Goofiness notwithstanding, there's nothing like a trip to a TNC preserve to cure spring fever. This young man harmonizes with the Gridley River at TNC's Wales Preserve in Sharon. In honor of Earth Day, this Sunday, April 18, is "Take Your Child to Nature Day." To celebrate, join TNC-NH State Director Daryl Burtnett this Sunday, 10 a.m., for an easy hike at TNC's Mancester Cedar Swamp Preserve. Click here for directions. Eric Aldrich photo © TNC.

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People Make it Happen:
A Sweet Gift for Conservation
Cy and Bobbie Sweet have never been to the Galapagos Islands or to Mexico's Maya Forest. But they know the impact that a leveraged gift can have on conservation, and so were recently moved to respond to one called "The Wilson Challenge."

Cy Sweet is a New Hampshire Chapter trustee, a retired Air Force colonel, and, with his wife Bobbie, a longtime resident of New Castle. The Sweets have been generous supporters of the Conservancy's efforts throughout New Hampshire, particularly Great Bay, where they had recently aimed a significant pledge.

As part of their interest in the Conservancy's work, the Sweets last fall attended TNC's annual meeting in Costa Rica. There they were impressed by TNC's emphasis on looking beyond borders to protect the irreplaceable abroad, while continuing to work on critical projects at home. The Sweets also met with and heard a talk by Robert Wilson and were intrigued by his challenge.

In 1998, long-time TNC member Robert Wilson, a resident of New York, established a challenge fund to stimulate cross-boundary fundraising efforts in the U.S. and abroad. The Wilson Challenge Fund was designed to promote efforts by one TNC program to raise money for another. Qualifying gifts are matched 1:1 or 1:2, depending on the amount and the allocation of the gift. Matching funds go to the home state or country program of the donor.

After hearing Wilson's talk in Costa Rica, and in the midst of visiting local conservation sites with staff from across the globe, New Hampshire State Director Daryl Burtnett asked the Sweets if they would consider redirecting their Great Bay pledge toward TNC's international efforts, with the resulting Wilson Challenge funds designated to the chapter's work at Great Bay. The Sweets indicated they would, ultimately choosing to support TNC's conservation work on the Galapagos Archipelago and Mexico's Maya Forest. The Galapagos gift, for example, lets TNC complete the purchase of 303 acres of critical habitat -- a rare opportunity on the islands.

"We were inspired by Bob Wilson's enthusiasm and passion for giving in his lifetime, inspiring others to do likewise and seeing the results of his work," Cy said. "We are also delighted at the generosity of New Hampshire people who've responded to cover the part of our gift not matched by the Wilson challenge, this truly has been a win-win for New Hampshire and these other rare environments.

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TNC Prepares for Busy Field Season
The advance of spring and warmer temperatures brings a busy field season for The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. Staff will be working from the northern tip of the state to the Connecticut River valley and Great Bay in an array of research and stewardship projects.

Here's a look at some highlights:

• Ossipee Pine Barrens: Moths, birds and fire is the theme here as TNC continues efforts to understand this complex ecosystem. Stewardship Ecologist Jeff Lougee will look for rare moth species in parts of the Ossipee Pine Barrens that haven't been previously checked. He also plans to seek out the rare pine devil moth, believed to have vanished from the Ossipee Pine Barrens and many other parts of the northeast. One of the key questions we hope to address this year involves the minimum habitat size requirements for the area's various moth species.
      With volunteers and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, TNC will look at the pine barrens' imperiled bird species, such as whip-poor-will, common nighthawk and woodcock. Volunteers will walk and drive designated routes at night to better understand where and how these species are using the pine barrens.
      Meanwhile, the Conservancy will continue working with federal, state and local officials in preparing to carefully restore fire to this ecosystem. Much planning remains before an actual prescribed burn can start, likely more than a year from now.
• Northern Forest/Mount Washington Valley: Conservancy staff and partners will monitor raptors, orchids and other rare species on TNC preserves and other sites and work with the White Mountain National Forest staff on those lands. Among the plants is small whorled pogonia, a globally rare and federally threatened orchid that has its largest populations here in New Hampshire. Scientists will also search for peregrine falcons at the Vickie Bunnell Preserve, and for goshawks on Mount Washington Valley preserves.
      Northern New Hampshire Program Manager Peter Benson will continue to manage the closure and reforestation of some former logging roads in TNC's Vickie Bunnell Preserve in Stratford and Columbia. This is the second year of this innovative restoration project, which aims to de-fragment the forest and enhance habitat for pine marten, black bear and other wildlife.
• Great Bay: Great Bay Marine Ecologist Jay Odell will look at specific habitats throughout the estuary as he considers ecosystem stresses and strategies to address them. River herring spawning, tide flat ecology, and oyster reproduction are among the areas he'll focus on.

• Southern: TNC will be looking carefully at monitoring wells at Manchester Cedar Swamp and Litchfield's Grassy Pond, making sure that fluctuations in water levels and water quality don't impact the globally rare natural communities that we've helped to protect.
• Statewide: TNC's Director of Conservation Science Doug Bechtel and other staff will be looking at lands proposed for protection throughout the state. He'll look for signs of rare plants and natural communities.
• Natural Heritage Bureau: The N.H. Natural Heritage Bureau, which has five Nature Conservancy staffers, also has a big field season ahead. Near Great Bay, the bureau, TNC and Audubon Society of New Hampshire are doing an inventory of wildlife, rare plants and natural communities in Follett's Brook in Durham and along the Cocheco River in Dover. The bureau is also doing inventories of rare plants and natural communities at the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Natural Area and Pawtuckaway State Park, among other sites.

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Mark the Date:
June 5, New Hampshire Chapter Annual Meeting
This year's annual membership meeting of the Conservancy's New Hampshire chapter is Saturday, June 5 at the Student Conservation Association along the mighty Connecticut River in North Charlestown. Help us celebrate conservation success throughout the state, particularly in this area. There will be staff-led field trips to the Connecticut River, Ashuelot River, TNC's Warwick Preserve in Westmoreland and other newly protected places. Keynote speaker will be Walter Wetherell, editor of This American River and author of The River Trilogy. Invitations will come in TNC-NH's spring newsletter. For information, call 603-224-5853.

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N.H. Envirothon Looks at
Challenges of Stewardship
Students from 20 New Hampshire high schools are studying TNC's Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve as part of this year's Envirothon.

The Envirothon is a high school competition designed to build knowledge of water resources, forests, soils wildlife and current environmental issues. In May, teams of five students from each high school compete in those topics. The winning team here in New Hampshire will go to the national Envirothon competition this summer in West Virginia. New Hampshire has a strong record at the national level; Keene High won first place in 2002 and Souhegan High won second place last year.

This year's Envirothon theme is "Natural Resource Management in the Urban Environment." Organizers chose Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve as the backdrop for this year's assignment for students. Their task is to develop a long-term stewardship plan for the preserve, an ecological gem in an increasingly urban environment. They'll present their work to a panel of judges at St. Anselm College in Manchester May 18.

New Hampshire's Envirothoners had their training day on April 3 at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth, where they brushed up on everything from aquatics to zoology. That's where they also heard a presentation about Manchester Cedar Swamp and got their assignment.

"This is a really good assignment," said N.H. Envirothon organizer Herb Vadney. "It touches on all of the main topic areas and forces the students to seek creative, long-term solutions.

The N.H. Envirothon is conducted by the N.H. Association of Conservation Districts and is funded by corporate and private donations.

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Volunteer Opportunity:
Invasive Species Mapping for Great Bay
One of the most critical threats to Great Bay and its watershed is the spread of non-native invasive plants. Plants such as black swallow-wort, phragmites and buckthorn can easily overtake an area and wreak havoc on native ecosystems.

Recognizing the threat, an alliance of organizations is mobilizing volunteers who can help identify and map invasive plants in and around Great Bay. The effort is sponsored by The Nature Conservancy of New Hampshire, the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the New England Wild Flower Society.

Interested volunteers are invited to attend a special training session on May 1 in Durham.

The project is part of a region-wide effort called the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England (IPANE). The IPANE project goals are to create a web-based invasive plant atlas, conduct scientific modeling for each species, and establish an early detection and rapid response network for the region. IPANE volunteers are currently active in all New England states. Volunteers are provided with specialized training and workshops to hone identification skills.

The May 1 training is open to anyone who is interested in learning about invasive species monitoring. It'll be held at the Evelyn Browne Center in Durham, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. To sign up, contact Chris Mattrick at the New England Wild Flower Society, 508-877-7630, ext. 3203, or cmattrick@newfs.org.

For more information on this project and the survey, visit the New England Wild Flower Society website: www.newfs.org or the IPANE website: www.eeb.uconn.edu/invasives/ipane.

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Support The Nature Conservancy
You can help support the Conservancy's efforts in New Hampshire and beyond. To become a member of The Nature Conservancy, click here, or call 603-224-5853.

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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 30 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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For questions about this e-newsletter, contact Eric Aldrich, The Nature Conservancy, NH Chapter, 603-224-5853, ext. 26.