Archive | land protection

What defines old growth in New Hampshire?

By FOMS on March 10, 2021 in land protection, native plants, natural heritage, old-growth forest, voices

Friends of Mount Sunapee photo: In Mount Sunapee State Park, where an exemplary natural community system encompasses a rare old forest.

Old trees, large trees, structural diversity, snags, coarse woody debris, pit and mound topography, nurse logs, canopy gaps, broken-topped trees, mosses, lichens, and lack of human disturbance—these are characteristics of an old-growth forest in the Granite State. See “Finding Old-Growth Forests in New Hampshire,” an article by David Govatski, published by the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.

https://extension.unh.edu/blog/finding-old-growth-forests-new-hampshire

As a forester and naturalist, I have had a life-long interest in forests. I have been fortunate to have been able to visit many old-growth forests throughout the United States. I have long recognized the need to preserve these old forests for many reasons. The scientific value of old-growth forests is well known, and several research forests have been created to study the dynamics of these original forests. There are many other reasons to protect old-growth forests, including preserving spiritual, cultural, historical, and biological values.

… People sometimes expect walking in an old-growth forest is like walking in a cathedral of big and tall trees. Sometimes it can feel that way, especially in some of our hemlock and white pine forests. But more often, you will find a chaotic scene of downed trees, areas of thick undergrowth, and trees of varying sizes. Walking off-trail can be difficult. Once a person learns to value old-growth forests, he or she will appreciate the aesthetics of the forest’s complexity. – David Govatski, Finding Old-Growth Forests in New Hampshire (via UNH-UC)

When it comes to the protection of old forests, Govatski feels we should aim for 10% of our forest land being old growth.

“In addition to identifying opportunities to protect existing or future old-growth on private land, we should encourage local, state, and federal agencies to identify, designate, and protect such forests on public lands,” wrote Govatski. “Ideally, we should have at least one old-growth forest designated in each of our ten counties.”

For information about the old forest on Mount Sunapee, see Natural Heritage and Ancient Forests (FOMS).

Voices & Views

Conservation and preservation: LCHIP grants in the Mt. Sunapee area

By FOMS on January 29, 2019 in historical resources, land protection, latest news

The Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) is an independent state authority working to preserve New Hampshire’s vital natural, cultural, and historic resources.

The 2018 LCHIP grants, announced in December, support two projects in the Mount Sunapee area: revitalization of the Goshen Grange building and land conservation along the North Branch of the Sugar River.

The Sunapee Mountain Grange #144

The Town of Goshen received $95,385 to help renovate the historic Grange Hall on Mill Village Road in the center of town. The grant will allow the Town to return the building to community use, providing needed Town and school office space.

The Sunapee Mountain Grange #144, Goshen, was listed on the N.H. State Register of Historic Places in 2003.

The structure (built-in 1853) first served as a house of worship, the Christian Chapel. Then, a Methodist denomination acquired the building (1878 – 1887) and moved it from Brook Road to its current location in the center of the “Mill Village.”

In 1892, the third owner, the Sunapee Mountain Grange, took over the building.

In Goshen, as in numerous other rural New Hampshire communities, the Grange objective to create better farmers and better citizens was pursued through its regular weekly meetings in the hall. Besides providing “mutual instruction and protection,” these meetings provided the central social occasions in the lives of most members. …

From the 1890s until the conclusion of the Second World War, Goshen’s Grange Hall was at the center of the town’s economic, political, and social life. – History of the Grange Hall (pdf), authored by Goshen Historical Society members Bea Jillette and John and Mary Wirkkala.

The local Grangers ended their charter and donated the building to the Town in 2002. The Friends of the Goshen Grange has maintained the building since that time.

The restoration proposal is available for review at the Goshen Town Office. The total project cost is just over $190,000.

Conservation of Ruger land adjacent to Corbin Park

The Conservation Fund received an LCHIP grant of $200,000 to help create a 3,181-acre wildlife preserve in Croydon, Grantham, and Newport.

The North Branch Sugar River Conservation Project includes 2,400 acres of forest, 350 acres of ponds and wetlands, and miles of stream frontage, all open for public recreation including fishing and hunting.

This is a multi-faceted effort that will allow the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission to acquire the property for public use.

Before his death in 2018, Willam Ruger Jr. sold the land to the Conservation Fund, a national non-profit. Other funding, in part, comes from the Pittman-Robertson Act, which provides federal monies (derived from the sale of firearms) for the management and restoration of wildlife. Ruger served as CEO of gun maker Sturm, Ruger & Co., the company co-founded by his father.

The conserved land abuts Corbin Park, a private game preserve, and runs along the North Branch of the Sugar River.

“The North Branch is a popular fly-fishing destination, heavily stocked by the state with brown, brook, and rainbow trout. The properties connect to other woodland and wetland habitat, making nearly 49,000 acres of unfragmented habitat, the largest such block south of the White Mountains,” reported the Eagle Times.

The cost of the total project is about $3.5 million. N.H. Fish and Game is expected to take ownership in early 2019.

The 2018 LCHIP awards went to 42 projects across the state and they will receive $3.9 million in matching grants. Visit the LCHIP website for more information.

The photos are courtesy of the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program.

DNCR to announce Mount Sunapee lease decision at Sept. 26 meeting

By FOMS on September 19, 2018 in advocacy, land protection, natural heritage, public policy, recreation

Special Alert: Mount Sunapee State Park Public Information Session – Wednesday, September 26 (6 pm) at Mount Sunapee State Park (Sunapee Lodge), Route 103, Newbury, N.H.

New Hampshire DNCR Commissioner Sarah Stewart (Department of Natural and Cultural Resources) will announce her decision on the Mount Sunapee ski area lease assignment to Vail Resorts at a public meeting on Wed., Sept. 26, 2018.

We encourage the public to attend this important meeting. There will be an opportunity for public comment and questions.

Per the DNCR release: “The Department has received a request to consent to the assignment of the lease to The Sunapee Difference, LLC, which will be indirectly owned by VR NE Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. (“Vail”). After careful consideration of public comments and working with the Attorney General’s Office, Commissioner Sarah Stewart will release the decision on the proposed transfer and details related to the decision.”

DNCR will post the decision and related documents on its website after announcing its decision on September 26.

NH Parks posted on Monday additional materials about the potential lease assignment. We’ve added these documents to FOMS website:

Background
In June 2018, Vail Resorts announced that it was seeking to acquire the ski area lease and operations at Mount Sunapee.

The September 26 meeting will be the second information session in two months on the Triple Peaks sale to Vail Resorts. On July 25, Commissioner Stewart and N.H. Attorney General Gordon MacDonald hosted a session that included remarks by Tim and Diane Mueller (current operator/Triple Peaks), a presentation by Vail representatives, and public comment.

View the July 2018 Mount Sunapee State Park information session via Newport Community TV.

FOMS advocates for diligent and transparent management of the state-owned ski area. We seek public policy and process decisions that restore public trust and honor the original intent of leasing a significant portion of our iconic state park to a private operator.

“New Hampshire citizens look to the State to exercise vigorous oversight and defend the public trust, no matter the operator or leaseholder at Mount Sunapee State Park. We also look to lessees at the park for leadership and operational and development plans that reflect local concerns and interests and respect our state park’s public values and the RSAs that protect our parks and natural heritage.” – Friends of Mount Sunapee, at the July 25 Mount Sunapee State Park Information Session.

FOMS Mount Sunapee submitted comments called for:

A “public hearing” to review the lease transfer request
Immediate formation of an Oversight and Administration Commission to manage the lease
An independent financial and operational audit of lessees to ensure lease compliance
Protection of the 484-acre exemplary forest within the State Park
Permanent protection of Mount Sunapee’s western slopes from resort development, land conservation that respects the original leasehold area.
Compliance with signage and advertising requirements to indicate state (public) ownership of the ski area at Mount Sunapee State Park.

See FOMS comments, August 6, 2018.

See Vail’s June 4, 2018, announcement.

Join us on Wed., Sept. 26 at Mount Sunapee State Park
The upcoming public info session will help give insight into the potential changes coming to the ski area and Mount Sunapee State Park and possible future impacts to our local communities and region.

Andrew Brook Trailhead Update

By FOMS on February 20, 2016 in hiking, land protection, recreation

A popular destination in winter as well as warmer seasons, Lake Solitude is the reward of a two-mile ascent up the Andrew Brook Trail. Access to the trail is now protected by the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests. Photo by John Welch/johnwelchphoto.com.

Members of the hiking community around Mount Sunapee put their enthusiasm for a popular trail to Lake Solitude to work and quickly helped the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests (Forest Society) raise funds to conserve the property where the trail begins.

The Forest Society purchased the 33-acre trailhead property, off Mountain Road in Newbury, in order to protect access to the Andrew Brook Trail, said Jane Difley, the Forest Society’s president/forester.

“So many people who love this trail assumed that the trailhead was part of Mount Sunapee State Park, but in fact it was privately owned and therefore vulnerable when it came up for sale,” Difley said. “Now that the Forest Society owns it, public access is protected, and we want to thank the fans of this trail for helping to secure it.”

The Andrew Brook Trail is a 2-mile ascent up Andrew Brook on the eastern side of Mt. Sunapee to Lake Solitude, a pristine pond surrounded by conifers. It then meets up with other trails leading to the scenic White Ledges area and to Mount Sunapee’s peak. Read more…

Forest Society working to buy popular trailhead for Mt. Sunapee hike to Lake Solitude

By FOMS on December 30, 2015 in environment, hiking, land protection, recreation

A hiker ascends the Andrew Brook Trail in Newbury. Courtesy photo.

When the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests (Forest Society) posted on Facebook a plan to buy a property in Newbury that hosts the trailhead of a hiking route to Lake Solitude on Mt. Sunapee, hikers who know the Andrew Brook Trail responded quickly.

They posted phrases like “Love this hike,” “One of my favorite spots” and “Best way to hike Sunapee.”

“Those posts told us we were working on a project that would make a lot of people very happy,” said Jane Difley, the Forest Society’s president/forester.

There are three major hiking trails on Mt. Sunapee, but only one, the Summit Trail, is entirely within Mt. Sunapee State Park. The Andrew Brook Trail is one of two others that cross private land before entering permanently protected land in the state park. Access to the trailhead has been at the generosity of the landowner and could be denied by any future landowner.

Click on map to enlarge.

The Forest Society offered to buy the land, 33 acres off of Mountain Road in Newbury, when it came up for sale recently, and has a purchase-and-sales agreement with the landowner. First, however, the organization must raise $110,000 to cover the purchase, legal fees and future stewardship costs.

“We are reaching out to the hiking community and friends and neighbors in the Newbury area to ask for their support of our plan to protect the trailhead,” Difley said.

The Andrew Brook Trail ascends along Andrew Brook and climbs through a beech, birch and maple forest for two miles before reaching Lake Solitude, a pristine pond surrounded by conifers. It then connects to the Sunapee Ragged Kearsarge Greenway’s 75-mile trail system and continues to the scenic cliffs of the White Ledges area and Mt. Sunapee’s summit.

“Most hikers of these heavily used trails have no idea that only the generosity of a private landowner allows access to the State Park,” said Gerry Gold, of the Sunapee Ragged Kearsarge Greenway Coalition. “Thus it is a rare opportunity when the hikers and the hiking community have an opportunity to help purchase such important access and permanently protect that access for themselves and future generations of hikers.”

In 2006, the Forest Society led a campaign to purchase a conservation easement on 1,100 acres of land on the eastern slope of Mt. Sunapee. This easement protects the middle section of the Andrew Brook Trail and was a collaboration celebrated by partners including the Newbury Conservation Commission, Cardigan Highlanders Volunteer Trail Crew, the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, Friends of Mount Sunapee and the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway.

In 2010 the Goubert family of Sunapee donated 75 acres of land next to the 33-acre property the Forest Society now seeks to buy.

Difley said the property’s value for hiking is the most obvious reason to protect it, but it also contains hardwood forest that protects water quality of Andrew Brook and several feeder streams, and it provides excellent wildlife habitat. She said the organization is seeking to raise the money necessary to complete the project by Jan. 20.

More information about the project and how to donate, visit www.forestsociety.org.

Latest News

Navigation