20th Anniversary Class

This year, 2013, marks the 20th anniversary of the Land Steward Program. The program, and especially the training for the program, have changed quite a bit over the years, but the work that land stewards do on the land for the Forest Society is the same today as it was 20 years ago. In this anniversary year, we had 29 new steward trainees attend our core training and embark on their journey to help steward a piece of conservation land. The 29 trainees came from all corners of NH to Camp Calumet in Freedom for the intensive 2-day retreat training- we hiked, got (intentionally) lost in the woods, explored a recent timber harvest, got to know each other around a beach bonfire, and learned a whole lot about the Forest Society and how SPNHF reservations are managed. It was a great training, and a great new group of stewards to join the land steward community, now 150 strong! Please join me in welcoming this class on the 20th anniversary of the Land Steward Program!

Returning to Lost River

Our annual spring cleaning workday at Lost River Reservation was as big as ever this year, with more than 20 volunteers coming in from all over the state. At this point we've run the workday so many years that there are some volunteers that mark their calendars year after year, making it a tradition to get Lost River ready for opening day. This spring we built several bog bridges on the Kinsman Notch Ecology Trail, pulled weeds, spread mulch and gravel, disposed of hazard trees, pruned the native garden, and installed signage.

The folks with White Mountain Attractions provided a delicious sandwich lunch, which we ate under their pavilion just as the skies opened up to dump a spring shower over everything. By the time we finished lunch, the sun had returned, and some volunteers went for a stroll through the gorge. Rarely do we get to offer such a treat as reward for a day of hard work!

Spring on Gap Mountain

There are two main trails on Gap Mountain, one from the south and the other from the north.  Basic trail maintenance on the south side was completed over the past couple of weeks in preparation for the hiking season.  No work was done on the north side in anticipation of the arrival of the SCA trail crew.  Today was the day of their arrival.

SCA Crew "gearing up" in the north parking lot

If you are not familiar with the SCA, they are the Student Conservation Association.  The SCA is America's conservation corp and members work on conservation projects in national, state, and local areas.  In addition to their trail work, the organization's mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders and to inspire lifelong stewardship of the environment.  It is great that the SPNHF has obtained the services of the SCA again this year.  

Members of the SCA crew building
stepping stones over a muddy section of trail

The same area with new stepping stones

The trails on Gap Mountain receive heavy use during the year and the trails are showing the results.   Sections of the north trail have become heavily eroded and braided as hikers create an ever widening path up the mountain.     



Typical trail section on the upper trail

 This year the crew will be rebuilding many of the rock steps on the steeper sections of trail.  An "after" view of the above area will be added to this blog once the work is completed.

Nice new stonework

If you have never hiked Gap Mountain, perhaps this is the year to do it.  Here is the link to hiking information for the mountain:  Gap Mountain

The blueberries ripen about the middle of July, probably the best time for a hike, although the flowering trees are putting on quite a show right now.
  

Extensive blueberry heath on the mountain

Apple tree blossoms on one of
the many trees on the mountain

View of Mt Monadnock from the top of Gap Mountain

Apple trees in the meadow
Gap Mountain near Old Mill Road, Jaffrey

Save an Apple!

Apple trees are hard to kill.  That's good, considering that most of the apple trees you can find growing in the wilds of New Hampshire's forests (often at old homestead sites) get no pruning or care whatsoever.  Often the surrounding forest has grown up around them, shading them completely, or even worse, they're enveloped in tangles of invasive weeds.  With a little bit of help, those old apple trees can still bear a tremendous amount of fruit for wildlife.  In a recent workshop led by Nigel Manley, Director of the Rocks Estate, participants learned how to release and prune wild apples for just this purpose.

Nigel pointing out which branches to prune on an old apple tree

One of the apples we released during the workshop was a tree on the Merrimack River floodplain that was entirely enveloped in Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) and honeysuckle bushes (Lonicera, spp.), both invasive plants.  With a dozen people's hands working with loppers, clippers and saws to clear away the invasives, the tree was released in about a half hour.  Following that, Nigel worked with the group to decide which branches to prune in order to make the tree stronger and bring the potential fruiting boughs down to pickable height for both people and wildlife.  We'll have to keep an eye on the encroaching bittersweet in years to come and do some follow-up pruning, but this tree should fare better now that it has been released and pruned.  If you are interested in learning how to release and prune wild fruiting trees, look for this workshop when we offer it again next spring!

Before release - the tree is barely visible among the tangle of invasives

Post release, the tree is being pruned by workshop participants

Final result- released and pruned tree!

A Little Housekeeping on Silver Mountain

Sometimes when you make a mess, you've got to clean it up.  Last summer we made a bunch of big brush piles on the summit of Silver Mountain on SPNHF's Ashuelot River Headwaters Forest in Lempster. The objective was to clear the 360-degree views from the summit, which were beginning to grown in, and we did an excellent job of that.  The brush piles, however, were kind of unsightly on the top of the mountain... not to mention providing a big temptation for a certain type of person who likes to light things on fire.  Before any pyromaniacs got to our brush piles in the dry heat of summer (when fire can really spread) we decided to get to them ourselves.

Last Friday a small crew of staff, along with some of the land stewards who helped make the brush pile mess in the summer, climbed up Silver Mountain with a lighter, some accelerant, and a few edible items to roast over the coals.  It was slow going on the ascent, as no one had been up since winter storm "Nemo" a few weeks ago... kind of like walking up a giant hill made of sand.  Did I mention we only had one pair of snowshoes between us?

Staff Forester Gabe Roxby got stuck with the sled

We made it to the top without incident, and spent a beautiful day shuttling and burning brush.  There was actually some work involved, as many of our brush piles were buried under a healthy covering of crusty snow, but we did have time to roast a few hot dogs and a half dozen gigantic potatoes for lunch.  Since it was land steward Sue Lichty's birthday, we also sang her Happy Birthday from the top of the mountain!  It doesn't get much better than that :)

Land Steward Sue Lichty (L) and volunteer Jim Beard make spuds

SPNHF staff Allan Krygeris stands by while potatoes roast

Wendy and Bella

Winter Hiking Extravaganza!

 Some of these have been a long time in reporting- I apologize for the long hiatus- but I want to highlight some hikes that land stewards have helped lead so far this year.  We have been encouraging land stewards to lead walks, hikes or workdays on their reservations in recent years- this is a great way for you all to share your knowledge of a property with others, and help familiarize people in your communities with the Forest Society at the same time.  If you're interested but don't know where to begin, keep your eyes peeled for the "Leading a Guided Walk" workshops that SPNHF has been leading each summer in conjunction with UNH Cooperative Extension.  That will give you all the nuts and bolts you need to get going!

(L to R): Leslie Stevens, Joe Conklin, and Jaimie Hoey before their hike at Creek Farm/Little Harbor Loop Trail (photo: L. Stevens)

Great turn out in Portsmouth on Jan 1st! (Photo: L. Stevens)

On the very first day of the year, five stewards helped co-lead hikes on two reservations as part of the "First Day Hikes" program run by the NH State Parks.  John and Lise Bigl helped lead a hike on the Monadnock Reservation, and Jaimie Hoey, Leslie Stevens, and Joe Conklin helped lead a hike on the Little Harbor Loop Trail which crosses our Creek Farm Reservation in Portsmouth.  The day was a gorgeous one, both in the Monadnock Region and the Seacoast, and turnout was terrific!  Kudos to these stewards for helping with this effort to get people outdoors, starting the new year off on a good foot.

First Day Hike on Mount Monadnock (photo: J.Bigl)

Mount Monadnock hike (photo: J. Bigl)

Moose Mountains snowshoe hike (photo: J. Morris)

In early February, land steward Hal Busch led a snowshoe hike on the Weeks Forest in Gilford.  There wasn't much snow at all, so snowshoes did not end up being necessary, but from Hal's report everyone had an excellent time nevertheless.  A few weeks later, stewards Jason Morris and Scott Lavoice led an intrepid group on an all-day snowshoe hike on Moose Mountains Reservation in Brookfield and Middleton.  This was after our latest big snowstorm, so snowshoes were required for this one!  The group got to see some amazing vistas from the top of Phoebe's Nable Mountain and Beauty Ledge, and enjoyed great conversation on their full day excursion.

Moose Mountains snowshoe hike party (photo: J. Morris)

 Finally, land steward Kamal Nath led a small group up to our newly cleared Hanson Top Trail on the High Watch Reservation in Effingham immediately following "Winter Storm Nemo."  The group had to break trail in almost 2 feet of snow, so it was an extremely tiring day, but this group had a special purpose.  Kamal was leading a professinal eco-photographer up to Hanson Top to get some shots of himself and three other "models" (i.e. friends) for an upcoming edition of Forest Notes!  Below are a couple of Kamal's shots from the day - stay tuned for some others in the summer edition of Forest Notes.

The view from Hanson Top, High Watch Reservation (photo: K. Nath)

Tired but happy snowshoe models (photo: K. Nath)

Some Follow-ups...

Hi everyone!  The field season has finally wrapped up for the year (with the exception of some burning some accumulated piles of brush once we get snow cover...stay tuned for that!) so I have been posting less often and getting some much needed time in the office to work on record keeping, maps, and other projects.  I did want to follow up on a few stories from this busy summer though.  First, here's a shot of the cleared view on the top of Sunset Hill on the Hay Reservation.  It's not the greatest photo since my phone was running out of battery and I only got in one shot before it died.  The view is even better from a little further up the slope.  So, even though we couldn't see anything for the socked-in fog on the Hay Reservation workday, we managed to improve the vista significantly.  Nice work everyone!

We also recently held a little dedication ceremony at the new Kennelly Forest bridge for those of you who worked on that this past summer.  A small brass plaque was installed, and we had a toast to the completion of this project, which took over 300 hours of volunteer labor to accomplish.  I'm happy to report that the bridge held up well even with all of us standing on it at the same time!  Cheers, everyone, and happy Thanksgiving to you all :)