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November 15, 2004
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The electronic newsletter of The Nature Conservancy's New Hampshire Chapter, a monthly roundup of conservation in the Granite State.
For more information on this and other projects of The Nature Conservancy, visit http://nature.org/newhampshire.
About this e-newsletter
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| In the heart of the Ashuelot River watershed Kimball Faulkner trudges across Bolster Pond at TNC's Otter Brook Preserve in Sullivan. Guiding the future of conservation in the Ashuelot River watershed is a plan recently completed by the Conservancy and partners. Eric Aldrich photo © TNC. |
An Action Plan for the
Ashuelot River Watershed
Standing at the summit of Mount Monadnock and looking west, the Ashuelot River watershed sprawls out before you. The watershed's 269,800 acres stretch from Sunapee's ridge down to Warwick, Mass., over to the Ashuelot River's confluence with the Connecticut River in Hinsdale.
And if you've climbed Monadnock occasionally, you know that the view from the summit changes nearly every time. Each visit reveals more rooftops, more roads and a bit less forest. Fortunately, it's not too late to protect the abundant and diverse natural resources of the Ashuelot watershed.
And now there's new hope on the horizon. After two years of careful and exhaustive research, there's a plan for conservation action for the Ashuelot River watershed.
It's called "A Land Conservation Plan for the Ashuelot River Watershed" and was produced by a partnership of The Nature Conservancy, Monadnock Conservancy, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and the Southwest Region Planning Commission. It was created with public input from a broad range of stakeholders, including citizens, scientists, conservation organizations and natural resource agencies.
A Blueprint for Action
The primary purposes of the Ashuelot River Watershed Land Conservation Plan are to provide a blueprint for conservation action, and to develop a greater understanding among land trusts and other entities for how to engage, individually and collectively, in land conservation. Our hope is that the plan will serve as a valuable guide, tool, and information resource for landowners, communities, land trusts, and public agencies that are interested in land conservation.
In addition, the plan aims to:
- greatly enhance the understanding of the importance, distribution, and status of the watershed’s key natural resource features;
- develop a shared vision and a set of clear priorities for land conservation in the Ashuelot River watershed; and,
- galvanize support to effect land conservation.
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. It's not intended to supplant other plans that address natural resource issues in the region, but rather to augment and complement.
"The plan lays the groundwork for a very bright future for land conservation in the watershed," said Richard Ober, executive director of the Monadnock Conservancy. "For the first time, we have a comprehensive plan that highlights some of the most important open space lands in the watershed. We see this plan working on several levels -- as a blueprint for proactive work, a reference to check when we get an inquiry, and an educational tool for our towns."
"The process of developing this plan gave all of us a chance to learn a lot about the Ashuelot River watershed," said Mark Zankel, director of conservation programs for TNC in New Hampshire. "It not only develops strategic priorities to help our organizations, but also serves as a valuable resource for anybody else interested in protecting the health of this river system."
A Method for Conservation
The partners used a systematic process that was developed by The Nature Conservancy as a conservation planning tool, and which is used by organizations around the globe. We identified conservation targets (i.e. those natural features we most want to conserve), the stresses to those targets and the sources of stress. Finally, we developed a collection of land conservation strategies to protect and maintain the long-term health of the conservation targets. This final step included identifying, documenting, and mapping areas that, from a watershed perspective, are especially important for plants, wildlife, ecosystems, and water quality.
In developing the plan, the partners sought input from a variety of people, familiar with the Ashuelot watershed, including local scientists and naturalists, natural resource agency staff, conservation groups, consultants, and others.
The conservation targets include: the Ashuelot River mainstem, major tributaries, small tributaries and headwater streams, unfragmented forest ecosystems, forest patch communities, important wetland complexes, and significant wildlife habitats.
Among their primary sources of stress are: incompatible residential development, new and upgraded roads and utilities, poor logging practices, dams, invasive species, poor stormwater management, atmospheric deposition and incompatible recreation.
Mapping for Conservation
State-of-the-art computerized (GIS) mapping technology played a large role in identifying the watershed's important areas for plants, wildlife and ecosystems. Using a method called "co-occurrence mapping" The Nature Conservancy looked at a wide range of geographic information, assigning numeric values to certain features that occur in a particular location.
For instance, places with rare habitats received a higher value -- and show up darker on the maps -- than places without them. Similarly, larger forest blocks, which typically support more habitat and wildlife diversity, scored higher than smaller ones. Using this system we were able to overlay many types of information, including wetland and riparian areas, forest soils, water resources and quality of core forests. What emerged on the maps were a series of dark areas representing the places that are most important for conserving the watershed's health and natural heritage.
In all, the plan identifies 13 terrestrial areas and 20 river and stream reaches that are considered to be of exceptional habitat significance from a watershed perspective.
"I am confident that the 13 focus areas are critical to the health of the overall watershed because they were chosen not only through careful scientific analysis, but more importantly after extensive discussions with individuals who posses intimate knowledge of the watershed," said Brian Hotz, of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. "The plan passes on this important local knowledge."
What's Protected? What's Not?
Knowing the watershed's important natural features leads to the next question: What's the status of land conservation? Fortunately, there's a lot of land protected -- 23 percent of the entire watershed has some measure of protection -- thanks to the hard work and foresight of many organizations, agencies and individuals.
But the partners' analysis shows areas of significant need for conservation. For instance, the vast majority of the protected land (five out of six acres) allows commercial timber harvesting, while only 3.5 percent of the watershed is protected and managed as natural area. And in nine of the 13 important habitat areas identified in the plan, less than 25 percent of the land is protected.
Also revealing is the focus of previous land protection efforts on "the peaks," rather than "the valleys." Of the watershed's elevations over 2,000 feet, more than 86 percent are protected. Between 1,500 and 2,000 feet, this declines to 46 percent protected. At zero to 500 feet, only 10 percent of the watershed is protected. River valleys and lowlands disproportionately harbor natural features of both ecological and economic significance.
Conservation Strategies
So what is to be done to protect important areas identified by the partners? Here are a few of the strategies offered in the plan:
- Launch an Ashuelot River watershed land protection partnership. It could begin with the three land trusts that developed this plan but could expand to towns, agencies or other conservation organizations. The partnership could collaborate on protecting land, leveraging funds and raising awareness.
- Encourage donations of land and conservation easements through targeted landowner outreach and education. Forge relationships with key landowners.
- Purchase land and conservation easements.
- Use land protection to maintain large un-roaded forest blocks and to protect un-dammed streams.
Other recommendations call for building community awareness, increasing funding for land conservation, and protecting and restoring riparian habitats.
To download a copy of the plan, click here.
TNC Comments on White Mountain
National Forest Plan Revision
With a few caveats of specific concerns, The Nature Conservancy supports the proposed forest plan revision for the White Mountain National Forest.
The Forest Service's preferred alternative for the national forest "has clear objectives to increase biodiversity health in a number of significant areas," according to the Conservancy. "It is the most comprehensive treatment of the state of the White Mountain National Forest, its forest types, roads, aquatic and terrestrial diversity, vegetation management and social influences we have seen.
The Forest Service in September made public its preferred alternative for a revised management plan for the 794,000-acre national forest. The service is accepting comments on the proposed plan until December 16.
The White Mountain National Forest is one of the most ecologically significant areas in the Northeastern U.S., due to the large unfragmented forests, ecosystem diversity, hundreds of state and globally rare plant, animal, exemplary natural community sites and diverse high-quality waters. "There is no better opportunity to represent the region's biodiversity in core areas surrounded by well-managed forests than here," according to the Conservancy's response.
Some highlights of the Conservancy's comments:
Forest management: The Conservancy hopes adjustments can be made to the plan to improve the balance between extractive and non-extractive management of the White Mountains' various forest types.
Wilderness areas: Additional wilderness designation is needed for some valley bottom areas. Most of the proposed no-cut areas (wilderness or otherwise) are similar forest types to those already protected.
Summer motorized recreation: The Conservancy supports the Service's recommendation to not designate certain trails for ATVs and other recreational vehicles.
For more information about the proposed forest plan revision, visit:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/white/3_WM_fpr_Web/forest_plan/forest_plan.htm
TNC's Peter Benson Certifies
for Forest Stewardship Council
Peter Benson, TNC-NH's northern New Hampshire program manager, has recently completed an intensive training and passed a test to become a certifier/auditor for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
FSC is one of two nationwide forest certification programs, the other being Sustainable Forestry Initiative. FSC establishes principles, criteria, and standards on economic, social, and environmental concerns. Its standards are considered among the world's highest for guiding sustainable forest management. The FSC system includes stakeholders with a diverse array of perspectives on what represents a well-managed and sustainable forest.
In becoming a certifier, Peter learned valuable skills that will enhance our knowledge of sustainable and environmentally sensitive forest management. Peter may be asked to serve on certification teams evaluating lands within TNC's ecoregional portfolio in New Hampshire or surrounding states, lending TNC's expertise and perspective to the certification process.
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| Three Birds Orchid (triphora trianthophora) at TNC's Frank Bolles Preserve. Jeff Lougee photo © TNC. |
A Surprising Find at TNC's
Frank Bolles Preserve
Conservancy staff had heard this summer that it was a banner year for a globally rare flower called three birds orchid (triphora trianthophora). And Peter Benson, TNC-NH's northern New Hampshire program manager, had long speculated that TNC's Frank Bolles Preserve in Tamworth might have the right habitat for the three birds orchid.
So in August, Jeff Lougee, stewardship ecologist for TNC in New Hampshire, decided to have a look. He found a pretty sizeable population of the state-threatened plant, which until then had not been documented at the preserve. Lougee then worked with the N.H. Natural Heritage Bureau to thoroughly map the population.
Populations of the orchid are known to have hundreds of stems in one year, then fewer than a dozen the next year. When stems do emerge, they develop rapidly over two weeks, then flower simultaneously.
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| Doone Mountain in Hancock, recently protected by the Harris Center for Conservation Education, helps extend the Supersanctuary and safeguards important wildlife habitat. Meade Cadot photo. |
Harris Center for Conservation
Education Protects Doone Mountain
Over in southwestern New Hampshire, the Harris Center for Conservation Education has protected 233 acres in Harrisville, an important addition to the so-called Supersanctuary.
Thanks to friends of the Supersanctuary, The Harris Center has recently bought 233 acres that abut previously protected land near the Harrisville/Hancock town line. The newly protected lands include summit ledges on Doone Mountain and about 1,500 feet of frontage on Hancock Road. The land also includes about 3,000 feet along Jaquith Brook.
This year’s conservation efforts bring the total land directly protected by the Harris Center to 8,700 acres, and the entire Supersanctuary to 12,500 acres. These latest additions greatly enhance its landscape diversity by adding lowland wetland and stream frontage so important to the likes of otter, moose and black bear, as well as many birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
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| Join the Conservancy to Fall Mountain: January 19 and February 24. |
Nature Conservancy Field Trips
To sign up for these field trips, please contact Megan Lepage: 603-224-5853, ext. 23.
TNC field trips are free and open to members and non-members. Please leave pets at home. Field trips will proceed when six or more people are signed up ... so register soon!
Great Bay
Thursday, January 27 and February 21
Come explore the winter wonders of Great Bay. Depending on conditions we'll cross-country ski or snowshoe on a TNC-protected land and look for signs of the bay's winter wildlife.
Fall Mountain, Charlestown
Wednesday, January 19 and Thursday, February 24
Join us for a snowshoe to see the beauty of this spectacular landscape. We will travel off the trail and across the ponds to experience the natural wonders of the season and to look for signs of winter wildlife.
Upcoming Events:
- In May, we'll see conservation work in the North Country, including Bunnell and Hurlburt Swamp Preserves.
- This spring, join us for a Legacy Club breakfast.
- This June, an adventure at The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in Dixville Notch to see our conservation efforts. This includes two fabulous days of food, fun and conservation.
