Grafton Pond participating in Lake Host Program!

Grafton Pond on a cloudy day

The Forest Society's Grafton Pond Reservation in Grafton NH is over 900 acres of forest that includes most of the shoreline of beautiful Grafton Pond.  There are more than a dozen small islands dotting the pond, and only three man-made structures can be seen around the entire shoreline thanks to the protection efforts of many groups including the Forest Society, the Grafton Pond Land Trust, and the Upper Valley Land Trust.  Grafton Pond is truly a wild and undeveloped place, where moose can be seen munching on aquatic plants in the early mornings, and loons call to one another over the water.  Because it's so unique to find an almost entirely undeveloped pond in Central NH, Grafton Pond is also a popular place with paddlers and nature enthusiasts.  In recent years, many people have "discovered" the pond and on sunny summer weekends it's now so busy with visitors that the parking area overflows many times over and the loon families barely have a secluded nook left to hide in.  What can be done to keep Grafton Pond from being "loved to death"?  This is the question that the Friends of Grafton Pond, a small group of nearby residents, volunteers, and stakeholders have been asking for several years.

One thing that the Friends of Grafton Pond is doing to mediate impacts recreational use is to participate in the NH Lake Host Program.   This program is administered by New Hampshire Lakes Association, and strives to reduce the spread of invasive aquatic plant species in New Hampshire’s water bodies.    

The Friends of Grafton Pond has been able to hire two paid lake host interns to work the majority of busy weekend and holiday hours at the pond, and will also have volunteer lake hosts filling in the gaps and helping out at especially busy times.  Lake hosts will greet boaters as they enter and exit near the pond’s boat ramp, and check canoes, kayaks, and other boats for pieces of “tag along” aquatic vegetation.  They’ll also provide visitor outreach about loon conservation, packing out all trash, and other recreational guidelines as a means of reducing impacts to wildlife and the sensitive shoreline habitat.  

Lake Host Heidi Hutchinson teaches kayakers how to inspect their boats for invasive aquatic plants.

To date, Grafton Pond does not have any known invasive aquatic plants, but many other lakes in New Hampshire do have infestations of plants like variable milfoil and fanwort.  Boaters spread these invasive plants when pieces of vegetation hitchhike on rudders, paddles, boat trailers, and propellers.  When they do get established, these invasive plants can spread quickly and completely choke out all other vegetation, changing the aquatic ecosystem drastically and even making recreational boating difficult.  They are also almost impossible to eradicate once established, so prevention is definitely the key! 

A new "iron ranger" donation box next to the kiosk will help pay for stewardship activities at Grafton Pond, including the Lake Host program.  Land Management interns Will Walker (left) and Eric Foley (right) pose next to the ranger after installing it.

Mike Barskey (lake host) conducts an inspection of a visitor's canoe

Lake host interns Heidi Hutchinson and Mike Barskey have already been hard at work at Grafton Pond this season, assisted by a handful of dedicated volunteers.  Over Memorial Day weekend, they conducted over 300 boat inspections!  That’s over 300 people who received information about not only aquatic invasives, but also appropriate recreational behavior on our beautiful, wild pond.  We are confident that in the long run, this outreach will help keep the pond as pristine possible – keeping invasive weeds out, limiting trash and other dumping, reducing inappropriate activities, and protecting the pond’s loon families and other wildlife.  If you are interested in supporting this program or becoming a volunteer lake host yourself, please contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org or 603-224-9945.

Candis Whitney (land steward, left) and Mike Barskey wait at the boat ramp for visitors to arrive.

Yatsevitch Forest - Buckthorn Battle Royale

The Michael and Claudia Yatsevitch Forest in Cornish and Plainfield is unique in that it has the greatest plant diversity of any Forest Society reservation.  The reason for this lies in the rich soils of the Connecticut River valley - moist soils rich in mineral nutrients and organic matter that support a great variety of plants, particularly herbaceous plants on the forest floor.  There are many unique types of plants that are found in this Rich Mesic Forest natural community, but unfortunately invasive exotic weeds also grow here perfectly well too!  In order to protect this exceptional example of a Rich Mesic Forest, the Forest Society has been battling non-native invasive plants on the Yatsevitch Forest for a many years now, using both professional labor and volunteer/staff efforts.

Volunteers tackling a large forest of Common Buckthorn 

On a recent workday, a group of 12 volunteers and Forest Society staff  met to tackle a large concentration of Common and Glossy Buckthorn shrubs (Rhamnus, spp) that were identified on the property.  Buckthorn was introduced to the United States in the 1800s, probably as an ornamental shrub, but it quickly expanded beyond the bounds of residential gardens and invaded other habitats.  Like many invasive plants, buckthorn is a generalist, meaning it wills survive (and thrive!) in a variety of different soil types, moisture conditions, and light levels.  It spreads by seed, eaten and dispersed by birds and small mammals, and can rapidly spread in a forest habitat once plants have reached fruiting maturity.  On the Yatsevitch Forest, a large and very established area of Common Buckthorn shrubs (really small trees, many almost 25' tall!) were waiting to be dispatched by volunteers.  Most of the plants were so large that we decided to girdle them (cut through the bark all the way around the tree) as a means of treatment.  Smaller plants were cut or hand-pulled.  Forest Society staff and land stewards will be back to check on this area in the Fall and early Spring next year.  If significant stump sprouting occurs, we'll have to treat that as well.  As with most invasive species treatment, keeping the threat of invasive plants at bay on the Yatsevitch Forest will be an ongoing battle, and one that I know we will need land steward help with for many years to come!

Land Steward Bob Lyon (Foss Forest, Gilmanton) girdles a large buckthorn.

Girdling process- two cuts through the bark cambium, all the way around the tree

Wendy did get to cut a few trees down :)

Happy "Birthday" to Lost River

Lost River is the Forest Society's oldest forest reservation, protected in 1912.  That makes this year the 100th anniversary of Lost River's protection, which is (of course) cause for celebration!   The Forest Society, along with White Mountain Attractions, which operates and maintains the gorge boardwalk and facilities, have some great events planned this summer to honor Lost River's milestone.  (If you're interested, you can find a listing of these events on Lost River's website here).

New steward Elaine Bernier and friend  prepare sign mountings at Lost River

In preparation for a busy summer, we recently held a land steward "spring cleaning" workday at Lost River.  The spring cleaning workday is something we do every year at Lost River, but this year we had some special tasks to accomplish.  One of these was to install a new set of 30 interpretive signs around the Lost River Native Plant Garden, a series of short boardwalk loops that start just outside the visitor center.  We also cleared and re-marked two popular hiking trails on the property, the Kinsman Notch Ecology Trail and the more strenuous Dilly Cliffs Trail which heads up talus slope to an overlook on the cliffs above the gorge.  Landscaping and view clearing were two other significant task areas this spring as well.  It was a busy day but sunny and breezy enough to be bug-free, so I didn't hear any complaints!  White Mountain Attractions provided a delicious BBQ lunch, and in the late afternoon many stewards and volunteers decided to take a walk through the gorge and boulder caves to cap off the day.  I hope you can all get up to Lost River sometime during this centennial season to celebrate a bit of the Forest Society's (and New Hampshire's) history while enjoying a spectacular natural wonder!

Landscaping volunteers!

Mulching flower beds

New interpretive signage will make it easier to identify and learn about many of the region's native plants

The crew enjoying a barbecue lunch on Lost River's deck

Welcome Land Steward Class of 2012!

Land Steward Class of 2012 (photo: W. Weisiger)

Earlier this month we held the annual Land Steward Core Training at the Barbara C. Harris Conference Center in Greenfield, NH.  Twenty-eight new land stewards went through the two day in-residence training to become full fledged Forest Society land stewards.  This year's training went very smoothly, from the excellent facilities at B.C. Harris Center to our field trip exploration of the nearby Tom Rush Fores in Deering.  New stewards learn about the Forest Society's history, mission and goals, management of SPNHF properties, trail maintenance, boundary monitoring, map and compass navigation, recreation management and sustainable timber harvesting.  It's a very full two days!  As you run into members of the "Class of 2012" at different workdays, workshops, and Forest Society events, be sure to welcome them and share your experiences stewarding a SPNHF forest reservation.  For our part, we're very appreciative that all of you (both new and veteran stewards) are out there helping us steward NH's forests!

Carrie giving some trail maintenance pointers (photo: J.Bigl)

The class walks a recent harvest site at the Tom Rush Forest in Deering (photo: J.Bigl)

 

APB: Hike Leaders Wanted!!

Have you ever thought about leading a walk or hike on the property you monitor for the Forest Society?  Or another conservation property in your area?  This is a very important way that stewards and other volunteers can help advance the Forest Society's greater mission, as well as promote land and habitat conservation in the state and in your community.  As SPNHF land stewards, you all understand the value of conservation land in our state.  Provision of wildlife habitat, protection of water quality, improved air quality, recreational access, source of renewable energy and sustainable forest products, and the list goes on.  Unfortunately, however, not everyone understands these benefits.  One of the best ways to convince people that having conservation lands in their community is a good thing is to show them the direct benefit available to them in visiting and enjoying a local forest.  And many people really need a guide on that first visit to a property in order to take the "leap" and make a connection with a local piece of land.  You can help with this!  All of you are quite expert enough to lead a walk, and if you don't believe me (or want to feel a bit more confident), please consider coming to an upcoming workshop this June entitled "Field Trip 101: You Can Lead a Guided Hike!"

This workshop, sponsored by SPNHF and UNH Cooperative Extension, was first run last summer with a group of 25 participants.  We provide you with all the tips and tricks you'll ever need to plan, advertise, and implement an outstanding hike or nature walk in your own community.  In the 6 months following our last workshop, the participants led over 16 hikes involving more than 250 people from their local communities.  If they can do it, YOU can too!  And even better, we promise it's fun!  Please join us!

Field Trip 101: You Can Lead a Guided Hike
When:  Wednesday, June 20th, 9AM-2PM
Where:  SPNHF Conservation Center, Concord
How to Register:  email Tina Ripley at signup@forestsociety.org or register online HERE.

Apple Tree Pruning Workshop

Nigel Manly demonstrates a pruning cut at Welch Family Farm & Forest

Did you know that apples are not actually native to New England, or even the United States?  Aside from some varieties of crabappble, which are native to the U.S., the many varieties of "wild apple" that you can find growing in New Hampshire's woods are all trees or descendants of trees originally brought to North America by European settlers.  Often when you find apple trees in the woods in NH, there is an old cellar hole or other evidence of a long-abandoned homestead nearby.  Despite the fact that they are exotic, wild apple trees are an important year-round food source for many wildlife species including deer, bear, turkey, porcupine, moose, and a variety of rodents and birds.  It is for this reason that we advocate "releasing" and pruning wild apples where they exist on Forest Society properties, to improve their fruit production for wildlife.

Land Stewards Walter Weeks (Dickenson Forest) and Hiel Lindquist (Gap Mountain) try their hand at pruning a gnarly old apple tree

Nigel Manly, Director of the Forest Society's Rocks Estate in Bethlehem, NH, recently led a workshop for land stewards and other interested individuals on how to release and prune wild apple trees.  "Releasing" a wild apple simply means removing any competing vegetation or trees that have grown up around the tree and are shading it out.  The workshop was sponsored jointly by SPNHF and the Harris Center for Conservation Education (HCCE), and it included a field practice session at the Forest Society's Welch Family Farm and Forest in Hancock.  Nigel covered the basics of apple pruning with the group of about 30 participants, including essential tools, timing of pruning, making proper pruning cuts, reducing tree height, choosing what and how much to cut, liming and fertlizing, and reducing the spread of apple diseases like fire blight.  Six land stewards and three prospective land stewards attended the class, and I know many of them are excited to try out their newfound knowledge on the reservations they monitor for SPNHF.  In fact, two of them (Jason Morris and Scott Lavoice at Moose Mountains) have already begun... see their recent post about pruning some of the many old apples near the old Burrows Farm site HERE.  As everyone at the workshop learned on Saturday: Every apple tree is different, and there's not one "correct" way to tackle pruning one - pruning wild apples is more art than science!

SPNHF Creates Endangered Rabbit Habitat in Durham

Have you seen this bunny?  If so, you have seen a species listed as endangered by the State of New Hampshire.  This is a New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis), a native rabbit that once ranged from southern New York to southern Maine.  It looks very similar to the Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), which was introduced to New England in the early 1900s, but is actually a distinct species that does not interbreed with Eastern cottontails.  The Eastern cottontails do, however, compete rather better for food and resources than the New England cottontails, and the latter has now been reduced to five small subpopulations in Maine, New Hamspshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Efforts to save the New England cottontail from extinction have involved creation of the early successional shrubland habitats that they require to thrive.  In the five core population areas, projects are underway to convert and maintain land in a suitable successional stage for the endangered bunnies.  The Forest Society has recently partnered with the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department (NHFG), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and others in the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership (GBRPP) to work on one such project on the Hills Reservation in Durham.  Six acres of low-quality forest was converted to open habitat that will hopefully grow into shrubland to support a sizeable New England cottontail population.  To help that process on its way, volunteers will help by planting bare-root native shrubs at the Hills Reservation and abutting Bunker Creek Tract (NHFG) this spring.  This is a great example of how forest management can be used to create specific wildlife habitat conditions.  Check out this great article at newenglandcottontail.org to learn more about the specifics of the Hills Forest/Bunker Creek Tract bunny project!

Forest on Hills Reservation - before clearing for cottontail habitat

Hills Reservation - post harvest.  The 6-acre wildlife cut will create  early successional habitat for endangered cottontails

If you are interested in helping with the native shrub planting at the Forest Society's Hills Forest on Saturday April 28th, contact Emma Carcagno at UNH Cooperative Extension at emma.carcagno@unh.edu or 862-2512.  The workday flyer is HERE.