Natural Area Stewardship -- Peter Benson of The Nature Conservancy and Will Staats of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department hang a sign welcoming visitors to Fish and Game's 25,000-acre Connecticut Lakes Natural Area in Pittsburg. "These 25,000 acres of northern forest are owned and managed by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department," the sign says. "The Nature Conservancy acquired this area in 2003 for its exceptional natural resource values and holds a conservation easement on the property." The two recently installed signs and checked the lands.

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Checking on New Hampshire's Largest Bat Hibernaculum
It's dark and damp, full of brittle rocks and old timbers that seem ready to collapse at any moment. Unfit for humans and most anything else, but not bats. In fact, the old Mascot mine in Gorham is New Hampshire's largest bat hibernaculum, a wintering refuge for the little flying mammals.

This is not an easy or pleasant place to visit. Once a source for lead until it was abandoned in the late 1800s, the mine is now owned by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, with a conservation easement held by The Nature Conservancy. The mine entrance is gated for good reason. The mine is unstable, with crumbly rock walls, aging timber supports and shafts that can be reached only by trained climbers with technical rock-climbing gear.

So checking on the bats was the perfect job for Nature Conservancy Stewardship Ecologist Jeff Lougee, who happens to be an avid rock climber. Working with Fish and Game, Lougee helped coordinate the complicated task of a site visit with bat experts to check on Mascot Mine's wintering bat population. The last comprehensive inspection was in 1993. During the recent visit, they counted 1,579 bats, nearly the same number as last time, and likely some of the same individual bats.

Five bat species were found in the mine: little brown bat, big brown bat, Eastern pipistrelle, small-footed myotis and northern long-eared bat. Mascot mine is the only known site in New Hampshire for the small-footed myotis.

"For bats in New Hampshire, this is the site," Lougee said. "And this is a good one because it's protected and there's little disturbance during the winter, a time when any disturbance can exhaust their energy and raise the risk of mortality."

Detailed counts of the bats along with measurements of the shafts helped Lougee produce a map of the mine, showing locations of each cluster. The map will help biologists compare populations over time.

Assisting in the monitoring of Mascot Mine were Jim Oehler and Mike Marchand of New Hampshire Fish and Game, Maury McKinney of International Mountain Climbing School in North Conway, and the bat experts: Tom French of the Massachusetts Natural Heritage Program; Brenda Bhatti of Jaffrey; and Scott Reynolds of Northeast Ecological Services.

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UNH Survey Looks at Open Space Bond Initiatives
Town meetings are in full swing across New Hampshire and several communities are voting on bond proposals to protect open space.

Last spring, voters in 29 New Hampshire communities considered bond issues to finance land protection projects. Most communities approved such measures, often by large majorities.

To better understand voters' reasoning for approving or defeating open space bond initiatives, a University of New Hampshire team surveyed 500 people who participated in year's bond votes. "Voter Attitudes about Preserving Open Space: Survey Results from 12 New Hampshire Towns" was prepared by the UNH Center for Integrated Regional Problem Solving. Project co-directors were Mark Ducey, UNH Department of Natural Resources, Richard England, UNH Department of Economics, and Andrew Smith of the UNH Survey Center.

One surprise to Ducey was that support for the initiatives crossed a broad spectrum: wealthy and modest earners; Democrats, Republicans and Independents; newcomers and latecomers. "Support really was really across the board in many realms," Ducey said.

Another surprise was how the issues of sprawl and loss of open space ranked compared with other issues, such as taxes and education, Ducey said.

Opponents of last year's initiatives reported that they couldn't support the additional tax burden and didn't hear a clear plan for open space protection. The take-home message for this year's organizers: Explain the concept clearly, show a transparent process, Ducey said.

The towns surveyed include Auburn, Barrington, Brentwood, Durham, East Kingston, Errol, Exeter, Greenland, Hollis, Hopkinton, Newington, and Rye.

Among the findings:

• Most voters (62 percent) surveyed believe that new people moving to their town will increase property taxes.
• Seventy-five percent of those surveyed report that they supported their town's land conservation proposal.
• Those who opposed the bond proposals believed the money would be better used for other purposes.
• Opponents also believed they could not afford additional property taxes to support open space preservation.

The survey can be seen at http://www.unh.edu/cirps/NewatCIRPS.html

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Looking for a Few Good Birders
The Ossipee Pine Barrens and nearby areas of Carroll County have long been home to a relatively high population of whip-poor-wills, and are also one of the few remaining areas where common nighthawks nest in natural conditions.

These factors, in addition to substantial populations of shrub-nesting birds like towhees and thrashers, have led to the Ossipee Pine Barrens being nominated as an Important Bird Area for New Hampshire. For this nomination to proceed, however, we need more data, especially on elusive nocturnal species like whip-poor-wills and nighthawks.

To this end, the Audubon Society of New Hampshire and The Nature Conservancy are teaming up to institute nocturnal bird surveys in the region this summer.  Surveys will be 5-mile roadside routes conducted three times between late May and early July, with training provided in early May.

If you're interested in volunteering, contact Pam Hunt at Audubon at (603) 224-9909, ext. 328, or phunt@nhaudubon.org.

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Saving Special Places - 2004
Statewide Conservation Conference: April 17
"Conservation Tools for a Growing State" is the theme for this year's land conservation conference, which will be Saturday, April 17, at John Stark Regional High School in Weare.

The conference is sponsored by the Center for Land Conservation Assistance, the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Community Conservation Assistance Program and the Piscataquog Watershed Association.

Participation is limited to the first 300 registrants. For more information, visit www.spnhf.org.

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TNC Volunteers Needed:
The Nature Conservancy is looking for volunteers with an array of skills for conservation projects around the state. If you're interested in any of these opportunities, contact TNC Preserve Steward Krista Helmboldt, 603-224-5853, ext. 17.

Carpenters
We're  looking for volunteers to build trail registers, preserve kiosks, and wooden signs for our preserves across the state. We'll provide plans and will reimburse for materials. We need kiosks at TNC's Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve and Lubberland Creek Preserve in Newmarket. We're also seeking volunteers to help install these kiosks. We need wooden informational signs at Mascot Mine in Gorham and Norton Pool in Pittsburg.

Easement Monitors
for TNC easements at Packer Bog in Greenland, Mascot Mine in Gorham and Powwow River in Kingston. We'll provide training and assistance.

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Natural Heritage Inventory of the East Bowl at Mount Sunapee State Park
The New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau has recently completed a comprehensive assessment of the ecological context, land-use history and present status of the East Bowl of Mount Sunapee. An analysis of historical land use and vegetation information is combined with field survey results to describe the locations of exemplary natural communities in the East Bowl with an emphasis on old forests. The report also describes the state and regional ecological significance of Mount Sunapee’s forest communities and recommends Natural Area designations. 51 pages, maps, figures, 8 color plates.

The full (PDF) report of 51 pages, maps and plates can be seen at http://www.nhdfl.org/formgt/nhiweb

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Parting Shots:
The Eagle and the Falcon

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About The Nature Conservancy
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.

Established in 1987, The Nature Conservancy of New Hampshire has helped protect more than 121,000 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. 603-224-5853
Great Bay Field Office: 167 Exeter Road, Unit 1A, Newfields, N.H. 03856. 603-772-2203
Green Hills Preserve: P.O. Box 310, 2760 White Mt. Hwy, North Conway, NH 03860. 603-356-8833.

About this e-newsletter
Granite State Glances is the electronic newsletter of The Nature Conservancy's New Hampshire Chapter. It is distributed via email on or around the 15th of every month.

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