Friends of Mount Sunapee

WHO: Senator Bob Odell, Rep. Ricia McMahon, and Rep. Sue Gottling, and FOMS

WHEN: Monday, January 25th, 6:45pm social time, 7pm forum begins

WHERE: Sunapee Methodist Church, 17 Lower Main Street, Sunapee

2010 is shaping up to be an important year for improving out state parks and the policies that govern them. Legislators will consider several bills that directly impact our local state parks, several of which are sponsored by our guest speakers.

Citizens will hear from our legislators about these bills and discuss them.

Want to read some of the bills being considered? Here's a taste:

SB0375: a bill that clarifies that "the general court does not intend or expect that individual state parks or their facilities, or the state park system as a whole shall be self-funding or financially self-supporting."

SB0313: A bill to extend the existence of the State Parks Advisory Council.

HB1378: establishing an adopt-a-state park program in the state park system.

The Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge (SRK) Greenway Coalition is offering three winter hikes in January.   Be prepared with clothing layers, food, water and snowshoes. Please call the hike leader at least the night before to learn starting location and time.  For SRK Greenway information go to www.srkg.com.

JAN. 16 (Sat) - Geocaching from Webster Pass to Dutchman Pond in Springfield. Bring a GPS unit, if you have one, or learn as you go, searching for 14 caches with Cynthia Bruss, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or 763-4570. 5 miles (Moderate). On JAN. 23 (Sat) - An interpretive snowshoe hike to Star Lake in Springfield. Followed with hot chocolate with the leaders, Susan and Michael Chiarella: 763-5879. 3 miles. (Easy). On JAN. 30 (Sat) - Cross-country ski to Morgan Pond from Twin Lake Villa in Springfield. Call Andy Hager 526-2846. 5 mi. (Moderate for experienced skiers).  For the remainder of the Winter 2010 hike schedule...

This is the press release issued November 23, 2009 by the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development about the ten-year strategic development and capital improvement plan for NH state parks.

(Concord, NH) - The Department of Resources and Economic Development (DRED) today released a new draft of the Ten-Year Strategic Development Plan and Capital Improvement Plan for the New Hampshire State Parks System. The public is invited to comment on the plan through December 24, 2009. Public hearings will be held December 1st in Portsmouth, December 2nd in Concord, December 7th in Peterborough, and December 8th in Lancaster. The plan and the hearing schedule is available by visiting www.nhstateparks.org or calling 603-271-3556. Comments can be made through email, writing, or by attending one of the hearings.

Conservation New Hampshire recorded this week's press conference announcing the strategic plan for our state parks.  You can find them on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/ConservationNH

For more information about Conservation NH, contact Executive Director Jim O’Brien, 88 North Main Street, Ste 303-304, Concord, NH  03301. Phone 603-228-1970 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

CONCORD, N.H., Nov. 3, 2009--The FY 2010 Agriculture appropriations bill recently passed by Congress included a second year of funding for the Quabbin-to-Cardigan Partnership (Q2C), a collaborative land conservation initiative in the Monadnock Highlands of western New Hampshire and north-central Massachusetts. The funds will be used to support the permanent protection of priority lands in the New Hampshire portion of the Q2C region, via a competitive grants process.

The $282,000 appropriation was requested by U.S. Congressman Paul Hodes (NH-02), who secured for start up funding for the project in federal FY09.  “These funds will help the Quabbin-to-Cardigan Partnership continue its outstanding work,” said Congressman Paul Hodes. “I am pleased to support this partnership that will continue to preserve New Hampshire’s drinking water, wildlife, and natural environment for future generations.”

The Telluride Watch (Nov. 12, 2009), Karen James reports: Bear Creek Opponents Hope Decision Will Resonate Locally

http://tinyurl.com/ybc4n3m

This past April, the Merrimack Superior Court dismissed the lawsuit filed by the operators of Okemo/Mount Sunapee Resort over its controversial proposal to expand the ski lease area. The case is now under appeal.

As FOMS reported in our March 2008 newsletter, threat of a lawsuit emerged publicly in 2005 after Governor John Lynch refused to bring forward and approve the Resort’s request for an additional 175 acres of parkland to facilitate cross-border expansion and private, condo development on adjoining land in Goshen.

In October 2007, the Resort filed its complaint against the State of New Hampshire in the Merrimack court that led to the dismissal.

In the decision, Judge Diane M. Nicolosi said the Resort had “no valid right to use the land outside the bound, and therefore no right has been taken. Without a valid property right, Sunapee (the Resort) cannot maintain a cause of action…”

It has been eleven years since Okemo Mountain, Inc. leased the ski area located within Mount Sunapee State Park from the State of New Hampshire. Since then, the lease has been transferred to Sunapee Difference LLC to Triple Peaks LLC and, finally in December 2008, to CNL Lifestyle Properties based in Florida. Okemo has also used the lease as collateral interest to secure loans for improvements at Mount Sunapee and Okemo Mountain and for refinancing related to Triple Peaks’ acquisition of Crested Butte Mountain Resort.

It may seem to have been a quiet summer for Mount Sunapee State Park. Beneath the surface, however,  several important issues simmered, including Okemo’s submission of its master development plan for the next five years. Okemo submitted its proposed Five Year Master Development Plan (MDP III) in June to the Division of State Parks & Recreation and George Bald, Commisioner of the Dept. of Resources and Economic Development. (The Parks division is part of the larger agency, DRED.) 

November 25, 2009 Update: State announces draft plan. Conservation NH posts video on YouTube.

For the past four years, the future of New Hampshire’s state parks has been discussed and examined by a series of public committees and the New Hampshire Legislature. The process continues this fall with the expected release of a draft 10-year Strategic Plan by the Division of Parks and Recreation. Overseeing the development of the plan is the State Parks Advisory Commission, or SPAC. Comprised of many citizen volunteers and legislators, including the Sunapee region’s Senator Bob Odell, the SPAC meets in Concord regularly to review the agency’s progress on the strategic plan.

Photo: The view from Silver Mountain in Lempster by Sue Lichty

"The more we learn about preserving water quality, the more we understand the importance of protecting the headwaters of the New Hampshire rivers that provide our drinking water. Today we need your help to purchase 1,750 acres of forestland and streams that are the source of the Ashuelot River." - The Forest Society