming session between our two organizations surrounding how to connect New Hampshire residents with the conservation lands in their local communities. Many people don’t realize that there are conservation properties open to the public within a short drive of their own home. Giving volunteers the tools and confidence to advertise, plan and implement guided “nature walks” on these lands is a great way to raise local awareness about conservation lands open for recreation and nature study. As people realize how these lands benefit them directly, they will be more likely to support and help fund conservation projects in the future. The 25 participants in the Field Trip 101 workshop agreed to lead their own guided walks within 6 months in exchange for receiving the training. The workshop was a great success as participants left highly energized and in possession of many new tools and techniques. Look for similar workshops from the Forest Society and UNH Cooperative Extension in the future if you’d like to get involved!

Banner Sign Year!

2011-07-26T13:06:00.001-07:00

We have been holding land steward workdays to refurbish wooden property and trail signs for the past three summers, and find that it is a really efficient way to ensure that we get a good number of these signs made or restored each year. Picking away at it over the course of the year sounds like a good idea, but in practice other things always seem to be higher on the priority list! As Jason is fond of telling us, it's a fourteen step process to transform a piece of rough-cut pine into a beautifully routed and gleaming property sign. Planing, Sanding, Stenciling, Rasping, Routing, Sanding (again), Staining (twice, or 3 times), Varnishing (twice) and Painting Letters (twice, or 3 times)... whew! This is why it helps to have a big group tackle the signs and do as many as we can at once... and with so many steps, there's a task to fit everyone's talents and interests.

Mike Elmes and Bart Hunter sand the rough-cut pine

Al Cort and John Tear staining

This year's sign workdays were extremely productive. The group ended up completing 41 new or refurbished signs (it takes just as many steps to refurbish a sign as to create one from scratch, believe it or not)...which is nearly double previous years' efforts. Some gorgeous new large property signs were made, but also many smaller signs that will provide direction to hikers on Forest Society reservations across the state. A big congratulations and thank you to all who assisted with the sign workdays this year.

Crew on Day 1 with routed Welch Farm sign. From L to R: Tyler Pelland, Wes Niebling, Seth Benowitz, Hiel Lindquist, Bob Fuller, Jason Teaster, Alan Cort, John Tear

Seth Benowitz inspects some smaller signs

Seth Benowitz, Scott Lavoice, and Jason Morris work on stenciling

Monadnock Trails Week 2011

2011-07-20T11:11:00.001-07:00

Alan Cort and Tyler Pelland work on a rock waterbar

Tools. Rock. Timber. Sweat. Another great Monadnock Trails Week has come and gone! This was the 6th annual trails week (my 4th) and I have to say that I think we're getting more and more productive every year. The Dublin Trail, a straight 2.4 mile shot up the north side of Mt. Monadncock, was the recipeint of our efforts for the first three days this year. The drainages from about 1/2 mile to 1.5 miles up all needed cleaning, restoration, and rebuilding. Since suitable large rocks were difficult to find immediately surrounding the trail, we decided to use a significant nubmer of cut and peeled spruce logs for waterbars and check steps. Cutting, peeling, and especially moving these large logs into place required some significant teamwork and was a highlight of the week as a result. We used long slings to swing the logs slowly into position in some cases (check out the video below) and brute manpower to heft and carry the logs in others.

Moving a spruce log (photo: P. Russell)

Chris Garby uses an axe to peel a spruce log

More log transport (photo: R. Ward)

Trish (L) and Jackie (R) Russell show off their work, Dublin Trail

Part of the crew on Day 1, Dublin Trail

There was plenty of rock work as well, for those who like the mental and physical challenge of fitting and setting odd shaped rocks together into steps and drainages. Towards the end of trails week we shifted to the White Arrow Trail, which is accessed from the Old Toll Road parking area. On White Arrow rocks are in great abundance, so we were able to use them to create new stone steps and waterbars. Other tasks for the week included painting and hanging trail markers on sections of the Dublin and White Dot trails, restoring a mountain view at the old Halfway House site, and cleaning 30+ drains on the White Dot Trail. All told, it was just under 500 hours of work put in on the mountain over 5 days, by 36 participants. A very solid effort! Thanks to all who participated and made this year's Trails Week a huge success!

Mike Zlogar, Hiel Lindquist and Mike Williams adjusting a stone step, White Arrow Trail

Tool cache

video by Trish Russell

High Blue Workday

2011-06-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

Restored view! (Photo by H. Lindquist)

On June 15th a group of land stewards and Forest Society staff assembled at High Blue Reservation in Walpole for a workday. The tasks at hand were to build a new footbridge and restore a view cut that had grown in over the past 6 years or so. Bud Ross, the land steward for High Blue, has been a steward for over 17 years... since the very first class in 1994. One of his "classmates", Karl Putnam (Brewster Forest steward) was also at the workday, so it was a reunion of sorts... and they were joined by several other stewards including Bart Hunter, Hiel Lindquist, Ruth Ward, Walter Weeks, Alan Cort, and Len Martin. It was a beautiful day to be in the woods, and the work went quickly with so many hands.

Lunch break at the view cut (photo: H. Lindquist)

Bart Hunter and Alan Cort secure bridge stringers

Finished footbridge

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

2011-06-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

Land Steward Bart Hunter, SPNHF Forester Wendy Weisiger, TNC Stewardship Ecologist Joanne Glode and I recently spent the day at the Heald Tract in Wilton with NH DRED Forest Health Specialist Jen Weimer to look at an infestation of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) that has recently been identified there. HWA looks like small cottony white balls on the underside of hemlock branches. It's not a fungus, as you might suspect from the look of it, but is actually an insect pest. The woolly balls are the egg sacs of a very small, fluid-feeding insect that sucks sap out of hemlock needles, causing them (and eventually the whole tree) to die. Birds, mammals, and even wind spread the small insects from hemlock to hemlock, increasing the extent of an infestation.

HWA on the underside of hemlock needles

An invasive exotic pest, HWA was first discovered in Pennsylvania in the 1960s. Since then it has been slowly spreading northward , just reaching the NH border in the past few years. In New Hampshire it has been discovered primarily in towns along the southern border with Massachusetts, and forest health experts expect it will continue to spread. It may be that New Hampshire's cold winters will keep the insect in check to some degree, preventing or delaying spread to more northerly areas of the state, but that is only speculation at this point. What we do know is that it's here, and complete eradication of the pest is not a realistic option now. Individual trees (generally specimen street or yard trees) can be "cured" via injection with a systemic pesticide, but it's not feasible to treat all the hemlocks in a forest this way. NH Division Forests & Lands is also experimenting with releasing two types of bio-control beetles which feed on the adelgid-- this is also not expected to eradicate the pest but simply keep it in check enough to hopefully prevent the trees from dying.

Jen Weimer, NH Forest Health Specialist, looks for HWA at Heald Tract

At the Forest Society's Heald Tract in Wilton, the known infestation is limited to one location at the moment. Prognosis is not great, however, as more extensive infestations have also been found on abutting and nearby properties, including the Nature Conservancy's Sheldrick Forest which shares a trail system with Heald. At this time, the Heald infestation is not large enough to justify releasing bio-control beetles, so our plan is to simply monitor the situation. Stewards and volunteers at Heald will be checking for the fluffy white balls on the underside of hemlock branches as they conduct their other land stewardship activities and hopefully, in the meantime, a more effective method of treating the adelgid will be developed.

HWA is fairly easy to identify once you know what you're looking for. If you have hemlocks on the property you monitor for SPNHF, try flipping over the accessible branches to see if you can find any small white cottony masses. Be aware that spittlebugs (a native and non-destructive insect) can create white blobs under hemlock needles too, but these are constructed of hundreds of miniscule bubbles, not "wool". Knowing the extent of the HWA infestation in New Hampshire is critical to Forest & Lands ability to make management decisions and track the spread of this invasive pest. If you do find something that looks like HWA, take a photograph if you have a camera, and be sure to note your location well so that you'll be able to describe it to me or the state Forest Health Specialists. Land Stewards for the Forest Society are in a unique position to assist in monitoring this and other forest pest invasions as we are outside on forested properties across the entire state. Please take a look the next time you pass a hemlock on the trail!

Don't be fooled! This is spittle bug (bubbles), not HWA (wooly)

Monadnock Trails Week!

2011-06-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

Please consider joining us for Monadnock Trails Week this year! We had a great turn out from the steward community last year and were able to complete many trail projects including several large bridges. This year we're planning some work on the Dublin and White Arrow Trails, among other projects. Monadnock Trails Week is a great place to learn how to some more technical trail work using rock - waterbar construction, stone steps, etc. It's also a lot of dirty fun! If you're interested in participating for one or more days from Saturday July 9 through Wednesday July 13, just email me at cdeegan@forestsociety.org or call 603-224-9945.

View Clearing and Community Building at Buxton-Simons Forest

2011-06-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

The crew, minus Terry Iwin (photo: T.Irwin)

Terry Irwin, land steward for the Buxton-Simons Forest in Weare, has been working to build a community of volunteers around his reservation. He started with a trail restoration and dedication ceremony last summer, to which the donors and many of the neighbors were invited. Since that time, abutting landowners and community members have been in contact, excited about the newly refurbished trail, and wanting to know how they can get involved. A group of them hit the trail for a workday over Memorial Day weekend, with the primary purpose of opening up the panoramic mountain view that exists at the trails' end near the summit of Mount Wallingford. The group included land stewards Terry Irwin and Len Martin (Bockes-Ingersoll Forest) as well as abutting landowners Charlie Bowen, Scott Olson, Ashley Olson, and Alex Olson. Terry led the group in the view clearing project and sent in some photos afterwards... and they are already talking about another workday this fall!

Charlie Bowen cuts a pine (photo: T.Irwin)

Left to Right: Alex, Scott, and Ashley Olson hard at work (photo: T.Irwin)

The view was nice even before the clearing project (photo: C.Deegan)

Terry at the trail dedication last fall (photo: P.Doscher)

Check out this Blog!

2011-05-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

Moose Mountains panorama (photo: J.Morris)

One of our newest land stewards, Jason Morris of Farmington, has a blog that describes his adventures hiking in NH and beyond. He's been posting some about Moose Mountains Reservation in Middleton, where he is a land steward along with Scott Lavoice. You can find it here, and I've also listed Jason's blog under the Links/Documents section in the sidebar of this blog. Moose Mountains is a fairly large reservation, over 1000 acres, with lots of great hiking potential and interesting cultural and natural features. Unfortunately, there's also some issues with motorized wheeled vehicle use (trucks and ATVs) which pre-dated our ownership of the property and which we'd like to get under control to protect the natural resources and road/trail infrastructure there. Check in on Jason's blog every so often if you'd like to know how things are progressing...

Starflower (photo: J.Morris)

Photo: J.Morris

Northern Leopard Frog (photo: J.Morris)

Lady Slipper at Moose Mtns (photo: J.Morris)

North and South Workdays

2011-05-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

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

New Class of Land Stewards!

2011-05-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the hiatus in posting- I've got some catching up to do! I've been very busy the last month or so planning for the 2011 Land Steward CORE Training, which just finished up this past weekend. Twenty seven newly minted Land Stewards now join the ranks of the roughly 85 of you already out there and active on your reservations. Join me in welcoming them please!

We had a great class this year, with folks from all corners of the state... from Wilton to Somersworth to Cornish to Milan and everywhere in between. The training was held at Geneva Point Center in Moultonborough- a lovely setting right on Lake Winnipesaukee with lots of trails and acres of woods for outdoor learning activities. And most importantly, there was a huge screened in porch with a fireplace (no rain! no bugs!) to get to know each other around in the evenings.

As it has the previous few years, the curriculum included forest management, trail maintenance, map/compass/boundary monitoring, community engagement, and recreation management. This year we were able to visit a few recently harvested forests as well to round out the training and give people a better idea of how and why the Forest Society conducts timber harvets on its lands. We are really excited for the new steward class to get started and hope they have been energized by the training weekend!

The Spring Cleaning Toolkit

2011-04-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

Now that the snow is almost gone, it's a great time to get out on your Reservation and do a little spring cleaning. What are the best tools to take with you on a spring cleaning foray? I like a shovel or hoe of some sort, a hand saw, and a plastic trash bag at this time of year... and here's what I use them for:

1. Clean out Culverts - if there are any culverts on the roads and/or trails on your reservation, spring is a good time to make sure they're running free. Culverts can easily plug with sediment and debris over the course of fall and winter, and if they block the flow of water completely, the consequences can be disastrous. Use your shovel or hoe to scrape debris out of the culvert's intake and outflow as best as you can.

culvert failure

2. Clean Waterbars & Drainages - The upslope side of trail waterbars should have a nice drainage channel to divert water off trail. If those on your property have filled in with dirt, leaves, or other debris and are flush with the bar itself, they're due for a cleaning. Scrape out any accumulated debris with your shovel or hoe and restore the drain channel. Be sure it extends well off the side of the trail so the water won't just pour back on the trail a little further down!

a waterbar (looking downslope) with cleaned drain channel (Photo: P. Ellis)

3. Take out the Trash - After all that dirty snow melts, you will inevitably find trash items (cans, bottles, food packaging) along your property's road frontage, and possibly along trails as well. Remembering to bring a plastic trash bag with you is a good idea at any time of year, since you can whip it out to hold all those yucky rubbish items when you run into them.

4. Watch for Windfall - Winter storms often leave branches, large limbs, and sometimes even whole trees across the trail system. Early spring is a great time to get out and make sure the trail is passable for recreational users. Here's where your handsaw will come in handy... use it to help you saw larger branches and remove them from the trail corridor. If large trees have fallen, you may use a chainsaw as long as you have completed SPNHF's Chainsaw Safety and Maintenance Workshop and feel you have the skills to remove the tree safely. If not, alert Forest Society staff to the problem and we'll do our best to get out and clear the trail as soon as we can!

Winter Blowdown - only tackle these if you feel confident you can do it safely (photo: L. Martin)

Sweet Spring Season

2011-03-23T05:53:00.000-07:00

At the close of each winter, when the nights are still below freezing and the days above, it's that time again. Time for New Hampshire's sugar maples to be pressed into service to provide their sweet sap for reduction into golden maple syrup, in turn to be poured over the nation's pancakes, french toast, and other breakfast edibles.

Maple syrup is undeniably a forest product, just as lumber, wood chips and paper are - and the harvesting of sap from maples each spring is also a form of local and sustainable agriculture. Despite this, management of an active sugarbush can run counter to other common timber management objectives - in a sugarbush, sugar maples are favored over all other species, creating a kind of monoculture, and tap holes certainly decrease the value of maple logs if the area were ever harvested. Although we wouldn't want a sugaring operation on every northern hardwood forest SPNHF owns, the Forest Society does have several sugarwoods on it's reservations. The Rocks Estate in Bethlehem has one, complete with a maple museum and operating sugarhouse to let visitors experience all aspects of maple sugaring from tapping to sap collection to boiling and syrup draw-off. The Forest Society also leases portions of a few reservations (primarily those in the sweet soils of the CT river valley like Nemiah Forest in Lyme or Yatsevitch Forest in Plainfield/Cornish) to maple producers to operate as sugarwoods. So if you see sugaring lines on the Forest Society reservation you monitor for us, be sure to check with SPNHF Land Management staff to make sure this is part of an active lease agreement!

Taylor Brother Sugarhouse in Meriden, NH. Some of the sap they're boiling comes from trees on the Yatsevitch Reservation in Cornish & Plainfield.

If you have never been to a New Hampshire sugarhouse during March or early April, you should make plans to visit one. It is quite an experience to eat a donut slathered in maple cream or sip a cup of coffee flavored with Grade B syrup (the darkest and most flavorful grade, produced towards the close of each sugaring season) inside the sweet and steamy sugarhouse. It's a true NH treat!

Become a First Detector for Invasive Forest Pests!

2011-03-08T06:31:00.000-08:00

Emerald Ash Borer - adult beetle

Invasive insect pests are a serious threat to our forests in New Hampshire. By now you've probably heard the names "Hemlock Woolly Adelgid," "Emerald Ash Borer," and "Asian Longhorned Beetle" bantered about in conservation circles, but would you recognize all of these bugs if you encountered them on the property you monitor for the Forest Society? Would you know where to look? Or what to do and who to contact if you did find an invasive pest? Did you know that Hemlock Woolly Adelgid is already being discovered in the southwestern part of our state? That Emerald Ash Borer has been found in upstate NY, only 80 miles from the border with NH? Or that native wasp colonies are being employed to help monitor for the presence of Emerald Ash Borer? If you're interested in learning more, we've got great news for you!

Invasive Pest First Detector Training, sponsored by the UNH Cooperative Extension, NH Audubon, and the Forest Society, is being offered to Land Stewards on Thursday April 7th at the McClane Audubon Center in Concord. Stewards will learn how to monitor for and identify invasive insects that currently threaten New Hampshire's forests, and will then be part of a nationwide network of "First Detectors" working to provide early detection of these invaders as they expand into new territories. Insect collection and submittal for identification confirmation will also be covered. Some damaging invasive plants will also be included in the training protocol. This is a fantastic opportunity to expand your stewardship skill set and assist the Forest Society and NH's conservation community in protecting our forestlands. To sign up for the workshop, please email Suzanne Hebert at UNH Cooperative Extension (suzanne.hebert@unh.edu) or call her at 862-3200. There is no charge for the workshop. Check out the flyer (with training agenda) here.

Archaeological Remains - Where and What

2011-02-18T10:11:00.000-08:00

Those of us who are out in the woods a lot are the most likely candidates to find archaeological remains. Knowing where to look and what to look for can help you to spot these things.

People have been living in New Hampshire for 12,000 years, and during the 11,500 years of prehistory they were living over and over again in the same preferred places: on river and lake shores, especially on river and lakeside terraces, at falls and at river deltas, inlets and outlets. Post-glacial nomadic hunters camped in these locations, hunter-gatherers preferred these spots for seasonal settlements, and village horticulturalists found this to be the best land for planting, so these locations often have layer upon layer of buried artifacts.

One other potential archaeological location is at or near outcrops of fine-grained stone, where people repeatedly came to quarry the stone, knock it into rough "blanks", and carry it away to finish tool-making nearby.

Of course these spots are likely to be covered with soil and trees, but wind and water may expose the artifacts. Where there is disturbance, look for pieces of fine-grained (smooth, slippery) stone. Look for signs of straight-line fracture or of chipping of the edges - these were tools or the debris from making and sharpening tools. You could be looking at something 12,000 years old. Look for pieces of pottery, often "stamped" with a raised pattern on the outside surface; this could be 3,000 years old. Also look for metal, often oxidized to green or another color - this could date from the time of contact and the fur trade.

In rare instances you may find wood, bones, birchbark and other organic material - usually in a wetland, and especially a peatland, environment. Again, draining or other disturbance is likely to reveal these things.

If you find something, there is probably more underneath, and the undisturbed stratigraphy is very important. So, mark the spot (but not too obviously), and don't dig! If you are on SPNHF land, notify Carrie or Dave Anderson. As the landowner, SPNHF will follow up with the Division of Historical Resources, and the site may be visited by archaeologists. There will not be much fanfare, because archaeological sites are fragile and sensitive to destruction by casual collectors. In fact, archaeological site information is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act for just this reason.

If you are on other land, notify the landowner, recommend contacting the Division of Historical Resources, and emphasize that an archaeological site does not affect a landowner's rights in any way. If archaeologists are permitted to visit, they must follow the landowner's instructions, and if they excavate the site, they will restore it. In fact, they will do their best to make it look like nothing ever happened there.

There is also Historic Archaeology, so cellar holes, old dams, old dump sites, etc. are worth noting, marking, and notifying SPNHF. The same procedures apply.

Nine-tenths of archaeological sites are found by non-archaeologists and SPNHF stewards and staff are likely to find some.

Exploring the Olsen Forest

2011-02-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was a great weekend for hosting hikes on Forest Society reservations! Land Stewards Roger and Ann Sweet hosted a snowshoe hike on the Olsen Family Forest in Sullivan on Sunday February 13th. Their walk also meandered onto other properties, including some private, as yet unprotected lands. It was sponsored by the Mondadnock Conservancy and the Harris Center, where Roger and Ann are also volunteers. Below is the write-up that Ann and Roger wrote following their winter excursion!

Twenty-three people met at the Sullivan Town Hall and car-pooled to Mark Smith’s generously offered parking area near his house overlooking Chapman Pond. Donning snowshoes, they filed over a snow bank on to the Boynton Road extension and up to the gate to the Olsen Forest, where Roger Sweet (Harris Center, SPNHF) and Ryan Owens (Monadnock Conservancy) talked about the importance of protected lands such as Piper and Olsen (owned by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests), and the Otter Brook Preserve (owned by the Nature Conservancy), noting that unbroken forest land preserves water quality and quantity and also provides wildlife habitat. The group could see the hills of Stoddard and Nelson from the old SPNHF log landing, passed the snowed-in Cummings cellar hole, just above which two pileated woodpeckers were chasing each other, and turned south toward Mark Smith’s land and then on to land belonging to Dick Smith of Arlington, MA. Trees creaked, but the snowshoeing was easy. No deer tracks, however, because of the snow depth. Fox tracks were plentiful, and the hikers crossed a porcupine path and a fisher trail. Twisting down to Chapman Brook, the group followed the brook to Chapman Pond, solemnly beautiful under gray skies. Skirting about 1/3 the shore of the pond, where loons are known to feed in the summer, the hike climbed back up to the starting point in Mark Smith’s yard. Several asked whether they might come back in another season to enjoy the quiet beauty of the area. The leaders expressed the hope that the land around the pond might be eventually protected from development.

If you are interested in hosting a hike, field trip, or other program on the reservation you monitor, please feel empowered to do so! If you need some assistance, just contact Carrie or Dave Anderson and we'd be happy to get you started. We can offer assistance like advertising your walk on the Forest Society's website, providing copies of Forest Notes magazine to distribute, giving you talking points about the Forsest Society, and/or providing tips for planning and leading a successful outing. Be sure to let us know if you do plan an event, so we can make sure there are no management conflicts involved in what you want to do, and so we are aware of the date(s) and times!

Winter Hike at the Reney Forest

2011-02-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

Land stewards Ruth Ann and Andy Eastman recently led a snowshoe hike on the Forest Society reservation they monitor, the Reney Memorial Forest in Grantham. This 413 acre forest supports a diverse mixture of tree species including beech, yellow birch, sugar maple, hemlock and balsam fir, and provides excellent habitat for many native mammals and birds. On the recent hike, the group identified tracks and/or sign from moose, fox, coyote, snowshoe hare, squirrel and mouse. To learn more about the Reney Memorial Forest, download a hiking map, or get driving directions, check out the online Guide To Our Lands here.

Photo credit: Andy Eastman

As at many of the Forest Society's reservations, the parking area at the Reney Memorial Forest is not plowed during the winter, which can make winter access difficult in years of deep snow (like this one!). However, since the Reney Forest property borders the local public library parcel, the Eastmans realized that winter access could be improved by constructing a short spur trail from the Dunbar Free Library to the existing trail network on the forest. After receiving all of the necessary approvals, the Eastmans built the new trail this past fall and it is now officially in service. The snowshoe hike last weekend began and ended at this new trailhead! Nice work Andy and Ruth Ann!

Snowshoe group at the (snowed in) parking lot trailhead
Photo credit: Andy Eastman

Land Steward Annual Meeting

2011-02-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

We had a terrific turnout for the "2010" Land Steward Annual Meeting and Potluck Dinner this week- more than 30 stewards attended bringing their favorite steaming dishes to share. As always, the food was abundant and delicious, and the conversation engaging. It's always great to see long-time stewards mingling and chatting with newly minted stewards, sharing their stories and experiences. We even had a handful of prospective stewards come to learn what the program is all about. Highlights from the past year of land steward projects, workshops, field walks, and workdays were shared, and we also looked ahead at what the upcoming year may bring. Now if only some of this snow would melt...

Yatsevitch Timber Tour

2011-02-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday more than 30 guests joined Forest Society staff Wendy Weisiger (Forester) and Dave Anderson (Director of Education and Volunteer Services), Forester Jeremy Turner (Meadowsend Timberlands, LLC), Logger Tracy Burns (Pioneer Forestry), Sullivan County Forester Chuck Hersey and UNH Extension Wildlife Specialist Matt Tarr on a tour of an active timber harvest on the Michael M. and Claudia Yatsevitch Forest in Cornish and Plainfield. This is the second phase of a two-year harvest on the roughly 1,000 acre Yatsevitch Forest. The harvest plan includes fairly large (>10 acre) wildlife openings to promote habitat diversity and provide resources for species that utilize early successional habitat. As UNH Wildlife Specialist Matt Tarr explained to the group, recent research indicates that forest openings must be quite large in order to truly increase the species diversity in an area. So while 1 or 2 acre clearcuts for wildlife may be more aesthetically (and politically) appealing, these openings should really be closer to 10+ acres in order to attract the greatest diversity of wildlife. Read more here.

Jeremy Turner talks about a wildlife opening created in 2010

Larger (>10 acre) forest openings are more likley to increase wildlife species diversity

White pine is the predominant species being removed during the current Yatsevitch Forest harvest, which should allow the remaining northern harwoods to mature nicely and increase in value. Sugar Maple and White Ash are common canopy trees in this rich mesic forest, and a portion of the property to the north of the harvest area is an active sugarbush leased to a local maple producer. The Yatsevitch Forest boasts an exceptionally high level of plant diversity, including several state-listed rare plants. In order to protect these uncommon resources, a 300+ acre "ecoreserve" has been designated on this forest, within which no timber harvesting will occur.

Dave Anderson points out sugar maple borer damage on a young tree

In addition to discussing the harvest plan, silvicultural prescriptions, and harvesting methods for the Yatsevitch operation, the group also convened on the log landing to discover which markets and forest products the harvested wood will be headed for. If you missed the Yatsevitch Timber Tour, please join us later this month for a tour of another timber harvest at the Rocks Estate in Bethlehem. To register, visit the Forest Society's website!

New Year, New Blog!

2011-02-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the newest Land Steward communication device! I have been frustrated with updating the Land Steward Webpage for some time now since I'm not proficient with the computer language you need to make updates and changes (html). This blog will hopefully serve all the purposes of the old website (provide information on upcoming events, links to important websites and documents, etc.) with the added bonus of also being a running commentary (with photos!) of what stewards and Forest Society land management staff are up to. This format should be a lot more interactive as well, as stewards (and others) can comment on posts, and adventurous stewards can also write their own blog posts! If you're interested in adding something to the blog (a workday notice, photos or a story from a monitoring visit, whatever you like as long as its related to your land steward duties)- you can either send the information to me and I'll post it, or I can set you up as a blog author. You don't even have to be super-tech-savvy. I promise, it's easy!

Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the numerous feet of snow we seem to be compiling in New Hampshire this winter. Break out the snowshoes and visit your Forest Society Reservation, and then come in for a warm cup of cocoa to read the Land Steward BLOG!