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The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire Home Projects Chapter News Contact Places We Protect Field Trips & Events Press Releases Volunteer Ways of Giving Slide Shows Conservation Buyer |
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Granite State Glances
The electronic newsletter of The Nature Conservancy's New Hampshire Chapter, For more information on this and other projects of The Nature Conservancy, visit http://nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/newhampshire. Contents: Assembling the Puzzle The area is along Wilkinson Brook, a tributary to the Pine River that's just south of Green Mountain. Effingham is between Ossipee and the Maine border. Wilkinson Brook holds the state's largest wetland of its type, according to the N.H. Natural Heritage Bureau. This type of fen (a peat-accumulating wetland that receives mineral-rich groundwater) is also one of the best in the state and has several unique natural communities within it. The area has been documented as a conservation priority by the Natural Heritage Bureau and the Conservancy. The project announced today involves the Conservancy's protection of three tracts near Wilkinson Brook. The Conservancy has purchased two parcels -- 128 and 100 acres -- from the Moulton family on the west side of Wilkinson Brook. Assisting this purchase was a $34,000 federal Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Project grant from the N.H. Fish and Game Department. While the Conservancy will own the properties, the Fish and Game Department will hold a conservation easement. The properties will be open to the public for hiking, hunting, fishing and other traditional activities. "These properties went up on the market and that signaled a red flag for us," said Duane Hyde, the Conservancy's director of protection in New Hampshire. "There was a real potential threat here of a new landowner coming in who, unlike the previous owner, would practice poor forestry management, which could harm this unique ecosystem. We knew we had to act quickly." As negotiations began for the Moulton lands, the Conservancy was finalizing a generous and well-timed offer from a neighboring landowner. The Nath family offered to donate to the Conservancy a conservation easement on 270 acres, which adjoins Pine River State Forest, the Moulton tracts and Wilkinson Brook. Naturally, the Conservancy accepted. "This is something we are very pleased about doing," said Kamal Nath, who along with his wife Klara have lived on the property since 1997. The Naths are interested in letting natural processes take their own course on the property. "We want to give nature a chance here," he said. Lasting Legacy Longtime Conservancy member Thoreau Raymond of Concord remembers meeting Pauline Kimm when Raymond was teaching American GIs in Korea. At the time, Thoreau was 34. Pauline, she recalls, was a "slight, but dignified woman of 23," the daughter of a prominent Korean who had been living in exile in China and was for the first time seeing her family's native country. Despite difficult circumstances amidst rising political tensions on the Korean peninsula, the two hit it off right away. Soon after Thoreau returned to the states, Pauline followed and studied chemistry at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass., and later at the University of Michigan. There, she married a promising Korean linguist, became Pauline Chang and had two children. Pauline eventually established herself as senior research associate at Yale University, where she researched cancer. Tragically, cancer took Pauline's own life in 2001. As Thoreau considered ways to honor a friendship of nearly 60 years, she thought of Pauline's grandchildren, now aged 2 and 4 and living in Rhode Island. It was appropriate, Thoreau thought, that these bright, young girls travel and appreciate the world's natural beauty. "Let them get to know the places around them," Thoreau said. "How do you do that? You take them to Nature Conservancy preserves." Thoreau's generous gift to The Nature Conservancy will let Pauline's grandchildren be Conservancy members for a many years to come. Conservancy staff in Rhode Island have already shown Pauline's son, Keunsuk, daughter-in-law Rini, and their two daughters the Quicksand Pond/Goosewing Beach Preserve. Keunsuk Chang and his family were delighted with seeing the preserve. "The tour brought to life the hard work and dedication The Nature Conservancy has been doing to preserve these valuable habitats for current and future generations," he said. Who knows? Maybe for Pauline's granddaughters it's the start of their own lasting relationship with conservation. Forest Legacy Funding Secured for Pillsbury-Sunapee Easements The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests has commitments from landowners who will donate land or conservation easements totaling 2,500 acres of forestlands to the highlands project if an easement is acquired for the New Forestry property. By a vote of 216-205, the House narrowly passed a conference agreement that provides nearly $65 million in Forest Legacy easement grants throughout the country. A big help in that vote came from U.S. Rep. Charles Bass of New Hampshire. Forest Legacy is the single most important source of conservation funding for New Hampshire. Also approved in the Forest Legacy Program is $1 million for easements to protect 4,200 acres around Moose Mountain in Strafford County. The project is a partnership among the Forest Society, N.H. Fish and Game Department and Moose Mountain Regional Greenways. Monadnock Conservancy Protects Four New Areas: The properties include two prominent hilltops and extensive fields and forests near Silver Lake in Nelson; a town-owned forest in Richmond; significant shoreline on Mountain Brook Reservoir in Jaffrey; and an historic farm in Greenville. “These lands offer a little bit of everything that makes the Monadnock Region such a special place,” said executive director Richard Ober. “Wild lands, scenic hillsides, working forests, shoreline, trails, open fields – it’s all here.” The newly protected areas include: Nelson: Thunder and Lightning Hills, a 330-acre easement conveyed by the White family. This project was assisted by the Harris Center for Conservation Education and the Silver Lake Land Trust. Includes hayfields, views of Mount Monadnock, Sucker Brook flowage and an active heron rookery. For more information, visit www.monadnockconservancy.org. David Carroll actively lectures about turtles/wetlands preservation. His art and writing, as well as his extensive fieldwork with turtles and wetlands have been widely recognized, and been the subject of many feature articles. His presentations on turtle ecology, vernal pools, and other wetland habitats, as well as seminars and workshops on nature-journaling have been featured at numerous schools, colleges, and universities. About The Nature Conservancy Established in 1987, The Nature Conservancy of New Hampshire has helped protect more than 119,000 acres of ecologically significant land and currently owns and manages 26 preserves across the state. The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire: 22 Bridge St., Fourth Floor, Concord, NH, 03301. To unsubscribe/change profile: click here To subscribe: click here
a monthly roundup of conservation in the Granite State
Wilkinson Brook in Effingham, where The Nature Conservancy is protecting nearly 500 acres of
important wetlands and building on a large conservation corridor. Eric Aldrich photo © TNC.
Protecting Wetlands and Corridors in Effingham
Nearly 500 acres along a unique wetland ecosystem in Effingham have been protected in a deal announced today by The Nature Conservancy.
for an Amazing Friendship
A friendship that began in 1946 in post-World War II Korea now has a touching connection with the next generation and the Conservancy's efforts in Rhode Island.
Great news recently from Washington, D.C., and the Society from the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. House and Senate lawmakers have agreed on funding for the latest round of easement awards from the federal Forest Legacy Program, including two projects in New Hampshire. The bill, expected to be signed by President Bush, includes $2.5 million for a conservation easement on nearly 7,000 acres owned by New Forestry LLC of Georgia. The land abuts Pillsbury and Sunapee State Parks and other protected lands.
More than 750 Acres in Southwestern New Hampshire
More great news from southwestern New Hampshire: The Monadnock Conservancy has established four new conservation areas protecting 766 acres.
Richmond: Bennett Town Forest, a 305-acre easement donated by the town in honor of longtime resident “Pete” Tandy. Protects mixed forest, old pasture and field, historic sites and wetlands.
Jaffrey: Mountain Brook Reservoir, a 77-acre easement donated by Herbert and Colette Gramm. Prime habitat for waterfowl, beaver and many wildlife species.
Greenville: a 54-acre easement donated by Richard and Heidi Venuti, site of the former Merriam Hill Education Center.
Conservation Law Foundation presents:
The Great Bay - An Evening with Artist, Naturalist and Author David Carroll
On November 19 in Exeter, the Conservation Law Foundation will sponsor a presentation by noted illustrator and author David Carroll on turtles and wetlands ecology. Also, learn more about the Conservation Law Foundation's Great Bay Initiative and the future of one of the region's most treasured natural resources.
The Nature Conservancy's mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The Conservancy has protected more than 98 million acres of valuable lands and waters worldwide. The organization accomplishes its mission through the efforts of state and country chapters, which are responsible for protecting and managing conservation land, and for raising operating and capital funds to support their programs.
603-224-5853.
