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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 |
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About this e-newsletter Find out how you can support The Nature Conservancy's conservation work in New Hampshire. Support TNC. TNC Worldview:
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| Big Save on Great Bay Shackford Point in Newmarket Protected from Development Where the waters of the Lamprey and the Squamscott rivers meet at the west end of Great Bay, there is a wooded point of land where eagles scan the water for a meal, and thousands of waterfowl congregate. Since there is no road, the few who have visited this wonderful place arrive by kayak, canoe or duck boat. Now, after a decade of effort by conservation supporters in the community and the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership, Shackford Point is now permanently protected from development by a deal completed Feb. 1 by The Nature Conservancy.
The purchase protects 85.7 acres at Shackford Point, land well-known in the Great Bay area as the Sawyer Farm. Generations of the Sawyer family farmed the land until 2002, when Warren Sawyer Jr. died. On behalf of the partnership, The Nature Conservancy today purchased two parcels: 34.9 acres at Shackford Point and another 23.5 acres along the Lamprey River. Those parcels were purchased from Bolivar Realty LLC. Ultimately The Conservancy will transfer those parcels to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. More Habitat Protected at The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy announced today the addition of 309 acres to the Pondicherry Division of the Silvio Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson and Whitefield. The newly acquired land in Jefferson is between Airport Road and Cherry Pond and is adjacent to a 615-acre parcel that was added to the refuge in September. It is part of the complex of habitat that make Pondicherry one of the state’s most important bird areas.
Arrangements to purchase this property were made by the New Hampshire chapter of The Nature Conservancy. TNC secured a purchase and sales contract allowing the property to be transferred directly from the seller, Robert Stiles of Whitefield, to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "This is a good thing to have happen," Stiles said. "The refuge is where this land belongs." Stiles has known the land for more than 50 years and has admired its abundant wildlife from both the ground and the air. Funding for the purchase comes from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was created by Congress to protect important land and water. Funding for this account comes from proceeds generated from products or privileges involving public lands. Attention New Hampshire Communities: The N.H. Land and Community Heritage Investment Program knows that New Hampshire has a growing backlog of conservation projects that need funding. Now the program wants to know exactly how many communities have such projects and what those projects are. The program has put out a call for projects and is hoping for a big response. The information will help LCHIP in upcoming budget discussions with Gov. John Lynch and the Legislature. The deadline for submitting projects is today, Feb. 14. Forms can be submitted by fax at 603-224-5112. Forms and more information are available at http://www.lchip.org/ProjectCall2005.htm. New Resource for Coastal Conservation:
The job of conservation is a lot easier when you know exactly what resources are worthy of protecting. With that in mind, The Nature Conservancy, the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau and New Hampshire Audubon have recently completed an ecological inventory of the Cocheco River and Follet's Brook watersheds in the Dover/Durham area. During the project, scientists documented six rare plant species, three exemplary natural communities, and forty-nine wildlife species that are considered a priority for conservation and management, including American black duck, woodcock, Canada warbler and wood thrush. The results of the inventory will help direct conservation activities of the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership, local land trusts and towns by providing field data on significant wildlife habitat and ecological features. The partners identified four areas considered to be of exceptional habitat significance from a regional or statewide perspective:
“This kind of work is so important because it helps citizens and conservation organizations focus scarce conservation resources on those areas that, based on sound science, offer the best opportunities for protecting critical habitat,” said Mark Zankel, director of conservation programs for the Conservancy in New Hampshire and editor of the inventory's report. "Our hope is that this report will serve as a valuable guide, tool and information resource for landowners, communities, land trusts and public agencies that are interested in conserving sensitive coastal resources." Funds for the project were provided by the New Hampshire Estuaries Project, the city of Dover, towns of Durham and Newmarket and private donors. Honoring Conservationists: New Hampshire Audubon’s Board of Trustees requests nominations for the following awards to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the membership on June 4, 2005. The Tudor Richards Award is presented annually to an individual who best exemplifies Tudor Richards’ love and knowledge of the outdoors and who has worked tirelessly and effectively on behalf of conservation in New Hampshire. The Goodhue-Elkins Award is presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the study of New Hampshire birds. The award is named for Charles Goodhue, one of New Hampshire’s great pioneer birders, and Kimball Elkins, the model of critical observation and insightful record-keeping. Please submit the following information in confidence by mail, fax, or e-mail to: Nominations will be accepted until April 4 for the current year. Please provide:
Upcoming TNC Field Trips and Events To sign up for these events, please contact Megan Lepage, org or 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 now! Great Bay, Durham Fall Mountain, Charlestown Upcoming Events:
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