|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
||||
Granite State Glances
August 15, 2004
Contents:
Techno Tools vs. Invasive Plants Close-up View of Conservation:
New Osprey Viewing Platform in StrathamSmall but Key Parcels Protected near Squamscott River A New Texture for Oysters? Complete the NH Wildlife Survey Survey Says: NH Residents Choose Conservation The electronic newsletter of The Nature Conservancy's New Hampshire Chapter, a monthly roundup of conservation in the Granite State. Feel free to send this along to anyone who might be interested. For more information on this and other projects of The Nature Conservancy, visit http://nature.org/newhampshire.
About this e-newsletter
Subscribe
Unsubscribe/change Profile
Contact TNC in New HampshireClick here for N.H. Chapter's Spring '04 Newsletter (PDF - 477 K)
From Satellites to Invasives - Dave Govatski of the White Mountain National Forest uses a GPS receiver to record the location of spotted knapweed, an invasive plant with the pink flowers in front of him. Govatski was part of a team recently trained by TNC in the use of GPS and handheld computers to monitor invasive plants.
Mandy Tu photo © TNC.
Techno Tools vs. Invasive Plants
New Approach Being Tested at NH Refuge
There's nothing like the urgency of an imminent threat to encourage innovation.
In this case, the threat comes from non-native invasive plants and their suffocating stronghold on native ecosystems.
And the innovation is the marriage of new technology and field work to better understand and manage invasive plant species.
It involves those pocket personal computers - barely bigger than a calculator - together with Global Positioning System receivers, and some sophisticated software.
The Weed Information Management System (WIMS) was developed by The Nature Conservancy in Oregon and is now being tested by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a pilot program. Conservancystaff recently went to Pondicherry National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson and Whitefield to train U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials and local volunteers in the use of WIMS. The Pondicherry refuge is one of six sites nationwide selected to take part in the pilot program; the other refuges are in California, Florida, Montana, Texas and Ohio.
"This system makes it a whole lot easier to monitor invasive plants, keep track of control efforts, and measure the results," said Doug Bechtel, the Conservancy's director of conservation science in New Hampshire. "That's important because if we're going to succeed in eradicating invasive plants, we need to understand where they are and how our efforts are working. The new tool developed by TNC and being tested by the Fish and Wildlife Service is a great way to blend new technology with old fashioned on-the-ground field work."
At Pondicherry last month, Bechtel joined Conservancy staff from Oregon who were training U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials how to use the new monitoring system.
Essentially, it involves going to a site where you want to monitor an invasive plant. You connect the GPS unit to the pocket PC, which contains a database and simple forms for entering data. You fill out the form, upload the geographic coordinates, and move on to the next invasive plant outbreak.
Back at the office, the geographic coordinates and linked field data are uploaded to a computer and can be used for mapping and analyzing invasive plants. It can keep track of how a patch of invasives changes over time, how intense the infestation is, and how effective any control is working.
"If we want to see how well a particular herbicide has worked over time, this system will let us do that," Bechtel said.
The pilot project involves six national wildlife refuges around the country. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will test the system and see if it should be used around the country.
The N.H. Natural Heritage Bureau has plans to use a similar system to keep track of rare plants and natural communities around the state.
For more information on The Nature Conservancy's Invasive Species Initiative, visit http://nature.org/initiatives/invasivespecies.
|
|
| The new osprey viewing platform in Stratham tops off a five-year partnership called Project Osprey. It will soon have a built-in spotting scope to let you see nearby nesting ospreys. Liza Poinier photo © NH Fish & Game. |
A Close-Up View of Conservation:
New Osprey Viewing Platform in Stratham
There's a new place to see a conservation success story in New Hampshire.
It's in Stratham, a new, well-equipped viewing platform where you can get a great look at a magnificent osprey nest.
The spacious platform is situated in an ideal spot near the banks of the Squamscott River and Great Bay, and will soon have a built-in spotting scope, capable of zooming in on the ospreys and other birds around the salt marsh.
The new viewing platform tops off a five-year partnership called Project Osprey, a collaboration of the N.H. Fish and Game Department, Public Service of New Hampshire and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire. The partners worked together to foster the population growth of this majestic raptor. They identified nesting sites, built nesting platforms, installed predator guards, and recruited volunteers to monitor osprey activity.
Today, New Hampshire has a record number of ospreys and active osprey nests, including the one in Stratham. Last year, New Hampshire had 30 active osprey nests and 54 young fledged. That's 10 times the number of osprey that fledged in 1980.
"The success of Project Osprey is proof that with time, funding and dedicated people, we can bring back wildlife species from the brink," said John Kanter, coordinator of Fish and Game's Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program. "I hope that learning about and celebrating osprey restoration will inspire an increased commitment from people -- and potential future wildlife partners -- to work toward conserving all New Hampshire wildlife."
The new viewing platform is built on the site of another successful conservation partnership: land protected in 2001 by The Nature Conservancy on behalf of the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership. Since 1994, this unique partnership of agencies and organizations has protected more than 6,300 acres, including local match parcels. With The Nature Conservancy serving as lead acquisition agent, the partners also include the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, Ducks Unlimited, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Natural Resources Conservation Service, N.H. Fish and Game Department, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The viewing platform is on Fish and Game land, just south of Chapman's Landing boat access site, near the Route 108 bridge over the Squamscott River.
Small but Key Parcels
Protected Near Squamscott River
And speaking of the Squamscott River, three small but important tracts of land there have been protected, thanks to recent gifts.
All three contain valuable salt marsh habitat and are adjacent to land already protected by the town of Stratham or the N.H. Fish and Game Department. The parcels were donated to The Nature Conservancy with the understanding that they will be transferred to the Fish and Game Department.
Daniel and Dianne Monahan of New Durham have donated 7 acres near the Squamscott River. And heirs of the late Carl W. Barker of Stratham have donated two parcels -- 3 and 2.7 acres -- also near the Squamscott River.
"This is part of a bigger effort by the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership to consolidate some of the protected lands around the bay," said Robert Miller, the Conservancy's Great Bay project director. "We appreciate these generous gifts. These are small parcels, but they have tremendous conservation value."
|
|
| An oyster condo, like this one that marine ecologist Jay Odell prepares to toss into Great Bay, may help reveal what kinds of conditions oyster larvay prefer in the bay. Eric Aldrich photo © TNC. |
Ever hear of an oyster condo?
Jay Odell has built several oyster condos, and they're part of a restoration experiment in Great Bay.
Odell is Great Bay marine ecologist for the Conservancy in New Hampshire and he's trying to determine what kind of conditions oyster larvae will prefer in the bay.
Once oyster larvae are about three weeks old, they're ready to settle down in a place that’s safe from predators. They need the right kind of conditions on the bottom where they can attach themselves, start feeding and grow. Old oyster shells are ideal, but there aren't enough (at least not yet) in Great Bay.
So Odell is experimenting with textures and protective arrangements. He's fashioned "oyster condos," which are cement tiles layered with small openings in mesh bags. Another type uses oyster shells in mesh bags. He's placed the bags in various habitats to help determine which conditions oyster larvae favor.
Identifying the hotspots where oysters settle could help large scale restoration success. His project is among several others aimed at understanding and reversing Great Bay's declining oyster numbers.
Complete the New Hampshire
Wildlife Conservation Survey
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is coordinating a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan that will prioritize the state's wildlife and wildlife habitat conservation to safeguard our wildlife legacy. The state's partners, including TNC and other conservation organizations, agencies, researchers and others, are helping to develop this comprehensive plan. To ensure the plan's effectiveness, the plan needs input from across the board -- biologists; local, state and federal agencies; conservation groups; business leaders; private landowners and many others.
In March 2004, Fish and Game held a "Wildlife Summit," gathering 100 people from around the state to identify major wildlife issues and goals to work toward through the comprehensive wildlife conservation plan.
Now it's your turn! Tell Fish and Game what you think about priority issues and actions for wildlife conservation in New Hampshire. Take this online survey to describe and rank the issues that you think are important.
Take the survey by visiting: http://cecf1.unh.edu/formbuilder/forms/form46_cwcpsurv.htm
Survey Says ...
NH Residents Choose Conservation over Big Development
Another recent survey confirms New Hampshire residents' support for conservation.
The survey was conducted by Responsive Management on behalf of the N.H. Fish and Game Department. It asked 122 residents about their attitudes toward public land and managing public lands.
One question asked: "If your town had to make a choice between a big development project that would reduce your taxes or saving the habitat for a rare plant or animal, how would you vote?"
While 14 percent favored the big development project, a whopping 75 percent would rather save habitat for a rare plant or animal.
Other questions gauged opinions on appropriate uses of public land:
- Fifty-two percent said that timber harvesting was a "very important" use of public land; 36 said it was "somwhat important."
- Forty-six percent said that winter motorized recreation, such as snowmobiles, are an important or somewhat important use of public land.
- Thirty-seven percent said that summer motorized recreation, such as ATVs, is a very important or somewhat important use of public land.
- Fifty-nine percent support prescribed burns as a land management technique; 25 percent oppose it.
In February, another survey revealed that New Hampshire voters show strong support for conservation, especially for local projects.
The survey was done by the University of New Hampshire Center for Integrative Regional Problem Solving. It surveyed nearly 500 voters who had participated in their annual town meeting last March.
In that survey, 41 percent said that "growth/sprawl/open space" was the biggest issue or problem in their towns, beating out taxes (30 percent), and "schools/quality of education" (25 percent).
TNC-Guided Field Trip to Great Bay August 24: Great Bay, site of an ambitious and innovative land protection project by TNC and partners. Hike led by Douglas Bechtel, TNC's director of conservation science. The hike is free and open to the public. To sign up and receive more information, contact Megan Lepage: 603-224-5853. 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 future generations by considering ... 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.
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
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
