Forest Notes, Summer 2020

T H E E VO L U T I O N O F L AND CO NSE RVAT I O N I N NH

Protecting the Mighty Merrimack Forest Society releases new documentary about a river at risk

SUMMER 2020

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Caring for conserved lands is also caring about

Clean Water Lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, ponds, groundwater.

Clean water is essential to healthy living.

Visit forestsociety.org/StewardshipMatters to learn more and donate today.

EMILY LORD

Forests and wetlands are nature’s water filtration system.

The Forest Society’s stewardship mission includes caring for lands that help keep our waters safe and clean for drinking, swimming, or fishing—whether you are a kid or a river otter.

Join us by making a donation to support land stewardship.

Every drop counts. You can make a difference!

TABLE OF CONTENTS: SUMMER 2020, No. 302

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20 DEPARTMENTS 2 FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK Protecting the Merrimack (again!)

4 THE WOODPILE New Forest Society documentary hits the big (and small) screens

6 DIGITALLY CONNECTED

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Members and followers share their top pics

(CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT) JERRY MONKMAN/ECOPHOTOGRAPHY, EMILY LORD, STEVE JUNKIN

7 IN THE FIELD Hike your own hike in the 2020 DIY Hiking Series

FEATURE 8 Forever Green: The Evolution of New Hampshire’s Land Conservation Movement A former Forest Society vice president turns the record back to land conservation’s grassroots inception in the state.

14 THE FOREST CLASSROOM The Forest Society’s shift to the screen

16 ON OUR LAND Meet our wood duck whisperers

18 VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT Gap Mountain’s literary land steward

20 NATURE’S VIEW R is for regeneration, recovery, and resilience

22 PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE What football has to do with stewardship T H E E VO L U T I O N O F L AND CO NSE RVAT I O N I N NH

On our cover: Protecting the Mighty Merrimack Forest Society releases new documentary about a river at risk

SUMMER 2020

forestsociety.org

The Merrimack River flows beside New Hampshire Fish & Game’s Muchyedo Wildlife Management Area (right) in Canterbury, N.H. The Forest Society produced the documentary The Merrimack: River at Risk, which aired on NHPBS in July, about the need to protect the Merrimack and its watershed.

For more details, turn to page 4.

Photo: Ryan Smith.

24 PROJECT IN PROGRESS Protecting additional acreage at Stillhouse Forest

26 SAVE THE DATE! The Forest Society’s Annual Meeting goes virtual

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

CHAIR Bill Tucker, Goffstown

VICE CHAIR Bill Crangle, Plymouth

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 Peter Fauver, North Conway Don Floyd, Concord Allyson Hicks, Concord Jason Hicks, Meredith Drew Kellner, Brookline Andy Lietz, Rye Nancy Martland, Sugar Hill Karen Moran, Webster Michael Morison, Peterborough Lorin Rydstrom, Hollis Tom Wagner, Campton Janet Zeller, Concord

STAFF Will Abbott, Project Manager, The Rocks Frank Allen, Building and Grounds Assistant Abraham Ames, Senior Easement Steward Dave Anderson, Senior Director of Education Anna Berry, Digital Outreach Manager Nik Berube, Maintenance Assistant Rita Carroll, Tree Farm Administrator Tony Cheek, Finance Director Connie Colton, Land Protection and Stewardship Coordinator Andy Crowley, Land Steward Program Coordinator Linda Dammann, Development Assistant Rebecca Darman, Policy & Reservation Stewardship Coordinator Carrie Deegan, Community Engagement & Volunteers Director Maria Finnegan, Manager of Individual Giving Diane Forbes, Senior Director for Development Laura Holske, Finance Specialist Brian Hotz, Vice President for Land Conservation Naomi Houle, Easement Stewardship Manager Tom Howe, Senior Director of Land Conservation Steve Junkin, Field Forester Susanne Kibler-Hacker, Senior Philanthropy Advisor Allan Krygeris, Senior Technology Specialist Sara Krzyzaniak, Data Processor Emily Landry, Easement Steward Matt Leahy, Public Policy Manager Margaret Liszka, Membership Director Nigel Manley, Director, North Country Properties Nate Maser, Christmas Tree Farm Steward Ann McCoy, Development Manager Michelle Morse, Human Resource Director Carl Murphy, Facilities Manager Zach Pearo, Easement Steward Stacie Powers, Easement Steward Meredith Reed O’Donnell, Foundation Relations Manager Tina Ripley, Administrative Assistant Gabe Roxby, Field Forester Jack Savage, President Matt Scaccia, Recreation Manager Ryan Smith, Communications Manager Amanda St. Jean, Office Manager, The Rocks Maria Stewart, Executive Assistant Anne Truslow, Vice President for Development Brooke Vigliotta, Data Processor Wendy Weisiger, Managing Forester Harriette Yazzie-Whitcomb, Receptionist

Saving the Merrimack (Again)

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few years ago, the nonprofit American Rivers, using U.S. Forest Service data, listed the Merrimack River watershed as one of the most threatened in the country. This took some people by surprise—had we not been working for decades toward the goals of the federal Clean Water Act, to address infamous water quality issues?

Well, yes, we’ve certainly made progress.

But the twenty-first century threat to the Merrimack and its extensive watershed is the projected pace of forest loss due to development.

As the Boston metropolitan area expands along I-93 and 495, the lower Merrimack River valley will be asked to host more homes and businesses, which means more cars, more runoff from dirty paved surfaces, more demand for clean water.

Climate change, in the form of more frequent and more intense storms, exacerbates the challenge.

Four years ago we set out to discover the Merrimack anew through a documentary film, The Merrimack: River at Risk.

Our goal was to understand the threat: How important is the river to our livelihood and health, and how can and should we respond?

Spoiler alert: The river is critically important to our economy and quality of life in numerous ways, not the least of which is providing drinking water to more than 600,000 people today and likely far more in the future. A clean river matters for hundreds of thousands of us who live and work within its watershed.

The good news is that it’s not too late.

By conserving enough of the still-existing forestland within the watershed, we can make a difference.

The Forest Society came into existence in response to a threat to the Merrimack (and the economy of the mills powered by the river) in the early twentieth century. Then the solution was to protect and more sustainably manage the upper reaches of the watershed in the White Mountains. Today, we are setting out to work with stakeholders to save the river again—this time in the lower Merrimack watershed.

Conserving forests within developed landscapes requires the kind of collaboration that comes from a sense of common purpose. If we want to conserve forests for the benefit of all, we need to welcome and encourage the participation of all those who work and live in the cities and towns that make up the Merrimack River valley.

Diversity is the signature of a healthy forest, and so too should diversity be the hallmark of a healthy society.

We will work to promote both.

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.

WEB EXCLUSIVES

(OPPOSITE PAGE) RYAN SMITH; (THIS PAGE) JERRY MONKMAN/ECOPHOTOGRAPHY, ANNA BERRY, MATT SCACCIA, PATRICIA ZIMMERMAN

Easement Escapes Summer getaways out your back door forestsociety.org/easementescapes

Open For Business Find your way to Lost River this summer forestsociety.org/openattractions

Virtual Field Trips Rainy day tours at your fingertips forestsociety.org/virtualfieldtrips

“Having recently joined the Forest Society, I enjoy walking at places in New Hampshire that I’ve never been before.

High Five Reservation was such a treat and such an easy walk, ending with the “High Five” bonus at the end. This pic doesn’t do it justice!”

Tag #forestsociety on Instagram for a chance to be featured in a future issue of Forest Notes.

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@Forest_Society

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 2020 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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Summer 2020 FOREST NOTES | 3

THE WOODPILE—NEWS NOT SO NEATLY STACKED

The Merrimack River watershed is the fourth largest watershed in New England and it provides drinking water to more than 600,000 people every day.

Forest Society Unveils Merrimack Documentary on NHPBS

By Ryan Smith

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n his second full-length documentary, Jerry Monkman, a Portsmouth, N.H., native and the owner of Ecophotography LLC, tells the story of the Merrimack River, one the country’s most threatened rivers, in The Merrimack: River at Risk.

Beginning in central New Hampshire, the 117-mile ribbon of blue winds its way through some of New England’s largest cities before spilling into the Gulf of Maine on Massachusetts’ North Shore. Historically known as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, the Merrimack once powered as many as 55 textile miles in Lowell, Mass., alone, elevating the region into a hub of manufacturing and economic vibrancy.

Although industrialization has moved on to other locations, the river remains an important piece of New England’s past, present, and future.

Communities have been cleaning up the river for years, but the Merrimack still finds itself in the crosshairs of many threats. Raw sewage discharges, cancer-causing chemicals, climate change, and unchecked development all pose a risk to the river’s health and the people who use it. Remarkably, more than 80 percent of the Merrimack watershed is still undeveloped 4 | FOREST NOTES Summer 2020

Jerry Monkman of Ecophotography (left) films an interview for The Merrimack: River at Risk in downtown Concord, N.H.

and largely forested, yet in 2016, it was named one of the most endangered rivers in the United States by the nonprofit American Rivers. From the more than 600,000 people who rely on the river for clean drinking water every day to the jobs and wildlife the river sustains, a lot is at stake for a region that is growing bigger by the day.

Produced by the Forest Society, The Merrimack: River at Risk tells the story of Leah Hart, an environmentalist from New Hampshire, who travels the length of the river interviewing water treatment professionals, river guides, and community leaders as she endeavors to find out why the river is at risk. Leaving no stone unturned, Hart explores the river’s headwaters in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest, the power-generating mill towns of Lowell and Lawrence, and some of the river’s placid tributaries seeking answers to one of the region’s most complex environ-

mental crises. “The Merrimack River has been a focus area for the Forest Society since its founding in 1901,” says Jack Savage, Forest Society president and producer of the documentary. “Our focus has not changed as we are still protecting forests throughout the state and hence the quality of water running in our rivers and streams.”

The river has rebounded from years of neglect before. Today, will a new generation rise to the occasion and make the river healthy and safe for generations to come, or is it too late? The film aired on New Hampshire PBS on July 23 and 25. It will be available to watch online in late summer. For more information about the documentary and the Forest Society’s conservation efforts within the Merrimack watershed, visit forestsociety.org/riveratrisk.

Funding and underwriting for The Merrimack: River at Risk generously provided by

Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation

and other private contributions

Ryan Smith is the communications manager for the Forest Society and the co-writer of The Merrimack: River at Risk.

THANK YOU!

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DIGITALLY CONNECTED

Stay Safe Scrapbook

By Anna Berry

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espite the social distancing measures in place across the state this spring, we were humbled by the number of hikers and walkers who safely explored our forest reservations. We encouraged everyone to #BeSafeBeWellBeLocal and to #RecreateResponsibly while our (out)doors stayed open. Here are a few of our favorite photos posted to social media over the last few months, used here with permission.

You can follow us and tag photos of your outings @Forest_Society on Instagram and @ForestSociety on Facebook.

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1. Jazmin Ortiz on the summit of Mount Major. 2. David and Jenna Winkler visited Madame Sherri Forest in Chesterfield with their son and wrote, “We had a swell adventure the other day exploring the ruins of Madame Sherri’s castle. … Now but an echo of what once was. A beautiful serene place.” 3. Maria Finnegan, manager of individual giving for the Forest Society, titled this photo of her husband at High Blue Reservation in Walpole “Big things on the horizon.” 4. Professional photographer Natalie Pugachevsky shot this beautiful photo at The Rocks in Bethlehem. “I absolutely love The Rocks for the Christmas trees, but if you keep exploring, you will find some other amazing sites,” she wrote. 5. Megan Letourneau and her family marked Memorial Day with a hike at Gap Mountain in Troy. 6. Forest Society Digital Outreach Manager Anna Berry captured this photo on opening day at Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves in North Woodstock. 7. Our friends at Portsmouth Paddle Co. tagged us out on the water near Creek Farm. 8. “Everybody needs someone who will say, ‘Get dressed. We’re going on an adventure’,” wrote Joey Irvine of his photo from the top of Mount Major.

9. “Love all the adventures that I get to have with these beautiful ladies!” wrote Tina Carey (left) from the summit of Mount Major.

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(TOP ROW, FROM LEFT) JAZMIN ORTIZ, @ORTIZJAZMIN; DAVID AND JENNA WINKLER, @CONSTANTINE_OCTAVIAN; (MIDDLE ROW, FROM LEFT) MARIA FINNEGAN, @MARIAKULIANIN; NATALIE PUGACHEVSKY, @NATPUGNH; MEGAN LETOURNEAU, @MEGANLM105; ANNA BERRY, @ANNABERRYNH; (BOTTOM ROW, FROM LEFT) @PORTSMOUTHPADDLECO; JOEY IRVINE, @JIRVINE7; TINA CAREY

IN THE FIELD

A family picks blueberries while they explore the Morse Preserve in Alton.

Take the 2020 Five Hikes Challenge A “hike-it-yourself” autumn adventure Saturday, August 29–Saturday, October 31

H

JERRY MONKMAN/ECOPHOTOGRAPHY

it the trail with your family, friends, or on your own for a do-it-yourself hiking experience. Hike just one or a collection of five destinations located near you!

Registered participants receive a colorful Forest Society buff, trail maps with directions, and hiking tips. Plus, earn a hiking patch for completing all five hikes of your choice.

GO! 4. Pack your hiking gear and head out to hike on your own schedule.

5. Share your adventures. Once you complete the challenge, email your selfie photos from your five hikes to 5hikes@forestsociety.org to earn an embroidered patch and a Forest Society sticker.

READY, GET SET… 1. Register for the 2020 Five Hikes Challenge at forestsociety.org/five-hikes.

2. Choose up to 5 of the 20-plus suggested hiking destinations at our Forest Society Reservations. Fee of $8/hike for nonmembers; Forest Society members are free.

3. Receive a limited-edition Forest Society buff (pictured above) and map guides to your chosen hikes in the mail.

REGISTRATION Visit forestsociety.org/five-hikes to register and for more details.

FEES $8/nonmember for each hike ($40 for five hikes). Members participate in 5 Hikes for free, so consider selecting “Make Me a Member” ($40 individual/$55 family) and you will also receive our quarterly magazine Forest Notes and an additional membership gift in a separate mailing. Kids under age 18 participate FREE. Summer 2020 FOREST NOTES | 7

FOREVER

green The Evolution of New Hampshire’s Land Conservation Movement

BY PAUL DOSCHER

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hen asked what makes New Hampshire special, the usual answers often focus on economic topics, on our small government traditions, and on the quality of life we enjoy. The quality of life factor that matters most to many, especially to those who could choose where to settle and plant roots, is the state’s landscape and environment.

Many of us know that more than 80 percent of New Hampshire is forested, making it the second-most forested state in the nation; but the fact that more than a third of the state is permanently protected as open space, including farms and forests, is not as well known. This collection of conservation lands places New Hampshire first in New England in the percentage of land permanently protected for its natural resource values.

Our protected land, comprised of both publicly owned lands under the auspices of federal, state, county, and local governments 8 | FOREST NOTES Summer 2020

and private lands secured by conservation organizations, is the result of diligent work by thousands of citizens.

New Hampshire’s conservation movement began with the creation of the Forest Society in 1901 and its early partnership with the Appalachian Mountain Club and other citizen groups in their successful campaign to persuade Congress to establish the White Mountain National Forest. Later in the 1900s, state parks and forests were created, once again most often the result of a partnership between citizen conservationists and the government.

Until the late 1970s and early 1980s, during a time of dramatic building and rapid population growth in New Hampshire, most land conservation projects involved public acquisition of land for state parks, forests, and wildlife management areas, and town forests. The use of conservation easements in the state was an entirely new idea, and one that catalyzed an act of the legislature

JERRY MONKMAN/ECOPHOTOGRAPHY

In 2018, The Nature Conservancy of New Hampshire and the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership worked together with the Forest Society to raise funds to secure a conservation easement on 36 acres of land owned by Emery Farm in Durham.

to create the legal framework facilitating their creation and conveyance. Conservation easements were a new tool through which a landowner could permanently restrict future uses of their land to open space activities. The first conservation easements in the country were often considered to be scenic easements, which were designed to protect the scenery for the viewing public.

The Forest Society and some of its visionary members and leaders, such as Dick Webb and Robert L.V. French, imagined easements doing more, including terms that could secure the land for carefully managed forestry. Indeed, Dick created the first conservation easement in the state in 1969.

In the early 1980s, Congress created a tax benefit for landowners who donated conservation easements, but in those days, there were few organizations qualified (by the tax law) to accept and hold easements. The Forest Society and other groups, including

conservation districts and watershed associations, began promoting the use of conservation easements, and thus began a groundswell of activity.

About the time that the 1980s building boom was hitting its peak, the Forest Society, under the leadership of former president/forester Paul Bofinger, worked with partner organizations to persuade the legislature and governor to establish the state-funded Land Conservation Investment Program (LCIP).

In collaboration with a private partner, the Trust for NH Lands, LCIP identified the best conservation projects and the ways to protect the land through public acquisition of land or conservation easements. In addition to protecting more than 100,000 acres in its six-year run, LCIP inspired community enthusiasm for land conservation that led to the birth of new land trusts and the growth of existing groups across the state.

Summer 2020 FOREST NOTES | 9

A canoeist explores Sand Pond, whose northern end abuts the Forest Society’s Ashuelot River Headwaters Forest in Lempster, N.H. The land is part of a 10,000-acre block of forest that forms a critical link between two of the largest blocks of connected forest south of the White Mountains: the 25,000-acre Pillsbury–Sunapee Highlands and the 11,000-acre Andorra Forest.

At one time, the Forest Society was the clearly dominant land trust in New Hampshire. With the capacity to monitor its conservation easements with a small staff of land protection specialists and an experienced attorney, the Forest Society became a leader in drafting, creating, and stewarding conservation easements. In the early 1980s, it became the first land trust in the nation to employ aerial monitoring of easements from small fixed-wing aircraft, ensuring that a large number of easements could be monitored annually without having to employ additional staff.

But the burst of community enthusiasm ignited by the LCIP program demonstrated that there were more conservation opportunities around the state than the Forest Society, NH Audubon, and the then-young NH Chapter of The Nature Conservancy could handle. As a result, regional land trusts sprouted in almost every part of the state often with mentoring or other help by Forest Society staff and volunteers. Over the course of the next couple of decades, these younger land trusts expanded and hired more staff who regularly gained their initial experience and training working at the Forest Society.

In 1989, Sylvia Bates, then a Forest Society land protection specialist, helped the Monadnock Conservancy get started. She was also drafted to become a member of the board of the new Concord Conservation Trust (now Five Rivers Conservation Trust). After many years with the Forest Society, Bates went on to the national Land Trust Alliance, where she is now the director of standards and educational services.

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“In the 1990s, the land trust community in our small state, where most of the key players knew and respected each other, all seemed to coalesce around the idea that we didn’t need a land trust in every community, but that every community needed to be served by a land trust,” Bates notes. “And the best thing to do would be to create a robust set of regional groups.” Tom Howe, Forest Society senior director of land conservation, says that he and others at the time worried that an array of mostly small, local land trusts, such as those in Massachusetts and Connecticut, would probably face serious challenges in sustaining themselves financially and developing and maintaining sufficient capacities to acquire, monitor, and enforce conservation easements effectively. Howe argued that the Forest Society should help support the formation of a statewide network of larger regional land trusts that would be more robust and sustainable, better able to attract and maintain professional staff, and more likely to ensure the durability of conservation easements.

One key event that furthered Howe and Bates’s concept was the 1991 national Land Trust Rally, organized by the Land Trust Alliance, held at Waterville Valley Resort in the White Mountains.

At what is now an annual gathering, volunteers and professionals from around the country attend seminars, workshops, and field trips where they share their experience and expertise. One evening at the 1991 rally, land trust colleagues from around New Hampshire gathered and created the first iteration of the NH Land Conservation Coalition, a loose confederation of land

(OPPOSITE PAGE) JERRY MONKMAN/ECOPHOTOGRAPHY; (THIS PAGE, FROM TOP) JERRY MONKMAN/ECOPHOTOGRAPHY, SARAH THORNE

Top: The fundraising campaign to protect the Washburn Family Forest in Clarksville, N.H., was kicked off in the fall of 2007 when the state-funded Land and Community Heritage Investment Program granted $400,000 toward the project.

Bottom: An aerial photo of Kingsbury Farm in Keene, N.H. In the early 1980s, the Forest Society became the first land trust in the nation to employ aerial monitoring of easements. conservation groups supported by an assistance program through which the Forest Society allotted some of Sylvia Bates’ time to advise younger land trusts, including the Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust, Concord Conservation Trust, Monadnock Conservancy, and Bear-Paw Regional Greenways.

Over the years, the number of people who worked at the Forest Society and then furthered their careers in regional land trusts kept growing. The growth and strengthening of the regional groups inspired many Forest Society trustees to become founders and board members of land trusts in their respective regions.

Those connections endured, and the collaborative spirit among the state’s land conservation volunteers and professionals remains strong. “The Forest Society saw the young Monadnock Conservancy not as a competitor, but rather as a supplemental and complementary force that could help get more conservation done,” says Ryan Owens, executive director of the Monadnock Conservancy. “That spirit of mission above glory, long modeled by the Forest Society through its continued mentorship of New Hampshire land trusts and countless emerging conservation leaders, remains a hallmark of the entire New Hampshire conservation community, wherein collaboration is the norm.”

As regional land trusts served their local landowners and communities, the Forest Society’s land conservation mission evolved. In anticipation of its 100th anniversary in 2001, the Forest Society launched New Hampshire Everlasting, a conservation vision for the state. The organization acknowledged in the goal of

conserving one million more acres that it would be achieved only with the hard work of all the land conservation organizations in the state, both public and private. From that point, the Forest Society’s own land protection focus began to shift toward taking on bigger, typically more complex projects with statewide significance, knowing that the regional trusts were highly capable of completing more straightforward projects of regional and local importance.

Summer 2020 FOREST NOTES | 11

Critical to the success of New Hampshire Everlasting was the creation of the NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP). Now in its 20th year, the groundwork for the legislative bill to create the program was again a collaborative effort, this time with the historic preservation community. Brian Hart, a Forest Society policy specialist at the time, was tasked with building community support and advocating for the legislation.

After the LCHIP program bill was passed along with a funding mechanism, Hart went on to lead the then Rockingham Land Trust, later to merge with the Seacoast Land Trust and then the Strafford Rivers Conservancy, a model that has inspired other mergers of smaller land trusts into larger, more sustainable organizations. Hart is now the executive director of the Southeast Land Trust of NH. In the early 2000s, many towns saw opportunities to secure the future of iconic properties in their communities and set aside revenue from Current Use penalties (on land converted from open space to development) and voter supported bond issues to pay for land protection. With this growth in funding, it was clear to the Forest Society and other land trusts that communities and smaller land trusts needed more help to meet this demand.

In 2001, in close consultation with its partner organizations, the Forest Society made a commitment to build a strong land conservation community by creating the Center for Land Conservation Assistance (CLCA). The center was designed to provide professional technical assistance to land trusts and municipal conservation groups and commissions, including how to identify conservation priorities, to contact landowners, to find funding opportunities, and to create and steward conservation

land and easements. The center’s first director was Dijit Taylor, who went on to establish the CLCA’s Saving Special Places Conference, this state’s annual meeting of land conservation volunteers and staff members. While the 2008 recession put great financial strain on all nonprofits in New Hampshire and resulted in the closure of the CLCA, the conference’s partner, UNH Cooperative Extension Service, continued the conference and provision of technical assistance with help from the statewide land conservation community.

Throughout the past couple of decades, land conservation has also become much more strategic. With the advent of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), involving computer mapping of multiple layers of spatial data, and the creation of an increasingly robust database of conserved lands called “GRANIT” at UNH’s Complex Systems Laboratory, it became possible to gather much more detailed information about the natural resources of land, and much more quickly. GIS enabled the Forest Society and its partners to assemble strategic land conservation plans for different regions of the state and even across state lines, including the Quabbin to Cardigan project. Having those plans enabled land trusts to make a stronger case for various public funding programs such as LCHIP, the federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, the Forest Legacy Program, and others.

Many towns stepped up to the plate as well, funding collaborative land protection projects led by their regional land trusts as well as statewide and national groups, including the Forest Society, the NH Audubon, the New England Forestry Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, and The Conservation Fund.

Did You Know?

Beginning in the 1960s, the creation of regional land trusts in New Hampshire developed in part out of a need for more land protection on a local scale than was being done by the few existing statewide groups then active. They grew from small mostly volunteer or minimally staffed groups into larger professionally staffed organizations that are still highly active today.

They include (with formation date): Squam Lakes Conservation Society (1960)

Monadnock Conservancy (1989)

Piscataquog Land Conservancy (1970) Harris Center for Conservation Education (1970)

Strafford Rivers Conservancy (1989), now Southeast Land Trust of NH

Lakes Region Conservation Trust (1979)

Bear-Paw Regional Greenways (1995)

Rockingham Land Trust (1980), now Southeast Land Trust of NH

Green Mountain Conservation Group (1997)

Upper Valley Land Trust (1985)

Moose Mountains Regional Greenways (1999)

Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust (1987)

Seacoast Land Trust (1999), now Southeast Land Trust of NH

Five Rivers Conservation Trust, initially Concord Conservation Trust (1988) 12 | FOREST NOTES Summer 2020

Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust (1999)

Upper Saco Valley Land Trust (2000)

KATE WILCOX

In 2016, a grant from the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program helped to conserve Powder Major’s Forest in Durham, Madbury, and Lee.

Chris Wells, a former policy director for the Forest Society and now the executive director of the Piscataquog Land Conservancy, was often a facilitator for large projects that sought federal funding for major projects involving the Forest Society and other partners. “I think the most rewarding part of my twelve years at the Forest Society was being able to foster collaboration across the conservation community, whether through landscapeinspired partnerships like the Quabbin-to-Cardigan collaborative, or working cooperatively to increase federal, state, and local funding for conservation,” Wells notes. “This ethic of promoting the greater good in New Hampshire is one of the great strengths of the Forest Society.”

Now in 2020, there is still much important land conservation work to do. Not every critical piece of wildlife habitat is protected.

Not every parcel of land that is key to protecting drinking water supplies is conserved. Prime agricultural lands, of which New Hampshire has few, are threatened by development. Well-managed working forests that provide resources to New Hampshire’s important forest products industries are being subdivided and lost from production. In addition to conserving more land, maintaining the protection of land and conservation easements already held by conservation groups presents an ever-enlarging set of challenges and responsibilities. Groups holding conservation easements are needing to address the realities of new landowners who may not be as conservation oriented as those who created the easements. There are also sometimes difficult challenges sorting out whether proposals by landowners seeking out creative new ways to use and generate income from their land are consistent with the original wording of the easement. These and other stewardship matters mean that the process of protecting land only just begins once the ink on a deed has dried.

But today there is a vibrant and effective community of dedicated volunteers and extraordinary professionals who work for

more than 45 New Hampshire land trusts and organizations to ensure that the best of our lands are saved and continue to provide the ecological and economic benefits that make New Hampshire the unique place that it is.

Retired in 2014, Paul Doscher was a vice president for land conservation at the Forest Society for 25 years. He went on to serve as board chair of the Piscataquog Land Conservancy and currently serves as a trustee of NH Audubon. He has been a volunteer for Trout Unlimited for many years and served on its national board for 10 years.

Learn More: The Forest Society played a key role in developing GRANIT’s capacity to store, update, and enable free public access to what is now the most comprehensive inventory of conserved lands in the state. After securing key funding to launch the project, the Forest Society coordinated the challenging process of gathering land conservation data from all land conservation groups active in the state and then funneling the information to UNH for entry into GRANIT. Late Forest Society research director Dan Sundquist was instrumental in all steps of this process. Once conservation groups began using this inventory for their conservation planning efforts, they recognized how important it was to keep the data current. Indeed, the robustness of GRANIT’s land conservation data depends on a widespread commitment of land conservation groups to submit to GRANIT annually information about every newly conserved tract. Years of hard work has paid off, though, as the system is the envy of other states. To learn more about GRANIT, visit https://bit.ly/2yhpuUS.

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THE FOREST CLASSROOM

Above: Land Steward Program Coordinator and expert carpenter Andy Crowly hosted a popular weekly workshop from home, leading creative woodworking projects that made good use of products of our working forests and also supported wildlife habitat and conservation efforts.

Right: In a spring episode of Lunchtime Live, Field Forester Steven Junkin shared his knowledge of eastern wild turkeys after a hunt.

Watch and Learn Lunches

By Anna Berry

W

e called him our crash-test dummy, but the Forest Society’s intrepid naturalist and Senior Education Director Dave Anderson preferred “philosopher.”

In late winter, the education and outreach team had meticulously planned a four-part Cottrell Baldwin speaker series, an Earth Day celebration and clean-up effort at Mount Major, and many other spring programs. By late March, the entire Forest 14 | FOREST NOTES Summer 2020

Society staff was working from home (except for the leadership team and those taking care of the Conservation Center), and all of our in-person events were either cancelled, rescheduled, or postponed as COVID-19 spread and Governor Sununu enacted a strict Stay-at-Home order.

In just a few days, we had to re-think how to connect communities across the state with the Forest Society’s mission, encourage responsible recreation, and make

do with resources we had at home to make it all happen.

Inspired by Forest Society President Jack Savage’s message that “Our (Out)Doors are Open,” the team worked together with staff members and their individual talents to showcase seasonal changes in the natural world and offer new resources to families working and home-schooling virtually.

The effort started with Anderson, who was willing to be our guinea pig and “go

(OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM TOP) ANDY CROWLEY, STEVE JUNKIN; (THIS PAGE) DAVE ANDERSON

Senior Education Director Dave Anderson hosted a “Fireside Friday” book reading by a campfire. live” on social media as soon as he had the green light. He practiced inside his sugar shack—it was still maple syrup season, after all—and we saw nearly 3,000 Facebook followers tune in when he launched the inaugural episode of our Lunchtime Live series on March 25. Friends and strangers shared memories of making maple sugar-on-snow, commented on the rabbit tracks in the snow around Anderson’s property, and learned more about the science behind the sugar.

The Lunchtime Live digital series, which ran three times a week, included a weekly woodshop project hosted by uber-talented carpenter and Land Steward Program Manager Andy Crowley, a virtual field trip to a Forest Society reservation near a staff member’s home, and a “Fireside Friday” book and poetry reading.

As foot traffic to Forest Society reservations surged, so did digital traffic, and by the end of May, supporters and friends had watched nearly 50,000 minutes of our Lunchtime Live videos. The organization’s website saw a huge spike in activity with thousands of page views each day.

There were a few bumps in the road, however. While Facebook Live allowed us to share knowledge and projects instantaneously, as well as answer questions live on screen, it didn’t take long to realize that the Wi-Fi signals at the homes of staff members spread out across the state were lacking. To remedy this shortcoming, we switched to pre-recorded fare but scheduled “watch parties” on Facebook so we could continue answering questions live.

Staff members’ ever-accommodating partners helped with filming and wiggly kids in pajamas helped with telling stories. The responses from viewers always encouraged us to keep trying.

Together, we shared Langston Hughes poetry and Henry David Thoreau’s journal writings about Mount Monadnock. We squinted in the rain and darkness at Anderson’s backyard vernal pool as he caught spotted salamanders and managed to narrate the adventure with only a cellphone and a headlamp.

We went digging for worms and then fishing for tiny trout with Community Engagement and Volunteers Director Carrie Deegan and her family. We watched Crowley up-cycle wood to make a garden trellis, bird shelf, bee hotel, trail sign, bat box, and much more. We learned about making birch syrup and watching for woodcocks with forester Steve Junkin.

The education and outreach team knows that we reached new and different audiences through our virtual education efforts this spring. We also hope we sparked curiosity, provided restorative moments, and helped communities understand the value of our state’s forests.

As Forest Society staff head out into the field for the summer, the series has been scaled back to once a week. Thank you for tuning in to connect with us and the natural world.

Anna Berry is the digital outreach manager for the Forest Society.

IN YOUR WORDS We received recollections, comments, and questions from many Lunchtime Live digital series participants. Here are just a few.

• Commenting on a virtual field trip to David Dana Forest, Melanie Bratko said, “This was my childhood playground….I remember well, picking five gallon pails of blackberries along the Ox Team road with my grandfather. They were his favorite and my grandmother would can them.… What beautiful memories I have of this gorgeous piece of land!”

• “An interesting and fun way to learn about the properties of wood,” said Victoria Richards Hingston of Andy Crowley’s “Excalibur: The Nail in the Wood” science experiment.

• “Thank you for sharing this walk with our community; it is so underutilized!” said Kaeleigh Van Valkenburgh of a virtual field trip to Manchester’s Derryfield Park.

• “These birds are awesome…had a few nesting in our yard last year…had never seen them up close before, they are lots of fun to watch,” said Jae Emes of Steve Junkin’s woodcock presentation.

• “Looking forward to building one!” said Emily Preston of Andy Crowley’s Aldo Leopold bench project.

Summer 2020 FOREST NOTES | 15

ON OUR LAND

From left: Wood duck whisperers Russ and Gail Yearke; Gail and her father-in-law, Lawrence Yearke, pose beside a wood duck box in 2007; a photo from the highly anticipated “opening the box” day.

Sponsoring Aix Sponsa Twenty years of Wood Duck Stewardship at Rosemary’s Woods

By Andy Crowley

W

hen people think about ducks, they likely imagine the beautiful V-shaped formations in the sky heading south for the winter, or they might picture quacking birds swimming around a pond in a city park. Most people wouldn’t picture a bird that calls out in squeaky whistles and is capable of climbing trees using its claws. But despite what we’ve learned from childhood cartoons, ducks come in a variety of shapes and sizes and their nesting practices can vary widely.

While the common mallard nests on the ground, often surrounded by vegetation, the wood duck, Aix sponsa, takes its name from the fact that it nests in hollow cavities found high up in trees. Female wood ducks, or hens, are pretty picky.

They look to build their nests in holes in standing dead trees hanging over water.

Though this may sound like a safe and secure location to lay and hatch a brood of ducklings, they are often the target of raccoons or other predators who climb trees in search of a meal. This is where humans and 16 | FOREST NOTES Summer 2020

a simple structure, which has helped wood duck populations rebound since declining in the late 19th century, come into play.

Two years after the Forest Society acquired Rosemary’s Woods from an anonymous donor in 1998, former Land Steward Program Coordinator Gary Stanfield was able to recruit volunteers Gail and Russ Yearke to monitor the 215acre parcel in Danbury. Managing the property to maintain or increase the diversity of habitat types was and remains an important goal for the Forest Society, so in the winter of 2000, Stanfield provided the Yearkes with a cedar box specifically designed for wood ducks to nest in. Little did he know that this box would house brood after brood of wood ducks for the next 20 years.

The Yearkes had been longtime members when Stanfield first recruited them to join the Forest Society’s Land Steward Program.

With Gail’s background in chemistry and environmental science and Russ’s experience in biological sciences, the Yearkes were inherently interested in improving

the wood duck’s habitat. The initial installation of the duck box occurred in the dead of winter in order to access the marshy pond while it was frozen. The couple strapped 4-foot sections of galvanized pipe to a pack frame and then loaded the duck box on a sled to be dragged out to the pond. Not knowing exactly how deep the water and muck would be, Russ figured 12 feet of pipe would suffice. Once they arrived at the installation site, the couple chopped a hole in the ice and pounded in the lengths of pipe, ultimately hanging the duck box about 4 feet above the water’s surface. High enough to keep out any predators, but low enough for the couple to do their housekeeping duties.

For the Yearkes, installing the duck box was a lot of hard work, but it does have its rewards. “The payoff is going back every year and being able to say, ‘Yeah, I put in a box and it made birds’,” Russ says. “[Checking the box] is a little bit like Christmas morning. You have the anticipation of wondering what’s in there because you’ve waited a year to see what’s happened.”

(OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM LEFT) KEVIN GALLAGHER, RUSS YEARKE (X2)

Wood ducks who live in the southern regions of the United States have been known to produce two broods in one mating season. In New England, it is more likely they’ll lay only once. Though every egg may not hatch, a single wood duck clutch can consist of 6 to 15 eggs. Each winter, Gail and Russ, often accompanied by local steward Don Hinman, have returned to the frozen pond to check on the box. This annual trip to Rosemary’s Woods comes with great anticipation to see if the mating season was a success. Part of that success comes from good housekeeping. As boxes get repeated use from ducks, their droppings and feathers can eventually create unsanitary conditions. As any good host knows, proper housekeeping is critically important. “It’s nice to know that there’s been success, but we also don't want to drop the ball now because we know the birds are relying on us. I want to make sure they have a nice clean setup for the next year so they keep using it,” Gail says.

After the ducks migrate south, the housekeeping begins. The Yearkes open the vacant box, clean out the old nest material, and replace a few inches of wood shavings for the next occupant. It’s a good sign when they find broken shells and perhaps one or two unhatched eggs inside the box. On occasion, they’ve found merganser eggs mixed in with the wood duck’s. “I think there was only one year I can remember when we didn’t find anything. There was some kind of a bee or wasp nest inside the box instead,” Gail recalls. Providing boxes like these is important because it can be difficult for wood ducks to find a suitable location for their specific nesting needs. When hens cannot locate a site of their own, they’ve been known to lay their eggs on top of

another established nest in a practice called egg dumping. The Yearkes’s consistent maintenance efforts have contributed to the life and success of an estimated 200 ducks over the years.

After laying eggs in the box, the hen keeps them warm for an incubation period of about 30 days. A soft base layer of wood shavings lines the bottom of the box. This, combined with the duck’s down feathers, makes for a warm and soft nest. When the eggs finally hatch, the ducklings emerge covered with feathers and their eyes open.

In about a day, they will be ready to leave the nest. Wire mesh or grooves cut into the inside of the box help the little birds make the 18-inch climb up to the oval shaped opening. Mom goes first to make sure everything is safe, and the brood follows suit jumping one by one from great heights and making their first splash into a life on the water. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, ducklings may jump from heights of over 50 feet without injury.

In 2015, nearly half the acreage of Rosemary’s Woods was classified as habitat of statewide importance by the New Hampshire Fish & Game Wildlife Action Plan, with another third being considered regionally important. For the average person, Rosemary’s Woods may look just like any other forest in New Hampshire.

There isn’t even a formal network of trails.

However, from the perspective of wildlife and waterfowl, it is an ideal habitat.

The Yearkes find peace and quiet there and have built a special relationship with the forest and many generations of feathered friends.

Andy Crowley is the land steward program coordinator for the Forest Society.

Did You Know?

During the interview for this story, Russ, a lifelong hunter and fisherman, pointed out that “wood duck breast meat is dark and the leg meat is light.” This is because of myoglobin, a richly pigmented protein which stores more oxygen in high-use muscle cells. “Ducks are flyers which is why you have a higher concentration of that myoglobin as opposed to turkeys and chickens, which walk and don’t fly all that much.”

Consulting Foresters

The Forest Society encourages landowners to consult with a licensed forester before undertaking land management activities.

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Licensed foresters should address inquiries about advertising to Diane Forbes by calling 603-224-9945 or emailing dforbes@forestsociety.org.

Summer 2020 FOREST NOTES | 17

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Filling the Gap: Land Steward Bernadette Cassidy

By Ryan Smith

S

Where did you grow up?

Gap Mountain Land Steward Bernadette Cassidy shows off a large striped maple leaf during Monadnock Trails Week.

What’s one thing you learned about being a land steward that you didn’t know before you started?

I grew up in Amherst, N.H., where I spent a lot of time outside as a kid. I have always loved the outdoors and I began hiking as an adult. When I was looking to buy a house, my natural inclination was to head toward the mountains which brought me to New Ipswich. With Mount Monadnock, Pack Monadnock, Gap Mountain, Kidder Mountain, and others nearby, great hiking trails are practically in my backyard.

Before I became a land steward, I thought land stewardship consisted of trail work.

Now I know it is so much more than that.

It’s about collaborating with other stewards, caring for and protecting an entire property and not just the trails, ensuring that the trails I enjoy today will still be there for future hikers, and educating hikers about the trails and responsible usage.

How many times have you hiked Gap Mountain?

What’s another Forest Society Reservation that you enjoy visiting?

I was hiking Gap before I became a land steward, so I have probably hiked it at least 20 times.

I spend quite a bit of time on the trails at Creek Farm in Portsmouth. It’s a different type of hike compared to Gap, but it’s just as beautiful with segments that pass by the water providing views of the harbor.

18 | FOREST NOTES Summer 2020

What’s your favorite time of year to hike Gap Mountain?

My favorite time to hike Gap, or really any mountain, is the fall. The foliage is beautiful, and I love the smells and crisp bite to the air. Plus, there tend to be fewer bugs.

Have you seen an increase in visitors since the pandemic started?

I have definitely seen an increase in the number of hikers on Gap since the pandemic began. My last trip to Gap was just before the Memorial Day weekend.

I was surprised by how many people I passed, well over 50! People are taking advantage of all the trails have to offer during this stressful time. And though there were a lot of people on the trail, I was relieved to see that hikers were practicing social distancing, wearing masks, and using the trails respectfully.

EMILY LORD

ince 1993, the Forest Society’s Land Steward Program has been the volunteer backbone for the organization’s 190 reservations. Through trainings and assistance from Forest Society staff, volunteers learn maintenance and stewardship skills and are empowered to care for their adopted forests. It’s this strong sense of accomplishment in stewarding a part of her local community that compelled Bernadette Cassidy of New Ipswich to sign up to be Gap Mountain’s land steward in 2017. Cassidy, who has taught high school English for the last 19 years, says that in addition to maintaining the trails, the best part about being a steward is the opportunity to meet “a diverse variety of interesting, dedicated, like-minded people from all walks of life.” In late spring, Cassidy took a break from teaching her students online to talk about her experience as a land steward.

The Forest Society thanks the following businesses for their generous support.

Summit Circle ($5,000 and up)

Partner (continued)

Matching Gift Companies (continued)

BCM Environmental & Land Law, PLLC Event Builders, LLC Meredith Village Savings Bank Merrimack County Savings Bank Protect the Granite State, Inc. SBA Steel, LLC Whalen Public & Media Relations, LLC

SCM Associates, Inc. Urban Tree Service/A Tree Health Company, Inc. Winnipesaukee Aquatherm Service, LLC Zambon Brothers Logging

Erie Insurance ExxonMobil Foundation Facebook, Inc. 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

Trustees’ Circle ($2,500 to $4,999) Asplundh Tree Expert Company Northeast Delta Dental Northland Forest Products, Inc. Placework The Secret Agency, LLC

President’s Circle ($1,000 to $2,499) Altus Engineering Bangor Savings Bank – Concord Checkmate Payroll Services Chinburg Properties E & S Insurance Services, L.L.C. Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies, Inc. Gunstock Mountain Resort Lumbard & Kellner, LLC MegaFood New England Private Wealth Advisors, LLC Rek’-Lis Brewing Company, LLC Rockywold-Deephaven Camps, Inc. Schilling Beer Company Target Corporation United Natural Foods, Inc. W.S. Badger Company, Inc. Winnipesaukee Chocolates

Steward ($750 to $999) Bank of New Hampshire Peabody & Smith Realty, Inc.

Partner ($500 to $749) Arcomm Communications Corporation Brady Sullivan Properties, LLC Bronnenberg Logging & Trucking, LLC Capitol Craftsman, LLC Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, Inc. Colonial Woodworking, Inc. Devine, Millimet & Branch, P.A. Dodge Contracting Durgin and Crowell Lumber Co., Inc. EOS Research, Ltd. GMEC, Inc. Half Moon Enterprises Harvard Pilgrim Health Care The Lyme Timber Company LP Mallory Portraits The Music Mill Pine Springs R. M. Piper, Inc. Robblee Tree Service, LLC Samyn-D’Elia Architects P.A.

Colleague ($250 to $499) 57hours Aesthetic Dental Center Ambit Engineering, Inc. Birch Hill Summer Camp Blaktop, Inc. Cersosimo Lumber Co., Inc. The FloorWorks, Inc. Fuller's Sugarhouse, LLC Granite Investment Advisors, Inc. Great Brook Veterinary Clinic, LLC Innovative Natural Resource Solutions, LLC Kel-Log, Inc. Klüber Lubrication NA LP Kozikowski Properties, LLC Limington Lumber Company Meadowsend Timberlands Limited Mulligan Land & Timber New England Biolabs, Inc. New England Flower Farms New England Wood Pellet, Inc. North Woodlands, Inc. Parade Properties Polly’s Pancake Parlor, Inc. Rise Private Wealth Management Shoppe 1921 Sunset Park Campground Twin State Sand & Gravel Co., Inc.

Matching Gift Companies 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

And many thanks to those businesses who support the Forest Society with gifts of less than $250.

The Forest Society…Where Conservation and Business Meet For information on business memberships, contact Diane Forbes at 603-224-9945 or at dforbes@forestsociety.org.

NATURE’S VIEW

In July 2008, a tornado traveled through the Forest Society’s High Watch Preserve on Green Mountain leaving a narrow linear scar of dead trees in its wake.

The 3 R’s of Forest Disturbance: Regeneration, Recovery, and Resilience

By Dave Anderson

F

orests have adapted to survive periodic catastrophic disturbances enabling them to regenerate and recover over time. These adaptations illustrate a forest’s built-in resilience following disasters that foresters categorize as “stand-replacing events.”

Perhaps the best example of these events in the past three centuries of New Hampshire land use is the forest’s response to the widespread logging and agricultural clearing of the state’s original forest cover.

Prior to 1800, New Hampshire’s forests are estimated to have been 80-percent cleared for agricultural crops and pastures. But during the post-Civil War era and prior to 1900, 20 | FOREST NOTES Summer 2020

forests of white birch, poplar, cherry, oak, and pine regenerated on hundreds of thousands of acres of the once-farmed fields. In the White Mountains and interior regions of the North Country, forests were extensively logged for manufacturing purposes from the late 1880s through the early 1900s.

Now that large-scale logging has subsided, forests have regenerated and recovered to make up approximately 84 percent of the state’s 5.8 million total land acres.

Another stand-replacing event was the Great New England Hurricane of 1938, which blew down more than 5 billion board feet of timber in a matter of hours.

In New Hampshire, more than 400 million

board feet of fallen pine timber was subsequently salvaged for lumber. Today, relict root mounds and faint linear traces of rotting logs can still be found in dense forests that have grown back over the decades.

On July 24, 2008, a tornado touched down on the Forest Society’s 2,100-acre High Watch Preserve located on Green Mountain in Freedom and Effingham. In its wake, the twister left a 50-mile long linear scar of blown-down trees. When toppled in this manner, the live trees wrench living roots from the soil to create a tangle of stems and root wads. The chaos of coarse woody debris creates new habitat—rotting wood in open sunlight—for new species to

(OPPOSITE PAGE) COURTESY OF NH DIVISION OF FORESTS AND LANDS; (THIS PAGE) STEVE JUNKIN

thrive. New growth and enhanced biological diversity are nourished by forces we tend to describe as “violent.”

In 2013, 2015, and 2017, the Forest Society and The Nature Conservancy, in addition to many other agency partners, conducted a total of three controlled fires on the Forest Society’s Harmon Preserve located along Route 25 near Loon Lake in Freedom. The goal of these burns was to regenerate a globally and regionally rare pitch pine–scrub oak forest community and associated wildlife habitats in 30-acre blocks. Before the burns began, loggers removed competing white pine, red maple, and oak trees from the land. In the subsequent years, ecologists found that the burns reinvigorated new growth and have begun to restore pitch pine and various fire-tolerant scrub oak types.

More recently, in October 2018, a 75acre fire of unknown origin burned over the dry, upper ledges of Dilly Cliffs in North Woodstock. Large crown fires are a rare occurrence in New Hampshire. The more typical forest fires are brush fires, burning on the ground and less than five acres in size. The fire-adapted, sandy plains and steep rocky ledges that do burn regenerate with trees that have a thick, corky bark: red pine, pitch pine, jack pine, red oak, and white oak. On the flat, sandy pine barrens of the Ossipee Region and The Heights in Concord, where fire has been suppressed due to human development, forest composition is shifting to less fire-adapted trees.

Another example of a stand-replacing event that happens over a longer period of time is the mountain “fir wave” phenomenon, which is visible at high elevations in the White Mountains. The wave of conifer die-back isn’t insect-related. It’s a phenomenon triggered when wind-driven ice kills the leading edge of an exposed stand of shallowrooted balsam firs. Adjacent tightly-packed trees subsequently experience higher winds, which creates a slow-moving wave of mortality moving upslope. One result is a growth of young trees regenerating in patches.

Forest Society staff took part in three controlled burns at the Harmon Preserve in Freedom, N.H. The formerly dark understory regenerates with lush wildflowers and ferns thriving in the sun-filled opening amid young spruce, fir, and white birch seedlings. New growth is a rich food source for insects, nesting birds, and snowshoe hares. The canopy removal occurs as a periodic disturbance, increasing overall biological diversity on the exposed subalpine topography home to birch, spruce, and fir. This forest type transitions to black spruce growing to the 4,800-foot elevation limit at treeline.

Above that, a lack of soil and harsh climactic regimes limit all growth to lichens and tiny alpine plants.

Today, catastrophic disturbances dominate our news feed. Forces beyond human control are routinely categorized as destructive, violent, or even malevolent.

Forests provide a model where trees are

adapted to prevail over long timeframes, illustrating phases of regeneration and recovery following natural disturbances.

There is intrinsic strength and greater resiliency to natural systems that include more species diversity, habitat diversity, and overall biological diversity. Conversely, monocultures lead to greater risk of disease and disturbances potentially affecting 100 percent of the limited number of species present. Crowding leads to stress and a greater potential for disease outbreaks to wipe out vast numbers of individual trees. The most diverse natural systems are more resilient in the face of cataclysms, including climate change, natural disasters, and diseases.

A life-long naturalist, Dave Anderson is senior director of education for the Forest Society.

Did You Know?

Following overstory removal, fast-growing pin cherry is often the first tree species to regenerate in the sunbaked soil. Pin cherry is nature’s answer to armor plating.

Seeds of pin cherry and black raspberry can remain viable in forest soil for up to a century. Northern hardwoods, beech, yellow birch, and sugar maple, eventually replace the early growth of pin cherry, white birch, poplar, white pine, and balsam fir through forest succession.

Summer 2020 FOREST NOTES | 21

PUBLIC POLICY UPDATES

On Climate Change, Forests, and English Football

By Matt Leahy

I

have become a big fan of the English football club Forest Green Rovers.

Admittedly, my love for this team may never reach the same level of passion I have for the Boston Celtics or New England Patriots. And yes, I am well aware that few people in the United States have ever heard of them. Those acknowledgements aside, there is something intriguing about a club that is based in the small English town of Nailsworth and plays in the fourth level of professional English football.

While the Rovers likely could not outplay the internationally famous soccer teams, they certainly are outplaying those bigger clubs in a different way. Perhaps now is the time for all of us to hop on the Rovers band wagon.

Consider that the club’s facilities are powered by solar energy, their playing field (the “pitch”) is cut by a solar-powered robot lawnmower, all the rainwater that falls on the stands or on the pitch is recycled to minimize the club’s use of water, and the club has installed electric car charging facilities at the stadium to encourage fans to travel to games sustainably. Because of actions like these, the United Nations’ Climate Neutral Now initiative certified it as the world’s first carbon-neutral football club.

That designation alone is praise worthy but what really makes me want to buy a Rovers t-shirt is the club’s plans to construct a stadium made almost entirely out of wood. Reportedly, it will be the first of its kind in the world. While the new stadium will certainly be aesthetically beautiful, more importantly it will also draw attention to the connection between forests and climate.

22 | FOREST NOTES Summer 2020

From top: An electric car charging station was installed in the Forest Green Rovers’s stadium parking lot in an effort to promote the use of green technology; a Forest Green Rovers banner is flown at every match.

Trees absorb CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow. If the wood is used in a building, that CO2 stays locked away for decades. A 2020 report by researchers at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) says that using engineered timber, also known as mass timber, instead of carbonintensive materials, such as steel and concrete, in urban building construction can store 10 to 68 million tons of carbon annually. Alan Organschi, one of the authors of this report, says using less cement and steel could turn cities from significant sources of carbon emissions sources into big sinks to store those emissions.

To be clear, advocates always note this approach should, and can, result in healthy, resilient, and growing forests. Further, the true threat to forested landscapes comes from their permanent conversion into other uses which not only extinguishes their ability to sequester and store carbon

but which also undermines the other benefits they bring us. Expanding markets for forest products is a key way public policy will assist landowners in maintaining their forests as forests for the long-term.

But, the bottom line is this: In a 2018 report, the United Nations predicted the percentage of the world’s population living in urban areas would increase from 55 percent to 68 percent by 2050. This scenario, combined with the overall population growth, could result in 2.5 billion more people living in urban areas in 2050 than today.

That shift potentially means a whole lot of concrete being poured in order to meet the demand for the new construction these new residents will create. What is troubling is the 8 percent of the total global CO2 emissions that currently come from concrete production will surely increase over the next thirty years if society continues to rely so heavily on these carbon-intensive industries.

On the other hand, those projections present an opportunity to move in a direction that both addresses the basic human needs of shelter and employment while limiting the increase of CO2 emissions and the damaging impacts from climate change.

So how can society best take advantage of this moment?

Given what we know about its ability to store carbon, increasing the use of forest products, specifically engineered wood, is one clear answer to that question. Realistically, mass timber may never fully replace concrete and steel in the building industry.

However, that possibility should not prevent us from celebrating and promoting how forests can be an important part of addressing this far-reaching global challenge.

While we are it, let’s also cheer on the Rovers to win the Football League Two Championship.

Matt Leahy is the public policy manager for the Forest Society.

TOGETHER WE Explore

DIEGO SIDEBURNS/FLICKR (X2)

The perfect trail, a mighty challenge and a good story.

New Hampshire PBS has something just waiting for you to discover.

CELEBRATING 60 YEARS

Summer 2020 FOREST NOTES | 23

PROJECT IN PROGRESS

A kayaker paddles a stretch of the Merrimack River that flows beside the Forest Society’s Stillhouse Forest in Northfield.

Will You Help Us Expand the Stillhouse Forest?

I

n 2019, the Forest Society acquired the Stillhouse Forest, a 215-acre reservation featuring nearly a mile of meandering frontage on the Merrimack River in Canterbury and Northfield. Thanks to the support of more than 120 individual donors and many state grant programs, the Forest Society raised over $400,000 to purchase the property and to provide for its stewardship.

Now, the Forest Society has the opportunity to enlarge the Stillhouse Forest by acquiring 76 acres that would protect another 1,200 feet of river frontage to the

24 | FOREST NOTES Summer 2020

north of the existing reservation. This project will expand the protection of contiguous habitat in the Merrimack floodplain and will provide improved public access to the trail system using a recently improved woods road off Fiddler’s Choice Road in Northfield.

To acquire the 76-acre addition, we must raise $300,000 from a combination of grant sources and individual donors with a goal of securing all of the funds by spring 2021. Please join us in this effort by making a contribution to lead this new campaign!

Conserving land in the Merrimack River watershed is a top priority of the Forest Society’s land protection and outreach departments. Originating at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, N.H., the Merrimack flows for 117 miles to Newburyport, Mass., where it drains into the Gulf of Maine. The river winds through some of our state’s most urban communities, Concord, Manchester and Nashua, providing outdoor recreation opportunities to a wide range of users and drinking water for more than 600,000 people.

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The Forest Society already holds conservation easements on nine properties that total over 1,600 acres along the main stem of the Merrimack from Franklin to Concord. With the addition to the Stillhouse Forest, the Forest Society will own almost 300 acres and a mile of shoreline along the east bank of the river. This is a scenic and significant area that is just across the river from three of the main drinking water wells for the Penacook– Boscawen water precinct, which serves 3,800 residents, and in the vicinity of the New Hampshire Fish and Game boat ramp in Boscawen and a boat ramp in Canterbury.

Your gift today will help us launch the campaign to expand recreational access and habitat protection along the Merrimack.

Showing strong support from individuals and the community will help us make a case for funding from state grant programs, so please don’t wait!

For more information, contact Anne Truslow at atruslow@forestsociety.org.

Thank You!

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Intervale Road River Access / Canoe Launch

YES, I WANT TO HELP EXPAND THE STILLHOUSE FOREST!

JERRY MONKMAN/ECOPHOTOGRAPHY

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/stillhouse.

For more information, call Anne Truslow at 603-224-9945 or email atruslow@forestsociety.org.

Thank you for your help!

STH208FN

SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE FORESTS 54 Portsmouth Street Concord, NH 03301-5400 Address Service Requested

SAVE THE DATE! The Forest Society’s 119th Annual Meeting Saturday, September 26, 2020 4–5 p.m.

Virtual Business Meeting via Zoom • Welcome and remarks from Forest Society President Jack Savage • Business meeting • Recognition of longtime members • Awards presentation 6–7:30 p.m.

Dinner and a Movie Fix dinner or make popcorn, and join us at 6 p.m. for a special screening of The Merrimack: River at Risk, a full-length documentary produced by the Forest Society and directed by Jerry Monkman of Ecophotography.

Did you know that the Merrimack watershed is still 80-percent undeveloped, but in 2016 it was named one of the most endangered rivers in the country?

Find out why and what can be done to save it in this 55-minute documentary.

A panel discussion will take place after the film.

Participation is free, but you must register to receive the Zoom link.

Your donation of the traditional $50 registration fee will be gratefully accepted. Visit forestsociety.org/am2020 or email Linda Dammann at ldammann@forestsociety.org to register.

DIY FIELD TRIPS September 18-26: Do-it-yourself excursions within the Merrimack watershed.

Choose your own adventure and share a photo with us. For more information, including suggested destinations, visit forestsociety.org/am2020.

Nonprofit Organization US Postage Paid Manchester, NH Permit No. 0494