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Granite State Glances

New Conservation Tool for
the Ashuelot River Watershed

Conservationists will soon have a major new tool for protecting some of the most important natural resources in the heart of the Monadnock Region.

It's called "A Land Conservation Plan for the Ashuelot River Watershed" and is being drafted with help from public input by The Nature Conservancy, Monadnock Conservancy, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and the Southwest Region Planning Commission. The plan is still in its draft form now and should be completed by mid-August.

The plan complements previous studies of the watershed's natural resources, but is uparalleled in many ways, according to Mark Zankel, director of conservation programs for The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. "This plan is unique in that it provides a systematic, science-based, watershed-scale approach for identifying and protecting areas that are most important for plants, wildlife, ecosystems, and water quality in the Ashuelot River watershed."

Using the latest natural resources data and state-of-the-art Geographic Information System technology (GIS), the plan identifies, maps, and describes in detail the most significant habitat areas and stream reaches in the 269,000-acre Ashuelot River watershed. It identifies 13 conservation focus areas, ranging in size from 400 acres around Ash Swamp Brook in Keene and Swanzey to 19,300 acres in and around Pisgah State Park in Chesterfield, Hinsdale and Winchester. In addition, the plan indicates 19 river and stream reaches that are especially important for migratory and resident fish, and other aquatic resources.

"We hope that the Ashuelot plan will be used by land trusts and other conservation organizations, towns, citizens, and landowners to focus attention on significant natural resource areas, and to put conservation activities in the context of an entire watershed," Zankel said.

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A Closer Look:
The Science Behind the Maps

The Ashuelot plan is a good example of how computerized mapping technology is becoming a key tool for conservation. It's a big part of the science behind the maps.

Geographic Information Systems (or GIS) technology has been around for a few decades but in the past few years has become more sophisticated and powerful. And increasingly it's being used to advance conservation goals: everything from land protection to wildlife management to municipal planning.

In the case of the Ashuelot River Watershed Land Conservation Plan, GIS technology is used to create and analyze what's called "co-occurrence mapping."

As with basic GIS, it involves looking at multiple layers of geographic information. But co-occurrence mapping ramps that up a bit, by assigning values (or scores) to certain landscape features that happen in a particular location.

"Each layer of information gets a score," said Lora Gerard, the Conservancy's conservation information and GIS manager. "The light areas have a low value, the dark areas have a high value. You put them all together and you start to see which areas are scoring higher with multiple layers."

For instance, with the Ashuelot project, areas with globally rare plants or natural communities had a higher score than places that lack them. Sub-watersheds in excellent condition scored higher than sub-watersheds in poor condition. Areas far from roads or highways scored higher than places close to roads.

As those high-scoring areas started emerging on the Ashuelot watershed maps, Gerard and the Conservancy's Mark Zankel looked even closer at those places. They overlaid maps showing dams, groundwater resources and other natural features. It's like a series of filters, and in the Ashuelot project, it resulted in 13 conservation focus areas and 19 special stream reaches.

"It really lets you quantify things," Gerard said. "And rather than look at each layer individually , you can combine them together and assign values. You can actually see which places are important because they have many overlapping natural resource values."

For the conservationist, it's a valuable way of sorting out an array of competing priorities. And that's important, considering that there are limited dollars available for conservation.

The technology is being used not only by The Nature Conservancy, but also by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, Audubon Society of New Hampshire, N.H. Fish and Game Department, regional planning commissions and many others.

"GIS has quickly become an invaluable tool for conservation analysis and planning," Zankel said. "It allows us to process, quite literally, thousands of pieces of natural resource data. As a result, we can create more robust, more comprehensive conservation plans, and at a much larger scale than ever before."

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New Rules Prohibit Invasive Plants

New Hampshire's efforts against non-native invasive plants are moving forward with the establishment of new rules by the N.H. Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food. The rules took effect June 1 and prohibit anyone from planting, transporting or selling some of the more notorious invasive plants, which can crowd out native plants and wreak havoc on rare plants, natural communities, forests and even agricultural crops.

The rules were drafted by the N.H. Invasive Species Committee, which included representatives from state agencies and organizations. Because of our experience managing invasive species, the Conservancy was invited to be the representative for environmental organizations.

Under the rules, "no person shall knowingly collect, transport, sell, distribute, propagate or transplant" any of 17 plant species. They include Autumn olive, black swallow-wort, blunt-leaved privet, common buckthorn, European barberry, garlic mustard, giant hogweed, glossy buckthorn, Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese knotweed, morrow's honeysuckle, Oriental bittersweet, showy bush honeysuckle, tatarian honeysuckle, tree of heaven, and water-flag iris.

An additional three plant species (all of which have been sold by nurseries for landscape plantings) will be prohibited on January 1, 2007. They include burning bush, Japanese barberry and Norway maple.

 

New Hampshire now joins several other states that prohibit certain invasive plants. But New Hampshire's rules are unique in that the list includes several plants that are ornamentals, or raised in nurseries. Working with the landscaping community to curtail the use of invasive ornamentals is a big step in the right direction because some of these landscaping favorites can pose significant threats. And while other states' lists focus on invasives that threaten agriculture, forestry, grazing and other uses, New Hampshire's list also considered species that threaten natural areas to be a priority.

"The committee's work directly supports a high priority strategy for The Nature Conservancy, which is reducing the threat of invasive species on biodiversity," said Douglas Bechtel, the Conservancy's director of conservation science in New Hampshire and a member of the committee. "Invasive species represent the second highest threat to global biodiversity, behind direct loss of habitat. To achieve our mission, this issue must be addressed on a state and federal policy level, as well as through our stewardship of lands and waters."

"Establishing this prohibited plants list is a responsible and reasonable step in addressing the threats posed by invasive plants," said Daryl Burtnett, state director of The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. "The legislature should be congratulated for establishing the committee and for outlining its role," Burtnett said. Congratulations should also go to Steve Taylor, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food, which led a "fair, systematic and science-based process to develop the list and rules," he said.

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TNC Helping Create Comprehensive
Wildlife Conservation Plan

The Nature Conservancy is helping the N.H. Fish and Game Department create the state's first Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan.

The plan, mandated and funded by the federal government through the State Wildlife Grant program, will be a strategic blueprint for restoring and maintaining critical habitats and wildlife populations. It's a proactive effort to define and implement strategies to keep species from becoming rare, thus saving taxpayers millions of dollars.

New Hampshire's Nature Conservancy staff have participated in creating the plan since last year, but will now take on the added technical role of analyzing the state's lakes and streams and evaluating conservation needs and priorities. TNC will also identify areas for conserving and restoring New Hampshire's interior forests and their habitats using GIS analysis.

The Nature Conservancy is working closely with many states in crafting their Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plans. The Conservancy's Tennessee chapter is coordinating that state's effort.

In New Hampshire, Fish and Game is creating the plan with help from an array of conservation partners. They include the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce College, North East Ecological Services, University of New Hampshire, U.S. Forest Service, N.H. Natural Heritage Bureau, St. Anselm's College and others.

Congress requires eight elements be included in the plan. These include:

• Current distribution and abundance of species;
• Location and condition of critical habitats;
• Identification of threats to wildlife species and habitats;
• Goals for conserving species and critical habitats;
• Monitoring success of conservation actions;
• Regular assessment of the plan;
• Involvement of other agencies that manage wildlife or lands; and
• Involvement of the public.

To further the plan's success, Fish and Game is looking for the public's opinion on various issues involving wildlife conservation. In August, the Department will launch a web-based survey where residents can register their opinions.

For more information, visit http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/wildlife_plan.htm

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That's what the N.H. Natural Heritage Bureau was thinking with its production of recent additions to the "Visiting New Hampshire's Biodiversity" series of brochures. These are great brochures that tell you what to expect, what to look for, what makes these places unique and most important, how to get there.

Including the new ones, the series now covers:

• Franconia Ridge Alpine Zone;
• Franconia Notch Old Forest;
• Fox State Forest Black Gum Swamp in Hillsborough;
• Merrimack River Conservation Area Floodplain Forest in Concord; and
• Manchester Cedar Swamp.

The spiffy guides were produced with funding from the N.H. conservation license plate, a.k.a, the moose plate.

Download them as pdf documents by visiting http://www.nhdfl.org/formgt/nhiweb/guides.htm

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Conserving Your Land: Options for New Hampshire Landowners has just been published by the Center for Land Conservation Assistance (CLCA). It's written by Brenda Lind, who has authored several publications on land conservation, and is edited by Dijit Taylor, director of the CLCA.

The 61-page book is geared specifically for landowners in New Hampshire and covers ownership goals, financial and tax considerations, conveying easements vs. full ownership, family considerations, and many other issues the landowner may consider. The book also has several case studies that illustrate conservation methods.

The CLCA was created in 2001 and is a program of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

Copies of

• By the way, the CLCA is sponsoring workshops next month in Exeter and Farmington on land conservation techniques for municipalities. The workshops on August 5 and 11 will be a big help to municipalities that have passed land conservation bonds. For information, contact Dijit Taylor.

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With your support ...

Working together, we can ensure the diversity of life on Earth and enrich the quality of life in New Hampshire now and for future generations.

You can make a significant impact by helping us preserve and steward land now, which will improve the quality of life on Earth for you, your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren by considering ...

• a life-income gift that provides you and/or your loved ones with a stream of income-generating funds for your retirement of helping to meet your current financial needs;
• putting The Nature Conservancy of New Hampshire in your will;
• gifts of stock or mutual funds;
• a gift of land;
• volunteering;
• introducing us to others; or
• a gift of cash, which is always greatly appreciated.

For more information, contact Tiffany McKenna, director of philanthropy, at 603-224-5853, ext. 15.
Click here to find out how you can help The Nature Conservancy's conservation efforts in New Hampshire and beyond.

Visiting New Hampshire's BiodiversityIf you want to see some of New Hampshire's remarkable plants and natural communities, it's good to have a guide. Conserving Your Land:
A New Book for New Hampshire Landowners:Landowners face a wide array of big decisions when considering if and how to protect their land. Now there's a new book to help landowners understand the issues and sort out the options.Conserving Your Land: Options for New Hampshire Landowners

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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.

Since establishing its first preserve here in 1964, 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

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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.

All subscribers (email addresses) on this list are kept confidential and are not shared by The Nature Conservancy.

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

To subscribe: click here

are available from the CLCA, 603-717-7045. The price is $5 per copy, or $4 for 10 or more copies, including postage."If left unregulated, these species would continue to spread resulting in irreparable impacts throughout the state," said Douglas Cygan, an entomologist with the N.H. Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food who chaired the Invasive Species Committee.

"We also hope it will be considered by public and private funders to highlight the significance of land conservation projects that help to advance the plan. The three land trusts that cooperated in developing the plan will work individually and collaboratively to help ensure these irreplaceable areas get conserved."

Of the Ashuelot River watershed's 268,800 acres: