SHEDDING LIGHT ON BLACK HISTORY | THE ANNUAL MEETING MEETS AGAIN
A Year Unlike Any Other Reflecting On A Time That Brought Challenges But Also Opportunities
AUTUMN 2021
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Cut Your Own Christmas Tree OPENS NOVEMBER 20 FOR CUT-YOUR-OWN & FRESH TREES + WREATHS DAILY NOV. 26 – DEC. 19 10 AM – 4 PM
THE ROCKS, BETHLEHEM VISIT FORESTSOCIETY.ORG/CHRISTMAS
TABLE OF CONTENTS: AUTUMN 2021, No. 307
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14 DEPARTMENTS 2 FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
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Protecting forests for our future
4 THE WOODPILE
FEATURES (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) MARIA FINNEGAN, KATE WILCOX, ANNA BERRY
6 Marking Black History A collaboration with the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire sheds light on Black history at the Forest Society’s Welch Family Farm and Forest in Hancock.
10 A Meeting Two Years in the Making Our 2021 Annual Meeting was a joyful reunion and opportunity to celebrate recent successes and honor award recipients at the Creek Farm Reservation in Portsmouth.
+ An insect investigation + Three cheers for these volunteers + The Gorge is back + Another challenge in the books
14 THE FOREST CLASSROOM Using tech on the trails
16 PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE The life and legacy of Tom Howe
18 NATURE’S VIEW Hunting is safer than you think
20 PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE The nexus between land conservation and renewable energy SHEDDING LIGHT ON BLACK HISTORY | THE ANNUAL MEETING MEETS AGAIN
22 ON OUR LAND Something’s fishy at Black Mountain Reservation
A Year Unlike Any Other Reflecting On A Time That Brought Challenges But Also Opportunities
On our cover:
AUTUMN 2021
forestsociety.org
Spider webs glisten in the morning light at the Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservation Area in Concord. Photo by Ellen Kenney.
24 PROJECT IN PROGRESS Conservation connectivity in the southern Belknaps
26 THE MANY FACES OF CONSERVATION These members joined the half-century club
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
CHAIR Bill Tucker, Goffstown
VICE CHAIR Drew Kellner, Brookline
SECRETARY Karen Moran, Webster
TREASURER Andrew Smith, Twin Mountain
PRESIDENT Jack Savage, Middleton
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Charlie Bridges, New Durham Deb Buxton, Greenfield Bill Crangle, Plymouth George Epstein, Silver Lake Elizabeth Salas Evans, Weare Peter Fauver, North Conway Don Floyd, Concord Allyson Hicks, Concord Jason Hicks, Meredith Deanna Howard, Etna Patricia Losik, Rye Nancy Martland, Sugar Hill Michael Morison, Peterborough Tom Wagner, Campton Janet Zeller, Concord
STAFF Will Abbott, Project Manager, The Rocks Frank Allen, Building and Grounds Assistant Dave Anderson, Senior Director of Education Anna Berry, Digital Outreach Manager Nik Berube, Maintenance Assistant Naomi Brattlof, Director of Easement Stewardship Rita Carroll, Tree Farm Administrator Tony Cheek, Vice President for Finance Connie Colton, Land Protection and Stewardship Coordinator Andy Crowley, Stewardship Projects Manager Linda Dammann, Development Assistant Carrie Deegan, Reservation Stewardship and Engagement Director Maria Finnegan, Manager of Individual Giving Leah Hart, Land Protection Specialist Stacie Hernandez, Easement Steward Laura Holske, Finance Specialist Brian Hotz, Vice President for Land Conservation Steve Junkin, Field Forester Sarah Kern, Creek Farm Education Program Coordinator Susanne Kibler-Hacker, Senior Philanthropy Advisor Allan Krygeris, Senior Technology Specialist Sara Krzyzaniak, Data Processor Rebecca Lapitino, Policy & Reservation Stewardship Coordinator Matt Leahy, Public Policy Director Margaret Liszka, Membership Director Peter Maciaszek, Easement Steward Nigel Manley, Director, North Country Properties Ann McCoy, Development Manager Jack Minich, Easement Steward Michelle Morse, Human Resource Director Carl Murphy, Facilities Manager Meredith Reed O’Donnell, Foundation Relations Manager Tina Ripley, Administrative Assistant Gabe Roxby, Field Forester Jack Savage, President Matt Scaccia, Recreation and Community Relations Manager Ryan Smith, Communications Manager Maria Stewart, Senior Executive Assistant Anne Truslow, Vice President for Development Brooke Vigliotta, Data Processor Wendy Weisiger, Managing Forester Harriette Yazzie-Whitcomb, Receptionist
Protecting Forests For Our Future
W
e are fortunate here in New Hampshire that we benefit from over a century of forest conservation and stewardship efforts— many of which were spearheaded by the Forest Society. But we take it for granted at our own peril. Our mission of protecting, managing, and advocating for forests is more urgent than ever. Not only do forests help cool a warming planet, take up and store carbon, and support clean and plentiful water systems, but studies also show that spending time in them measurably lowers our blood pressure, improves health and wellness, and provides us with spiritual relief in troubled times. Engaging people remains essential to accomplishing our mission. This issue of Forest Notes highlights the many ways that we are welcoming people to enjoy, learn, and get out there to experience New Hampshire, from the woods to the water. You will read about the hundreds of visitors who flocked to our forest reservations again this fall as part of our Five Hikes Challenge. Many of those hikers were exploring our trails for the first time as new members of the Forest Society. Through the first-ever Merrimack Paddle Challenge, offered in partnership with other organizations working in the Merrimack River watershed, we met new friends who came to appreciate the benefits forests provide to the health and beauty of this mighty river. Anna Berry writes about using technology, through our new mobile trails app, to
enable her young family to explore trails on our forests. Dave Anderson writes about sharing the woods during hunting season and makes the point that in New Hampshire, thanks to hunter education, our collective safety record is such that hikers and hunters can share the woods in the fall. And Eric Aldrich tells the story of the Due family, too long forgotten, who farmed the land we now know as the Welch Family Farm and Forest in Hancock. We hope that telling a more complete human story of our lands helps more people to see and feel their own heritage, and their own future, in the landscape. In conservation work, we work today with the faith that future generations will step forward to take up our mission, just as we stand on the shoulders of conservationists who came before us. By welcoming all to enjoy our forest reservations, we hope more people will make the deep connections with nature, place, and history that will inspire and activate them to keep forests as forests.
Jack Savage is the president of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. He can be reached by email at jsavage @forestsociety.org.
(OPPOSITE PAGE) RYAN SMITH; (THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) JERRY MONKMAN/ECOPHOTOGRAPHY, JAKE BERRY, KATE WILCOX, CHRISTINE LIGHTSEY
WEB EXCLUSIVES
Leave Your Leaves Put down your rake for the sake of your soil and to help the forest floor forestsociety.org/dontraketheleaves
5 Hikes Field Trips Get a taste of popular forest reservations—virtually forestsociety.org/5hikesfieldtrips
Sharing Stories See more highlights from our Annual Meeting at Creek Farm forestsociety.org/sharingstories
“This was our first hike with the @forestsociety and it was the perfect adventure. A couple flooded areas and cool creatures.” — Christine Lightsey Christine was one of more than 350 people who took part in the 5 Hikes Challenge this autumn. Check out the upcoming winter issue of Forest Notes for more photos from the event.
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Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests A nonprofit membership organization founded in 1901 to protect the state’s most important landscapes and promote wise use of its renewable natural resources. Basic annual membership fee is $40 and includes a subscription to Forest Notes. Editor: Ryan Smith Design & Production: The Secret Agency Printing: R.C. Brayshaw & Company, Inc. Forest Notes is printed on elemental chlorine-free Sappi Flo paper with 10 percent post-consumer recycled content. Sappi Flo is made from pulp purchased from suppliers who document sound environmental practices and sustainable forest management. Permission is required for reproduction of any part of this magazine. Copyright 2021 SPNHF. US ISSN: 0015 7457 54 Portsmouth Street, Concord, N.H. 03301 | Phone: 603-224-9945 | Fax: 603-228-0423 info@forestsociety.org | forestsociety.org The Forest Society proudly supports the following organizations:
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THE WOODPILE—NEWS NOT SO NEATLY STACKED
Research Could Advance Fight Against Emerald Ash Borer
From left, University of New Hampshire researchers Todd Johnson and Casey Coupe are conducting research on the emerald ash borer at the Forest Society’s Powder Major’s Forest.
In early October at Powder Major’s Forest in Lee and Madbury, University of New Hampshire researchers Todd Johnson and Casey Coupe continued their ongoing study looking at the survival of emerald ash borer as well as the success of its biological control agents in the state. The Forest Society’s Steve Junkin, a field forester, helped them cut down a portion of the study trees so the bark could be peeled. Johnson and Coupe could then inspect the emerald ash borer larvae underneath. This research will further our understanding of how trees defend themselves against forest pest attacks and it could advance the fight against emerald ash borer and its destructive effects on our forests. Stay tuned to learn more about the research in a future issue of Forest Notes.
Kudos to Our Chestnut Orchard Volunteers We recently held our annual fall workday at the Tom Rush Forest American Chestnut Orchard in Deering, where orchard volunteers helped us weed, mulch, and measure the trees. The American Chestnut Foundation’s New England Regional Science Coordinator Kendra Collins and field technician Deni Ranguelova joined us for the day. Kendra commented that this was one of the most well-tended orchards she’s seen. The trees in the orchard have now been through three growing seasons, and the largest ones are over 9 feet tall. Kudos to our awesome volunteers for keeping these trees growing and the site looking beautiful.
Field forester Gabe Roxby (left) and American Chestnut Foundation staff measure trees at the Tom Rush Forest.
Trails Reopen at The Rocks
Visits to Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels
In mid-September, the parking lots and walking trails reopened at The Rocks in Bethlehem. During the closure, landscape architect Leigh Starer and her crew used the massive granite foundation stones that once supported the Tool Building to transform the landscape into a rustic hillside amphitheater centered on a panorama that stretches from the Kilkenny Range to the Presidentials. Trails are open, but keep an eye out for re-routes related to the ongoing renovations. To learn more about the vision for the landscape and buildings at Forest Society North at the Rocks, visit forestsociety .org/forestsocietynorth.
White Mountains Attractions Association, which leases and operates the portion of the Forest Society’s Lost River Reservation that includes Lost River Gorge, reported an increase in business over the summer after a challenging 2020 season. The Association reported: “We are so thankful to all our guests, both first time and returning, who helped to make the 2021 season at Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves a huge success. We saw visitors from all over the country, including California, Texas, and even Hawaii, and with them they brought their curiosity, enthusiasm, and smiling faces. We strongly encouraged reservations to enhance the guest experience, as capacity was limited by hour and by day, which helped to keep the flow moving through the Gorge and main building. We’re pleased to report that visitation returned to pre-pandemic levels and guests were complimentary of their experiences while exploring the property. Most importantly, we would like to thank our incredible staff who care so deeply for Lost River Gorge and gave visitors the best experience possible. We hope to see you when we reopen for the 2022 season in May!”
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(OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM TOP) STEVE JUNKIN, CARRIE DEEGAN; (THIS PAGE, FROM LEFT) DAVE DUNHAM, MARYEVELYN MONTY, LOWELL PARKS & CONSERVATION TRUST
From left, Merrimack Paddle Challenge participants explore a silver maple floodplain in Concord; participant Maryevelyn Monty’s dog, Tobey, prepares for their paddle; the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust helped the Environmental Youth Task Force get on the Concord River for a morning of kayaking.
Hundreds Explore Watershed During Merrimack Paddle Challenge More than 300 people from across New Hampshire and Massachusetts signed up for the inaugural Merrimack Paddle Challenge that took place from June 15 to September 30. The do-it-yourself challenge was presented by the Forest Society, Five Rivers Conservation Trust, Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, and Merrimack River Watershed Council. Five destinations in the Merrimack River watershed were specifically chosen to maximize fun and help participants become familiar with one of the region’s largest and most important watersheds, and to learn why land protection along the Merrimack and its tributaries is still so vitally important. Participants were provided with laminated paddling maps, interpretive information, safety tips and educational resources, including the Forest Society’s documentary film The Merrimack: River at Risk, and a guide to Indigenous history in the region published by Indigenous New Hampshire Collaborative Collective. The paddles in the program were: • Concord River Paddle: Lowell & Billerica, MA • Cross Border Merrimack Paddle: Nashua, NH to Tyngsborough, MA • Contoocook River Paddle: Contoocook & Concord, NH • Muchyedo Banks Paddle: Penacook, Boscawen & Canterbury, NH • Silver Maple Floodplain Paddle: Concord, NH Although the rivers were flowing high and fast this summer due to heavy rains, the paddlers reported a variety of wildlife sightings—from beavers to eagles—and thought-provoking experiences. “I had never paddled on this river,” one participant wrote. “Doing so in August gave me an appreciation for its power and
beauty. Our group stopped and observed the Hannah Duston statue from the water and talked about the history of the area, as well as the longstanding importance of the river to area commerce. “We also marveled at the holes in the sandy river bank ‘walls’ and imagined the swallows that must live in there, though we didn’t see any. We also spent some time quietly observing the current as it swirled past us while we rested on a sand bank upstream and ate our lunch. Total zen moment on a fantastic river.” The Challenge was also a catalyst for safe socialization amid a worldwide pandemic: a MeetUp group of 10 kayakers tackled the Muchyedo Banks paddle and were already making plans for another trip. In July, the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust hosted the Environmental Youth Task Force on the Concord River for a morning of kayaking. “Every paddle was unique and memorable!” another participant reported. “I’m always interested in finding new waters in New Hampshire to play, and the Challenge was an opportunity to explore areas I had not enjoyed previously.” “The best part was enjoying these natural areas that have not been too impacted by development,” another paddler remarked. “I saw lots of birds, beaver, and a bear.” Whether participants paddled one or all of the waterways included in the Challenge, almost everyone found a renewed appreciation for the watershed. “Driving over the river on bridges versus actually paddling and seeing the river up close and in person is incredible,” another participant wrote at the conclusion of the Challenge. “I have a healthy respect for all of the beauty that New Hampshire provides, but added to that is a new appreciation for this beautiful river.” Autumn 2021 FOREST NOTES | 5
A boulder at the Forest Society’s Welch Family Farm and Forest in Hancock marks the site of what was once home to the Welch family. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, long before the Welch family lived here, the place was home to the Due family, who were identified in early U.S. censuses as “free colored persons.” A new marker from the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire now commemorates the Due family and their friend Jack, a once-enslaved African man. On the other side of the rock is a plaque dedicated to the Welch family, placed there when the Welches donated the land to the Forest Society in 2000. 6 | FOREST NOTES Autumn 2021
On September 18, the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire joined the Forest Society in dedicating a marker to the Due family and their friend Jack. Shown left to right are JerriAnne Boggis, executive director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, Hancock writer Eric Aldrich, Due family descendant Abigail Atwood Ladd, and Forest Society President Jack Savage.
Marking Black History at the Welch Family Farm and Forest in Hancock A collaboration with the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire sheds light on Black history at this Hancock reservation BY ERIC ALDRICH t the Forest Society’s Welch Family Farm and Forest in Hancock, there’s a boulder where the Welch family’s home once stood. The south side of the boulder holds a plaque commemorating three generations of the Welch family at the site between 1862 and 2000, when Elizabeth C. Welch donated the land to the Forest Society. On the north side of the boulder there’s a new plaque that commemorates those who lived there before the Welches: James and Hannah Due and their friend Jack, a former enslaved man who lived free in Hancock. The new plaque, installed in September by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, sheds light on a side of history that has too long been in the shadows in New Hampshire and beyond. Since acquiring the property in 2000, the Forest Society has known about the Welch family’s legacy on the land. The Welches were pioneers of a movement among New Hampshire farmers between the late-1800s and mid-1900s to board city-dwelling summer visitors to the country to supplement their farming income. Older residents of Hancock remember the Welch’s visitors, their fresh food off the farm, and their warm hospitality. But until recently, the Forest Society—and many other folks in Hancock—knew nothing about the Welch’s predecessors, the Due family and Jack.
(OPPOSITE PAGE) MARIA FINNEGAN; (THIS PAGE) MARIA FINNEGAN
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“Do you know about the land’s Black history?” I learned about the Dues and Jack sometime in the 1990s; I can’t remember exactly when. I had been hunting near my home in the southwestern part of town—miles away from the Welch farm—when I came across a cellar hole, the old stone foundation of a home. Dogged by my obsession of cellar holes and wanting to know who lived where and when, I started digging into the records. Turns out, the cellar hole I had found was once topped by the home of Elliot Due, James and Hannah Due’s son. I learned that early census records indicated that the Dues were “free colored people.” More fascinated, I dug further, encouraged by tips from local historians and by JerriAnne Boggis, who would later become executive director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. One clue led to another, while many questions have remained unanswered. I found that Elliot was born and raised at his parents’ home on the old road between Hancock and Stoddard, now the Forest Society’s Welch Family Farm and Forest. Aside from the boulder marking the house site and the open fields that continue to grace this pleasant location, there’s little sign of the land’s early occupants.
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James Due -1815
Betsey (Due) Razey 1790 - 1855
Richard Razey 1786 - 1860
Hannah (Davis) Due 1750 - 1826
Lois (French) Due 1797 - 1868
Elliot Due 1794 - 1843
A snippet of the Due family tree, showing the two children of James and Hannah Due, Betsey and Elliot, and their spouses. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the family endured several contentious charges of discipline by the Church of Christ in Hancock.
In 2010, some 10 years after the Forest Society acquired the property, I wasn’t sure whether they knew about the Due family and Jack. So, I sat down with Jack Savage, then the Forest Society’s vice president of communications, and Dave Anderson, director of education, and I asked them if they knew about the land’s Black history. They shook their heads. So, I told them the story— at least my understanding of it. What little we know about the Due family and Jack comes from a few scant sources. It’s in bits and pieces from an 1889 history of Hancock, records from the church and town, registries of deeds and probate, U.S. censuses, and genealogists, such as the intrepid Pearl Louise Stimson, who spent years researching her own ancestry. Like so much of New England’s Black history, many details about the family are lost altogether.
James Due and “Old Jack” We don’t know precisely when James Due came to Hancock, or where he came from, but we do know he was living in Hancock in 1779, the year of the town's incorporation. Census records from 1790 and 1800 indicate that James Due and those in his household were “free colored people.” Closely associated with James Due and his family was a gentleman named Jack. Jack was reportedly born in Africa, captured and enslaved as a child, and brought over to this continent in what must have been a harrowing journey by ship. Somehow Jack became free and ended up in Hancock, living off and on 8 | FOREST NOTES Autumn 2021
with James Due and his family, possibly arriving with James when Jack was in his late 40s. Also known as Jack Ware or “Old Jack” or “Old Negro Jack,” Jack worked with James Due for years, and James was interested in Jack’s well-being. In 1791 (when George Washington was president), James gave 70 acres to the town of Hancock to provide for Jack’s support. When not living with the Due family in the early 1800s, Jack lived in Peter Warren’s former home in the remote southwestern part of town, a quarter mile from what was then known as Warren Pond. When Jack died in 1826, at the age of about 100, he was buried at Hancock’s Pine Ridge Cemetery, beside the Due family, with an inscription on his stone: “This monument erected in commemoration of his virtues, by the voluntary contributions of the Citizens of Hancock.” Years later, Warren Pond became known as Jack’s Pond, and the place where Jack lived is now owned by the Harris Center for Conservation Education.
Gossip and Church Discipline In the late 1700s and early 1800s, James and Hannah Due were raising two children and trying to eke out a living as farmers on their place on the old road to Stoddard. Their daughter, Betsey, married Richard Razey in 1808. They moved into a home barely half a mile from her parents. Betsey’s brother, Elliot, married Lois French in 1817, and they lived about a mile away near Hunts Pond.
Meanwhile, in the village of Hancock, the Church of Christ was one of the town’s dominant social forces. Led by its first two pastors, reverends Reed Paige and Archibald Burgess, the church leaned toward a strict form of Calvinism and leveled disciplinary actions against various members for charges such as neglecting public worship, deception, stealing, lying, intemperance, profanity, and adultery. As the Dues were toiling with farming and raising families, there was much local gossip around their family life—gossip that reached the church. Between 1794 and 1829, the church raised several charges of discipline against members of the Due and Razey families, including allegations of adultery and deception. There’s not enough space here to delve into the details, but the results were exceedingly arduous and humiliating for the families. Among those disciplined were Hannah Due, Betsey Due Razey, Richard Razey, and Lois Due (Elliot Due’s wife). All but Hannah Due were ultimately excommunicated. In the 1825 case
COMMEMORATING BLACK HISTORY Building on the success of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail that began more than two decades ago, the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire is now a statewide organization that connects the stories of New Hampshire’s African American heritage by documenting and marking the many historic sites that testify to this rich history. Two dozen markers in Portsmouth have shed light on that city’s Black history for several years. The marker unveiled at the Forest Society’s Welch Family Farm and Forest in Hancock on September 18 is the first to be placed outside of Portsmouth. “We are pleased to be able to join forces with the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire in not only bringing the Due story to light, but also to use it as a catalyst for ongoing conversations about race,” Forest Society President Jack Savage says. “This land came to us as the Welch Family Farm and Forest in recognition of a century of one family’s stewardship, and now we welcome the opportunity to recognize and share the story of the Due family and their imprint on this land.” This fall, the organization unveiled other markers in New Hampshire communities that hold stories of Black history, including Milford and Warner. The event in Hancock was held in two parts: In the morning, more than 50 people looked on as Abigail Atwood Ladd, a descendant of the Due family, unveiled the new plaque at the site of their former home. In the afternoon, Eric Aldrich co-led a program with the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire at the Hancock Congregational Church that taught participants about Black history and anti-slavery activities in the town during the early 1840s.
against her, Betsey courageously stood up to the Hancock church—and a council of three other local churches—to defend her integrity. And even when Betsey wrote two letters of confession, the church wasn’t convinced and excommunicated her, ending an ordeal that lasted two years full of many contentious meetings. By 1841, Rev. Burgess’s attention was angrily focused on his church’s anti-slavery activists, who had attended a sermon given by Rev. Henry C. Wright, a prominent abolitionist who traveled throughout New England. Those members, too, were excommunicated from the church. A year later, a larger antislavery convention was held in town, whose speakers included an all-star lineup of fiery, traveling abolitionists. An anti-slavery newspaper at the time described local antagonists of the event as living “under the bloated tyranny of Archibald Burgess and a subaltern aristocracy.” Life went on for the Due and Razey families. Their children grew up in Hancock, became adults, married, had children and grandchildren of their own, and moved to neighboring towns and beyond. A few family members fought in the Civil War, while others carried on the essential tasks of raising families, or became engineers or teachers. In recent years, a few descendants have discovered their ancestry and some surprises in the process. One, Abigail Atwood Ladd, even had the honor of unveiling the new plaque in Hancock.
New Light to a Chapter in One Place Today, when you stand where the Dues and Welches once lived, you see a magnificent view of Skatutakee Mountain. The property is a sweet, quiet place. There’s little sign of the love and toil that the site’s inhabitants put into the land. You can only imagine the moments there: the births, marriages, and deaths. Crops planted, tended, and harvested. Moments of frustration and moments of tenderness. The boulder where the house once stood doesn’t spell out these details. But it marks a chapter in one family’s presence here, along with that of their friend, Jack. And as Black lives have been too long in the shadows of history, the boulder and the new plaque bring light to one chapter in one special place. Eric Aldrich is a writer who lives in Hancock.
Online + For more information about the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, visit blackheritagetrailnh.org. + Visit forestsociety.org/welchfamilyfarmandforest to learn more about the reservation.
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20 Above: From left, staff members Maria Stewart, Linda Dammann, and Meredith Reed O’Donnell warmly greeted guests to Creek Farm. Bottom left: A field trip to Champlin Forest in Rochester introduced visitors to an addition in progress to expand the forest reservation. Bottom right: Forest Society staff, including (from left) Leah Hart, Carrie Deegan, Susanne Kilber-Hacker, Wendy Weisiger, and Dave Anderson, were eager to hear from keynote speaker Carolyn Finney and celebrate this year’s honorees.
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ANNUAL 10 | FOREST NOTES Autumn 2021
(OPPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) KATE WILCOX (X2), LEAH HART; (THIS PAGE) KATE WILCOX (X3)
Clockwise from top left, the Annual Meeting included a picnic lunch overlooking Sagamore Creek; Sarah Thorne accepts her late husband Tom Howe’s Conservationist of the Year Award from President Jack Savage; author Carolyn Finney spoke about identity, land, and belonging.
MEETING By Anna Berry fter going virtual in 2020, the Forest Society’s annual meeting returned to its in-person format on September 25 when nearly 150 people visited Creek Farm for field trips, picnic lunches, and the traditional business meeting, which marks the beginning of a new year. This year’s program also included a special conversation with Dr. Carolyn Finney, author of Black Spaces, White Faces: Reimagining the Relationship of Black Americans to the Great Outdoors, about identity, land, and belonging. Finney is the environmental studies professor of practice at Middlebury College’s Franklin Environmental Center. She gave attendees a taste of her latest project, called “The N Word: Nature, Revisited (an imagined conversation with John Muir),” where she examines what it means to “be Black and be Green” in a moment of racial reckoning. She aims to call out Muir, the “father of conservation,” in order to call viewers into a new relationship with nature and each other with her performance piece. Finney also answered questions from attendees about how to widen the lens through which we experience natural spaces that often have deep, complicated histories.
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“There’s a way we could reframe what it means to provide facts about a place,” she said. For example, signage for a particular property could note that the history of the land is a story, not the only story. Forest Society President Jack Savage also addressed the theme of land and belonging in his remarks, highlighting a new collaboration with the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire: “Last weekend I had the privilege of joining JerriAnne Boggis, of the Black Heritage Trail, at our Welch Family Forest and Farm in Hancock, where we celebrated bringing to light the story of a free black family who settled that land in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries,” he said. “It has been a forgotten story. We feel an urgency to tell that story now as part of our effort to make conserved lands welcoming to all.” Several awards were also presented during the meeting, including a tribute to the late Tom Howe, who was named Conservationist of the Year for his work as senior director of land conservation at the Forest Society and his support for land conservation in his community and across the state (see full story on page 16). Eric and Jen Chinburg, of Chinburg Properties, were given the President’s Award by Savage for their partnership in helping to restore Creek Farm’s Carey Cottage. And, Forest Society North at The Rocks volunteer Janet Hill was recognized as the Trish Churchill Volunteer of the Year in honor of her decade of service transforming the gardens on the property (see facing page). The meeting also featured the election of three new faces to the Board of Trustees: George Epstein, of Silver Lake; Elizabeth Salas Evans, of Weare; and Patricia Losik, of Rye. The Board subsequently elected a new slate of officers for 2022: William (Tuck) Tucker, chair; Drew Kellner, vice chair; Andrew Smith, treasurer; and Karen Moran, secretary.
The field trips included a hike across Powder Major’s Forest to tour a new conservation easement added to the adjacent Tuckaway Farm, a three-generation family farm "tucked away" along the Oyster River, just two miles from the University of New Hampshire. The hike was led by Vice President for Land Conservation Brian Hotz, and Matt Scaccia, recreation and community relations manager. Managing Forester Wendy Weisiger and Leah Hart, land protection specialist, led a 2-mile walk among the woodlands and wetlands of the Forest Society’s 185-acre William H. Champlin, Jr. Forest and the Champlin Forest addition, a 122acre parcel that the Forest Society is now working to purchase and protect. Dr. Finney shared her perspective on Creek Farm’s history and current use during another field trip that crisscrossed the grounds, with additional knowledge shared by Senior Director of Education Dave Anderson and Creek Farm Education Program Coordinator Sarah Kern. Finally, a hearty group of attendees helped raise the sails and steer the Piscataqua—a shallow drafted type of cargo barge known as a gundalow—with the Gundalow Company. The Forest Society’s Carrie Deegan, director of reservation stewardship and engagement, helped host the scenic cruise through Portsmouth’s historic harbor. Watch a wrap-up of photos and video from the Annual Meeting, and read the FY2021 Annual Report, on the Forest Society’s website: forestsociety.org/annual-meeting-2021-in-review.
Above: Creek Farm Education Program Coordinator Sarah Kern (far right) helps lead a walking tour of Creek Farm. Left: Annual Meeting attendees help raise the sail on the Piscataqua (at right) and take in views of the harbor.
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(OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) JOHANNA PASTORIZA, KATE WILCOX (X2); (THIS PAGE) KATE WILCOX (X2)
From left: Janet Hill accepts her award from Forest Society President Jack Savage at the Annual Meeting. The volunteer of the year award features an original painting of the formal garden at The Rocks by Kathie Lovett.
Janet Hill Named Trish Churchill Volunteer of the Year By Anna Berry
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anet Hill has spent more than a decade using her talents as a master gardener to transform the historic gardens at The Rocks. At the Forest Society’s 120th Annual Meeting on September 25, she was recognized as the Trish Churchill Volunteer of the Year for going above and beyond to give back to her community. Hill, of Littleton, began volunteering at the Forest Society’s North Country Conservation Center at The Rocks more than 11 years ago. She adopted the formal flower gardens and transformed them into a vibrant oasis. The gardens—originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted’s historic landscaping company when the estate belonged to the Glessner family—are now worthy of the Olmsted legacy. “Janet volunteers not only when there is a need for weeding or mulching, but she also organizes other volunteers to tend to the garden when she is not available,” said Nigel Manley, director of the North Country properties for the Forest Society. “Since the fire that destroyed the Tool Building in February of 2019, Janet and her husband, Ed Martin, have gone above and beyond the call of volunteerism, by lending a hand to help deliver the NH Maple Experience programs, greeting and shepherding bus
tours that visit The Rocks, and even answering the phones on weekends during the busy Christmas season.” The garden at The Rocks is a lively and beautiful spot, overlooking both the evolving landscape and the panoramic view of the White Mountains. With the renovation of the Carriage Barn and the grounds underway, Hill’s work in the garden has been on full display. Local artist and Forest Society supporter, Kathie Lovett of Franconia, donated an original painting of hers of the gardens at The Rocks, which was presented to Hill as she accepted the Trish Churchill Volunteer of the Year Award. The annual award honors those exemplary people who have volunteered their time, resources, and energy to help the Forest Society achieve its mission. It is named after Trish Churchill, who passed away earlier this year. “Thanks to Janet’s steady hand, the garden has been a wonderful place of solace and renewal during a time of transition at The Rocks,” said Forest Society President Jack Savage. “If you are lucky, you will see Janet, as she quietly continues her deadheading or tending the irises, lilies, or phlox.” Autumn 2021 FOREST NOTES | 13
THE FOREST CLASSROOM
Are We There Yet? Take Advantage of Technology to Enhance the Outdoors By Anna Berry
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fter a wet and humid summer, hiking in New Hampshire’s forests this autumn and winter has been a breath of fresh, crisp air. But for every hiker who revels in the quiet of a winding mountain trail, there is a family like mine with children who jump through crunchy leaves and ask “Are we there yet?” barely two feet away from the trailhead. In the last five years that I’ve hiked with my twins, I’ve learned that we often need a boost along the way—and I don’t mean from the M&Ms I keep on hand to coax a few more steps out of their little legs. I’m talking about a boost of technology. Since I already carried my smartphone outdoors to take photos, I thought why not put it to use to help find and map trails, interpret what we’re seeing, and learn more about the organizations that care for these beautiful spaces? For my family, hiking and nature apps make the journey more fun and meaningful. There are also hikers with varying abilities and interests who could benefit from adding technology to their outing. Some may want to know how far it is to the next bench for a rest or are curious about the history and science of a granite boulder along the trail. These apps tend to offer more information than what’s featured on the trailhead kiosk and on interpretive signs. And while technology won’t replace the need to bring a map and compass on every trip outdoors, it can enrich your adventures across New Hampshire. Earlier this year, my family visited the Forest Society’s 718-acre Hay Reservation in Newbury. We knew we didn’t have enough time to make it to the top of Sunset Hill, but we were excited to explore a new forest. During our walk, my kids noticed pock marks on the beech trees lining the trail and wondered what they 14 | FOREST NOTES Autumn 2021
Jake Berry helps his six-year-old twins find the end of the Lower Pond Trail at Champlin Forest in Rochester on the Forest Society’s Mobile App. were. Using the Forest Society’s recently launched free mobile app, we learned that the marks were caused by the beech scale insect, which introduces fungus into the tree’s cambium, a layer of living tissue underneath the bark, by sucking up the tree’s sap. We also noticed carvings people made in the tree bark. I told my kids about following Leave No Trace principles when we venture outside and why carvings like this can hurt trees. Realizing the damage it can do, my kids wanted to come up with their own PSAs about how to respect trees. It was getting late, so we used the app to find an interesting place to turn around: a stone wall that once bordered crop fields. I found that it was easier for me to navigate and keep my kids engaged with a
mobile guide in my pocket compared to using a map. The app, which is powered by OuterSpatial, not only features the Forest Society’s 191 forest reservations, but it also includes interpretive excursions, called outings, at some of the most popular properties, including Mount Major in Alton, the Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservation Area in Concord, and Madame Sherri Forest in Chesterfield. Available on both iPhone and Android devices, the app includes offline mapping and navigation, and it is accessible even without a cell phone signal. OuterSpatial helps park agencies and nonprofits across the country publish
Online: You can learn more about how to download and use the app at forestsociety.org/app.
Finally, mobile maps you can access without cell service. (Always remember to bring a paper map and compass, too.) service or the battery dies, rescuers are often needed to assist hikers out of the woods. That’s why officials from New Hampshire Fish & Game and U.S. Forest Service recommend always bringing a map
and a compass in addition to other essential items. Multiple options for navigation are best. To add an additional level of protection as you hike in New Hampshire from year to year, officials recommend purchasing a Hike Safe card. This nominally priced insurance covers hiking rescue fees, though individuals may still be liable for expenses if their actions are deemed negligent. The card is $25 a year for individuals or $35 for a family, and proceeds support the New Hampshire Fish and Game search-and-rescue program. So even though technology is not a cure for my twins’ “are we there yet?” complaints, it does help make our outdoor adventures safer and more enjoyable. Happy hiking! Anna Berry is the digital outreach manager for the Forest Society.
(OPPOSITE PAGE) ANNA BERRY; (THIS PAGE) ANNA BERRY
their recreation information via web and mobile devices. Once you’ve downloaded the app, you can also find trails in communities across the country. While there are numerous navigation and recreation apps available on smartphones these days, I find it most helpful—and accurate—to use apps and other information provided directly by the organizations that manage the trails you plan to visit. The app also offers users the opportunity to participate in activities like the 5 Hikes Challenge. For the first time, registered participants could check in at their selected destinations, track their hiking progress, and also share updates and photos from the trail. Of course, there are downsides to the technology that fuels so much of our lives. Many hikers opt to leave their map and compass at home and rely on their phones for directions. When these devices lose
Autumn 2021 FOREST NOTES | 15
PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Tom Howe was a beloved friend and colleague before his sudden death in January 2021. Tom was instrumental in helping conserve key landscapes in New Hampshire, including the Belknap Range (pictured at right).
Honoring Tom Howe, A Lion of Conservation By Jack Savage
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he Conservationist of the Year Award honors people whose work to promote and achieve conservation is exemplary. They are people whose actions have made a difference not just in their own backyards but also have advanced the protection and stewardship of land statewide. In our conservationist of the year, we look for those who stand out in the magnitude of the action they undertook. Past recipients include Senator Judd Gregg; writer John Hay; Governor John King and his wife, Anna King; descendants of John Wingate Weeks; and longtime President/ Forester Paul Bofinger—the only staff member who has been so honored. Until now. As many of you know, we lost a friend, colleague, and lion of conservation when Tom Howe died in January 2021. His sudden passing caused us, and our conservation partners around the state, to 16 | FOREST NOTES Autumn 2021
appreciate anew the astounding breadth of Tom’s lifetime of achievements. His impact on the people and places of our state was profound. This year, we are humbled to honor our friend and colleague, Tom Howe, as the 2021 Conservationist of the Year, our highest award. Following Tom’s death, there was an outpouring of grief, along with eloquent tributes. One such tribute read as a Conservationist of the Year nomination, composed by Jamey French and Sylvia Bates. They wrote from the perspective of their roles with the Land Trust Alliance, and I will paraphrase their tribute to Tom here: “Tom was the senior director of land conservation at the Forest Society. Over his 25-year career, he completed 158 projects that helped protect nearly 35,000 acres. He also conserved his family's own 26 acres of farm and forest land. He was a founding director and board member of the Gilmanton Land Trust in his hometown. Tom put
his keen mind and determined spirit to his work, and his legacy is written in the New Hampshire landscape. Caring, empathetic, always leading by example, he was a mentor to many, especially the younger staff at the Forest Society. “Respected by his peers nationally, the Land Trust Alliance frequently benefited from Tom's deep knowledge and expertise. His numerous contributions to Rally workshops, webinars, and discussion forums have helped to educate and inspire young land conservationists from coast to coast. “We will miss his generous spirit, kind heart, and sheer goodness. He was one of the finest people we have ever known. We take solace in what he leaves behind: a legacy of protected land and a new generation of conservationists to follow in his footsteps.” In addition to the 2021 Conservationist of the Year Award, the Forest Society will be remembering Tom in several ways.
From left, Tom visits the Forest Society’s newly protected Ammonoosuc River Forest in December 2020. Tom’s wife, Sarah Thorne, spoke about his legacy when she accepted the Conservationist of the Year Award on his behalf at the Annual Meeting.
(OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM LEFT) EMILY LORD, FOREST SOCIETY FILES (X2); (THIS PAGE, FROM LEFT) EMILY LORD, KATE WILCOX
In the months since Tom’s death, nearly 200 people made memorial gifts to the Forest Society in his memory, and, fittingly, the purposes of these gifts ranged from land protection to stewardship to education. In recognition of Tom’s love of nature, we will be placing a stone bench at the overlook on Pine Mountain, part of the Morse Preserve, where an expansive view of his beloved Belknap Range does
the soul good. Also, Tom’s final land conservation project was the protection of 257 acres along the Ammonoosuc River in Bethlehem. It is 1.8 miles of trout stream that he loved. A new trail at the Ammonoosuc River Forest will be dedicated to Tom when it is complete, hopefully in 2022. And finally, as we continue on a quest to make Forest Society reservations
welcoming, inclusive, and accessible places, we are investing in interpretation at our reservations—most recently by installing a plaque recognizing the James Due family, an African American family that owned and farmed the Welch Farm and Forest Reservation in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. In September, the New Hampshire Black Heritage Trail unveiled a marker recognizing the story and contribution of the Dues. We know Tom would have celebrated this addition. At the Forest Society’s Annual Meeting in September at Creek Farm in Portsmouth, we presented Tom’s wife, Sarah Thorne, their son, Peter Howe, and Sarah’s mother and sister, the Conservationist of the Year Award. I was honored to present this award to them, for Tom, on behalf of our Board of Trustees and the Forest Society’s 10,000 members. Jack Savage is the president for the Forest Society.
Book Your Virtual Screening Today Released in spring 2020, The Merrimack: River at Risk tells the story of one of America’s most threatened rivers and what can be done to save it. Produced by the Forest Society and directed by Jerry Monkman of Ecophotography, the full-length documentary is now available to be screened by organizations and businesses at virtual events.
For more information about hosting a screening, email Communications Manager Ryan Smith at rsmith@forestsociety.org.
Autumn 2021 FOREST NOTES | 17
NATURE’S VIEW
Share the Woods During Hunting Season By Dave Anderson
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all foliage season ends abruptly as bright leaves fade on the forest floor. Hikers leave the spare beauty of the late autumn woods, some grumble, “We can’t go in the woods during hunting seasons.” Some resent sharing their favorite properties with people wearing camouflage and blaze orange clothing and carrying compound bows, muzzle loaders, or rifles. The presence of hunters can offend or even frighten hikers unaccustomed to hunting activity. But, how safe is it to be in the woods during hunting season? Comparative risk statistics for hunting accidents involving non-hunters don’t necessarily align with the extensive fear regarding the risk of hiking during deer season. According to New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHFG) records, there have been a total of two incidents in the past 30 years involving non-hunters: The first occurred in 2015 when a nonhunter out of sight of a shooter was hit by a pellet discharged from a bird hunter’s shotgun. The second incident occurred in 2017 when a deer hunter did not identify what lay beyond his target. According to New Hampshire Hunter Education Coordinator Joshua Mackay, New Hampshire’s excellent record for hunter safety is attributable to effective education. The average number of hunting-related incidents per year has gone down every decade since hunter education classes began in the 1960s when an average of 21.4 incidents occurred per year. Since hunter education became mandatory for all first time hunters in 1977, incidents declined steadily from an average 6.5 per year in the 1990s to 3.3 per year after 2000. Hunter education classes train hunters to identify the target and to know what lies beyond it before pulling the trigger. The average for the past decade has been 2.9 incidents per year with 18 | FOREST NOTES Autumn 2021
When conducted responsibly, hunting reconnects people to the land.
55 percent of these incidents being selfinflicted due to careless firearms handling or falls from tree-stands. The chances of being involved in a hunting incident are low; just .0048 percent of hunters since 2000 were involved in an incident. Deer hunters, who far outnumber hunters of other species, were involved in 45 percent of the total incidents recorded, and upland bird hunters of grouse, woodcock, and pheasant are a distant second with 24 percent of the total since 1977. According to the National Safety Council, you are more likely to be injured playing sports or using exercise equipment than while hunting. In 2020, the rate of injury per 100,000 people for hunting totaled 3.1, a relatively low number compared to 129 for cycling, 65 for basketball, 39 for swim-
ming, and 16 for golf.* The comparative risk analysis of sports and recreational injuries reveals hunting to be one of the safer outdoor recreation activities.
How Many Hunters? In 2019, approximately 50,000 individuals purchased hunting licenses with approximately an additional 19,000 archery and 17,000 turkey hunting licenses sold. This does not include licenses sold specifically for waterfowl, bear, or small game. Deer are by far the most popular game for hunters buying hunting licenses in the state. The 2021 muzzleloader season for deer opened October 30. The regular firearms season opened November 10 and runs through December 5. Season end dates
* U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Sports and Recreational Injuries.” National Safety Council Injury Facts. National Safety Council. https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/ home-and-community/safety-topics/sports-and-recreational-injuries/. Accessed 4 November 2021.
and either-sex deer days vary by wildlife management unit. Typically the latter deer season is designated for antlered-only deer. By this time, there are far fewer hunters in the woods. For a summary of hunting seasons, visit: https://wildlife.state.nh.us/ hunting/hunt-dates.html.
COURTESY NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
Thank a Hunter Hunting is an essential wildlife management tool that has also helped to fund the permanent protection of thousands of acres in the state for wildlife. Since the passage of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, commonly referred to as the Pittman-Robertson Act, in 1937, New Hampshire has received nearly $80 million dollars for habitat management and the purchase of lands for wildlife, research, and hunter education. The act’s funds derive from a federal excise tax on the sale of hunting and fishing equipment, including firearms and ammunition, In FY2021, the tax generated $4.1 million in funds that will be used in a variety of ways across the state. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website states “the Wildlife Restoration Program, [which is authorized by the Wildlife Restoration Act], provides grant funds to the states and fish and wildlife agencies for projects to restore, conserve, manage, and enhance wild birds and mammals and their habitat. Projects also include providing public use and access to wildlife resources, hunter education, and development and management of shooting ranges.” The funds also provide for NHFG land acquisition and management. According to Jim Oehler, NHFG habitat program supervisor, the department now owns more than 60,000 acres in over 100 Wildlife Management Areas, properties focused on wildlife and habitat conservation and wildlife-based recreation, and it holds an additional 25,000 acres in conservation easements. Most of the land was acquired using federal funds. A state lands manage-
ment team, including NHFG biologists and foresters at the Division of Forests and Lands, works cooperatively to plan, implement, and influence habitat management on those and an additional 178,000 acres of state forests and parks. Additionally, state hunting license sales dollars in the wildlife habitat dedicated accounts are used to conserve habitat through land acquisition and to help manage that habitat on private and public lands. Every year, $40,000 is allocated from the habitat account to fund an average of 25 grant projects which reimburse private landowners for preapproved habitat management projects. Created in 1998, the fund requires purchasers of hunting and trapping licenses to contribute $2.50 to a dedicated wildlife habitat account. Since its inception in 2001, the Small Grants Program, has invested over $1 million in 928 habitat improvement projects on public and private lands. “Hunters have contributed tens of millions of dollars to wildlife conservation in New Hampshire,” Oehler says. “Their contributions help sustain wildlife populations and conserve lands that are enjoyed by all of the state’s outdoor recreationalists—whether they are hunters, hikers, or others.”
Hunting Season Safety There are a few simple steps you can take to enjoy hiking during deer hunting seasons: 1) Wear blaze orange clothing (e.g., a vest, hat, and gloves) which is easily distinguished from any other color in the woods. 2) Avoid wearing white socks or gloves that could be mistaken for the flash of a deer’s white tail. 3) If you hike with dogs, keep them leashed and outfit them with blaze orange dog vests, leashes, and collars. You can also tie an orange bandanna around your dog’s neck.
4) Get a free copy of the NH Hunting and Fishing Digest at a local sporting goods store, tackle shop, hardware store, or deer checking station to learn dates of local hunting seasons, including the busy “either sex” firearms season for deer in your local wildlife management unit. There are a limited number of days when does can be hunted. Peak numbers of hunters are in the woods during the early “either sex” portion of deer season. The NH Hunting and Fishing Digest is available online at: eregulations.com/newhampshire/hunting. 5) Stay on designated hiking trails; avoid bushwhacking. If you remain concerned about sharing the woods with hunters, consider walking roads or visiting parks and areas that don’t allow hunting. 6) Be courteous and respectful to hunters and non-hunters alike. Respect the rights of others to share the woods. When conducted responsibly, hunting reconnects people to the land. A successful hunter must be wise in woods lore, learning the habits and preferred habitats of their quarry. The culling of individual animals from a regional population helps strengthen the overall herd. It takes experience with deer population fluctuations and available food supplies and winter severity to appreciate the role that hunting plays in maintaining a healthy regional population. Hikers needn’t fear the woods or perpetuate the myth that it’s unsafe to hike during hunting season. Hikers and hunters share a love of the woods and can work to understand shared values rather than accentuate differences regarding consumptive versus non-consumptive use. Outdoors people are on the same side when it comes to responsible use and permanent conservation of public land in New Hampshire. For more information, visit the NHFG website: wildlife.state.nh.us. Naturalist Dave Anderson is senior director of education for the Forest Society.
Autumn 2021 FOREST NOTES | 19
PUBLIC POLICY UPDATES
Building a Bridge Between Renewable Energy and Land Conservation By Matt Leahy
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he intensified commitment to act on climate change has led to calls for businesses, nonprofits, and governments to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The approaches under consideration to reach that goal would all require a significant shift away from the dirty fossil fuels that currently power the world economy and a shift towards the full-scale use of green energy. For the land trust community, the phasing out of fossil fuels brings with it an important public policy challenge. Specifically, how do we lessen the potential for conflict between renewable energy development and land conservation goals? That is not a hypothetical question. The International Energy Agency says that almost 90 percent of global electricity generation in 2050 must come from renewable sources—with solar photovoltaic and wind together accounting for nearly 70 percent— according to its May 2021 report, Net Zero by 2050: a Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector. Another report, Princeton University’s Net-Zero America, states the United States will need to expand its electricity transmission systems by 60 percent by 2030, and may need to triple it by 2050. It further found that the country must accelerate the pace at which we are electrifying the transportation sector. However, the Princeton report also cautions: “A critical issue for driving this cleanenergy agenda is where new solar panel and wind turbine manufacturing facilities are built, and where the solar and wind farms themselves are sited, along with biofuel production plants. The research provides city and regional maps that show where it is least costly to build these facilities and where they integrate into the energy system most efficiently. But this 20 | FOREST NOTES Autumn 2021
In addition to providing drinking water, clean air, and protection from natural disasters such as floods, forests are a key tool in fighting climate change by absorbing and storing carbon. does not account for the social and human aspects of where to construct new infrastructure.” While that last sentence may be a euphemism for “opposition,” it does correctly imply that as the country assesses our energy needs, policymakers, regulators, and energy developers must take into account the benefits that forested landscapes and protected areas bring to the public good. In addition to providing drinking water, clean air, and protection from natural disasters like floods, forests are a key tool in fighting climate change by absorbing and storing carbon. It would be ironic if the net-zero commitment undermined the benefits of natural resource protection, for example, by siting an energy facility adjacent to an important wildlife habitat. Therefore, we must ensure the ramped-up efforts to meet renewable energy goals are in coordination with the on-going work to conserve our natural areas. Obviously, the world will continue to need and use energy; the aim should not be to block any and all renewable energy projects. But, in order to meet net-zero carbon emissions goals without undermining the public and private investments in land conservation, the shift to clean sources should incorporate these targets: • First, and most importantly, highlight how forested landscapes are a critical tool to address the threats climate change poses to people. Any comprehensive, national strategy must include
ways to increase the capacity for forests to sequester and store carbon. In other words, incorporate natural solutions into the overarching policy. • Incentivize siting these renewable energy generation facilities on lands that have already been disturbed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Re-Powering Program estimates there are enough current and formerly contaminated lands in the country, such as landfills and Brownfield sites, to supply 1.3 million megawatts of solar energy. • Increase net-metering limits in order to promote more home-grown energy. Doing so will reduce the strain on the electricity grid. • Increase energy efficiency measures. Other actions often overshadow it, however, energy efficiency is described as the least expensive and cleanest energy resource. Using less energy to provide the same level of services not only lowers the demand on the grid but also reduces the level of carbon emissions. While there are likely more steps we can take beyond those listed here, we should ensure that natural solutions— keeping forests as forests—also become embedded in the policy actions needed to address this crisis. Far from being in conflict, renewable energy and forests are actually allies. Matt Leahy is the public policy manager for the Forest Society.
The Forest Society thanks our business partners for their generous support Summit Circle ($5,000 and up)
Colleague ($250 to $499)
Asplundh Tree Expert Company BCM Environmental & Land Law, PLLC Ed Reilly Subaru Merrimack County Savings Bank Peabody & Smith Realty Inc. Seaboard International Forest Products, LLC Whalen Public & Media Relations, LLC
Altus Engineering Ambit Engineering, Inc. Bangor Savings Bank Black North, LLC Blaktop, Inc. Dublin Road Tap Room and Eatery Eastern Mountain Sports Fuller’s Sugarhouse, LLC Trustees’ Circle ($2,500 to $4,999) Great Brook Veterinary Clinic, LLC Northeast Delta Dental Innovative Natural Resource Solutions, LLC The Secret Agency, LLC J and M Morse Trucking, LLC President’s Circle ($1,000 to $2,499) Kozikowski Properties, LLC Lenk Orthodontics Checkmate Payroll Services Limington Lumber Company Community Toolbox, Inc. Meadowsend Timberlands Ltd. Garden Life, LLC New England Biolabs, Inc. Lumbard & Kellner, LLC New England Flower Farms Martin Forestry Consulting, LLC North Woodlands, Inc. Mulligan Forest, LLC Rise Private Wealth Management, Inc. New England Private Wealth Advisors, LLC River’s Bend Woodworking Studio, LLC Northland Forest Products, Inc. Pennyroyal Hill Land Surveying and Forestry LLC Shoppe1921 Tri-State Iron Works, Inc. Ransmeier & Spellman, P.C. Twin State Sand & Gravel Co., Inc. Rockywold-Deephaven Camps, Inc. Whole Wealth Management, LLC SCM Associates, Inc. Wipfli LLP Matching Gift Companies
Steward ($750 to $999) EOS Research
Partner ($500 to $749) Arcomm Communications Corporation Blue Mountain Forest Association Bronnenberg Logging & Trucking, LLC Capitol Craftsman, LLC Devine, Millimet & Branch, P.A. Durgin and Crowell Lumber Co., Inc. GMEC, Inc. Gunstock Mountain Resort Half Moon Enterprises LockNLube The Lyme Timber Company LP Middleton Building Supply, Inc. The Music Mill Pine Springs R.M. Piper, Inc. Placework Samyn-d’Elia Architects, P.A. Zambon Brothers Logging
AARP ADP Aetna Foundation Allegro MicroSystems, LLC American Biltrite Charitable Trust American International Group, Inc. America’s Charities Ameriprise Financial Employee Gift Matching Program Amica Companies Foundation Autodesk Foundation Automatic Data Processing, Inc. Bank of America The Boeing Company Bose Corporation Boston Scientific CA, Inc. Matching Gifts Program Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Chevron Human Energy Chroma Technology Corp. Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation, Inc. Crestwood Advisors Dell Employee Giving Program Erie Insurance ExxonMobil Foundation Facebook, Inc.
Matching Gift Companies (continued) FM Global Foundation Gartner, Inc. General Electric Google, LLC Graham Holdings Company Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company Grove Street Fiduciary, Inc. Hewlett Packard Company Foundation The Home Depot Foundation Honeywell International, Inc. IBM Corporation Intel Corporation Jefferies, LLC John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated JP Morgan Chase Foundation Liberty Mutual Insurance Lincoln Financial Group Foundation Lumina Foundation for Education Markem-Imaje Corporation MassMutual McKinsey & Company Medtronic Merck Partnership for Giving Meredith Corporation Microsoft Matching Gifts Program MilliporeSigma Motorola Solutions MSD Capital National Grid The Norfolk & Dedham Group Novartis Nuance Foundation, Inc. Oracle Corporation OSR Open Systems Resources, Inc. PayPal Giving Fund Pfizer, Inc. Premier, Inc. Riverstone Resources, LLC SAP Software Solutions Seaboard International Forest Products, LLC Shell Oil Company TD Ameritrade Matching Gifts Program Textron Matching Gift Program The Travelers Companies, Inc. TriPyramid Structures, Inc. UnitedHealth Group UNUM Matching Gifts Program Verizon Foundation The Vertex Foundation Waters Corporation
We are grateful to the many businesses that support the Forest Society with gifts of less than $250.
The Forest Society…Where Conservation and Business Meet For information about business memberships, or to initiate a gift membership program for your clients or employees, please contact Anne Truslow at (603) 224-9945 or atruslow@forestsociety.org.
ON OUR LAND
From left, Kearsarge Regional High School students assist New Hampshire Fish and Game Freshwater Fisheries Biologist John Magee (middle) as he electrofishes in a brook at the Black Mountain Forest Reservation. The goal of the student’s research project is to determine how climate change is impacting brook trout (right) and other fish in their region.
Go Fish! Students Study Climate Change Impacts on Local Fish Populations By Dave Anderson
T
his autumn, Kearsarge Regional High School students continued to use the Forest Society’s 1,000-acre Black Mountain Forest Reservation as an outdoor laboratory and forest classroom. Along with state forest and state park land and New Hampshire Fish and Game (NHFG) Wildlife Management Areas on Mount Kearsarge, nearly 7,000 acres of contiguous conservation land adjoin the regional high school campus. Students in biology teacher Emily Anderson’s Geographic Information Systems research class investigated fish populations in a brook that runs through the reservation and into Stevens Brook, which eventually drains into the Warner River.
22 | FOREST NOTES Autumn 2021
NHFG Freshwater Fisheries Biologist John Magee returned this year to assist students with electrofishing, a technique that uses direct current electricity to temporarily stun the fish they are surveying. This technique makes it easier to net trout hiding beneath the steep undercut banks in the upper reaches of the forested brook. In contrast, the lower reaches of Stevens Brook contain fewer trout and relatively more warm water fish species, including perch, pickerel, minnows, and dace. Teams of students wearing rubber waders and gloves used dip nets to scoop fish brought to the surface by the current passed through the water. Students created
a 100-meter transect along the brook and sampled fish in 10-meter increments while keeping records of where fish were removed so they were returned to the same pools after. Alternate teams of students carried buckets of water and live fish to digital scales where students recorded information on species, length, weight, and estimated age class. Magee explained the equipment as well as fish identification and stream habitat requirements. In general, stream water temperatures above 74°F do not contain enough dissolved oxygen to support coldwater fish, such as the small but colorful native brook trout. Separate sampling for in-stream macro invertebrates revealed the
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From left, Kearsarge Regional High School biology students collect and weigh brook trout as part of a research project in partnership with New Hampshire Fish and Game.
relative abundance of preferred aquatic insects that support the base of the freshwater food chain. Preliminary data this autumn suggested fewer fish were found overall in the steep upper reaches of the brook draining the Black Mountain Forest. The lack of fish might be due to the record-setting rains Sutton received in July. In-stream scouring of gravel substrates and organic material, including fallen leaves and the coarse, woody debris of twigs, roots, and branches that feed and shelter macro invertebrates, is another potential threat to local trout populations. Typically, the critical limiting factor for brook trout is surviving warm summer water temperatures, low dissolved oxygen, and very low water levels during July and August. This year’s heavy summer rains and flash floods illustrate how climate change can affect stream hydrology and fish populations. Data from prior years and
subsequent years will help to document changes in the brook’s fish population. Now in its third year, the stream sampling laboratory is a project that provides real world, hands-on learning with professionals, such as Magee, says Anderson. Forest Society Volunteer and Community Engagement Director Carrie Deegan has worked alongside students during the data gathering phase each year as part of the Forest Society’s Mount Kearsarge Outdoor Classroom, which helps support student learning on Forest Society land. The proximity of conservation land to the Kearsarge Regional High School was originally cited as a compelling reason to initially protect and later expand Black Mountain Forest Reservation. Naturalist Dave Anderson is senior director of education for the Forest Society.
Online Learn more about Forest Society education programs and events at forestsociety.org/education-events.
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PROJECT IN PROGRESS
From the top of the Morse Preserve’s Pine Mountain, hikers can take in heavenly views of Lake Winnipesaukee and the White Mountains. Two new proposed additions to the property would protect land to the north and south of the summit.
Blueberries With a View Help Expand the Morse Preserve in Alton
T
he Evelyn H. & Albert D. Morse, Sr. Preserve in Alton is “as close to heaven as one can get without actually being there,” according to Mary Jane Morse Greenwood, who donated the 457-acre property to the Forest Society. She may have been partial, but on a clear day, a moderate hike to the top of Pine Mountain offers heavenly views as far as Mount Monadnock and Mount Washington. Open blueberry barrens at the summit provide excellent berry picking in the summer and offer stunning views of colorful foliage blanketing the Lakes Region in the fall. Now, the Forest Society has the opportunity to expand the Morse Preserve by conserving lands to the north and south of the existing reservation. To the south, a 220-acre parcel includes the ridgeline that 24 | FOREST NOTES Autumn 2021
travels south from Pine Mountain and links to the 203-acre Alton Bay State Forest. The landscape features diverse topography and wildlife habitat, including a large beaver pond and great blue heron rookery, southwesterly facing cliff and rock ledges with talus slope below, and a black gum–red maple basin swamp. The landowner has offered to donate this land to the Forest Society as an addition to the Morse Preserve. To the north, another adjacent landowner has offered to donate a conservation easement on 270 acres that stretches from the Morse Preserve to Jesus Valley Road. It also contains diverse habitat, including a large beaver wetland that drains directly into Alton Bay. The conservation easement will permit pedestrian public access for people to explore the property.
Together, the conservation of these properties, when connected to Alton Bay State Forest, would create a block of 1,250 acres of conserved forest land at the southern end of the Belknap Range. Although not connected, this block of conserved land comes close to linking up with the Forest Society’s Mount Major holdings just to the north. The Forest Society will be working to complete both of these projects over the fall and winter. Even though the land and easement will be donated, we must raise a total of $164,000 to support transaction expenses such as surveys, legal work, and staff time, as well as the stewardship expenses of managing and monitoring these lands forever. Please join us in conserving this southern reach of the Belknap Range and protecting water quality in Alton Bay.
YES, I WANT TO HELP EXPAND THE MORSE PRESERVE BY CONSERVING 490 ACRES IN ALTON.
(OPPOSITE PAGE) JERRY MONKMAN/ECOPHOTOGRAPHY (X2)
Name: Address:
Town/City:
Telephone:
Email:
State:
Zip:
Enclosed is my tax-deductible contribution of $_____________ VISA
MasterCard Number: ________________________________ Exp. date: ______ Security code: ______
Please mail the completed form to: Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests 54 Portsmouth Street, Concord, NH 03301
Or donate online at forestsociety.org/morseadditions. For more information, call Anne Truslow at 603-224-9945 or email atruslow@forestsociety.org.
Thank you for your help! 4104T213/MP21BFN
SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FORESTS 54 Portsmouth Street Concord, NH 03301-5400
Nonprofit Organization US Postage Paid Manchester, NH Permit No. 0494
Address Service Requested
THE MANY FACES OF CONSERVATION
Luane and Steve Genest Freedom, N.H. Celebrating 50 years of membership
PHOTO: AL KAREVY
“W
MEMBERS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE! Luane and Steve Genest are among the 10,000 members who help the Forest Society protect more than a million acres in New Hampshire. To join them, use the envelope in this issue or call Margaret Liszka at 603-224-9945.
e grew up in the southern part of New Hampshire during the ‘60s when it was more rural than today. Steve’s love for the outdoors began with early childhood vacations visiting and enjoying New Hampshire’s natural landscapes. Hiking the Whites soon became a passion and he is proud to have hiked all of the four thousand footers. It was on these hikes that he developed an interest in protecting the state’s special places. “During college and beyond, we have enjoyed many of the Forest Society’s reservations. We have fond memories of hiking with our three sons, instilling in them a love for the state’s natural resources and the importance of being stewards of the land. As a fifth-grade teacher, I worked to teach my students about the value of the outdoors and the gifts that nature has to give us. Together, we brought many classes on hiking trips to Mount Monadnock and overnight trips to the White Mountains. It was an experience of a lifetime for some of the inner-city kids. Today, while we’re not climbing as much as we used to, we still get to enjoy several Forest Society reservations that are close to our home on Lake Ossipee. “We are proud of the work that the Forest Society has done over the 50 years we have been members. It has been a privilege to support their efforts. Their land conservation and stewardship work over the past 100 years has made New Hampshire a better place to live for us, our children, and our grandchildren. It is because of them that we continue to do all we can to help preserve New Hampshire’s forests and mountains.”
