|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
||||
Loverens Mill Cedar Swamp, Antrim - E. Aldrich photo
Nature.org Donate Nature.org/newhampshire
|
 |
|
Action for Wildlife: With help from The Nature Conservancy and other partners, the N.H. Fish and Game Department has submitted for federal review a Wildlife Action Plan for conserving the state's wildlife and habitats. The Wildlife Action Plan is the first of its kind and the state's most comprehensive look at the wildlife and habitats, including those in need of conservation. New Hampshire's wildlife plan is among those recently submitted by states and territories to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to continue receiving State Wildlife Grants. The Service will distribute $68.5 million in grants next spring for states and territories to implement approved action plans, including $600,000 for New Hampshire. The New Hampshire plan represents nearly three years of intensive research and analysis and was led by New Hampshire Fish and Game biologists collaborating with conservation partners from a dozen organizations. It also reflects extensive participation and input from other conservation leaders and the public. The official, final version of the Wildlife Action Plan will be announced in early 2006, once reviewed by a team of eight U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and five state wildlife administrators and approved by the director of the Service. The plan outlines specific steps, developed by conservationists, scientists, sportspeople and other members of the community, working together, that can be taken to conserve wildlife and habitat in New Hampshire. In developing the plan, biologists identified and studied 104 priority species and 27 habitats in greatest need of conservation in New Hampshire. Partnering organizations, agencies and academic institutions completed assessments of these species and habitats, with the backing of more than a half-million dollars in federal funds through State Wildlife Grants. The New Hampshire chapter of The Nature Conservancy has participated in creating the plan since 2003, but was also working under contract by the Fish and Game Department to develop two technical aspects of the plan. One involved analyzing the state's lakes and streams to evaluate conservation needs and priorities. The other involved identifying areas for conserving and restoring New Hampshire's interior forests and their habitats using sophisticated computer mapping analysis. The Nature Conservancy is working closely with many other states in crafting their Wildlife Action Plans. In Tennessee, for example, the Conservancy is coordinating that state's overall plan. The New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan details the state's distribution and abundance of wildlife; species and habitat conditions; risks to species and habitat; and conservation actions that could be taken to improve the future for wildlife. High-tech wildlife mapping done for the Wildlife Action Plan identifies New Hampshire's habitats in greatest need of conservation, as well as "predicted" or potential habitats for many of the priority species. Biologists conducted a risk assessment to consider state and local impacts on wildlife, such as habitat change and development; and many regional factors, such as airborne pollutants and global climate change. Once implemented, the strategies in the Wildlife Action Plan will help conserve wildlife and natural places in New Hampshire, enhancing the quality of life for people. "The Wildlife Action Plan shows that wildlife face many challenges in New Hampshire, but if we invest in strategies now, we can conserve wildlife and vital natural habitats for future generations," said John Kanter, coordinator for Fish and Game's Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program. "The plan gives communities, conservation commissions, planning boards, and leaders in transportation and economic development more complete information about wildlife populations and critical habitats. As our communities grow, the Wildlife Action Plan will help guide their important decisions around local and regional land and water use and development, so we can fulfill our responsibility to safeguard wildlife and the places they live." Learn more about and see New Hampshire's Wildlife Action Plan. Hole in the Donut: A relatively small but critical "hole in the donut" has been protected from development near Great Bay in Durham, thanks to The Nature Conservancy and the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership. The Nature Conservancy, on behalf of the Partnership, has recently purchased a 20-acre parcel off Dame Road from Barry and Sky Ryan. "This is an important piece because of its linkage with other surrounding protected lands, including some previously protected by the Partnership and the UNH Browne Center," said Duane Hyde, director of protection for TNC in New Hampshire. In addition to open fields and woodlands, the parcel also includes a beaver flowage that flows into Crommet Creek. The piece is part of the original Dame Farm. The tract will ultimately be transferred to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, which owns an adjoining 96-acre piece protected by the Partnership in 1997. Funds for the purchase came from a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership is a comprehensive approach to identify and protect Great Bay’s most critical habitats. With The Nature Conservancy as lead acquisition agent, the partners also include the, Ducks Unlimited, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Natural Resources Conservation Service, New Hampshire Audubon, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Since 1994 the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership has protected more than 4,000 acres of critical habitat around Great Bay. Local communities and other organizations have protected an additional 3,020 acres that the partnership has been able to use as match to leverage federal funding. The leading sources of funds include the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, North American Wetland Conservation Act and private donations. You're invited ... Come celebrat the holiday season with our staff, supporters and friends. Meet the chapter staff. Learn first-hand about our conservation efforts, including:
If you have questions or need directions, call 603-224-5853.
Healthy Rivers: The Nature Conservancy’s Eastern Region and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers North Atlantic Division have signed an agreement that brings together the combined strength and expertise of the two organizations under the shared goal of improving sustainable management of water resources and riparian habitats in the northeastern United States. Under the partnership, The Nature Conservancy and the Army Corps of Engineers will work together to implement new and innovative techniques and strategies, sharing scientific, conservation and engineering expertise to provide vital human services while protecting the rich and diverse ecosystems of the northeast. “With the signing of this agreement, we are formalizing a partnership and anticipate working together to protect critical watersheds in the northeast, and to facilitate environmental protection and sustainable growth,” said Brig. Gen. William T. Grisoli, commander of the Corps’ North Atlantic Division. “By aligning The Nature Conservancy’s ecological expertise and the Army Corps’ engineering excellence under a shared ecological goal, we are creating a powerful force for watershed protection,” said Mike Andrews, chief conservation officer for The Nature Conservancy. “Our partnership has already achieved notable success. With the removal of the Cuddebackville Dam from the Neversink River, American shad and native brook trout can migrate upstream for the first time in 100 years.” New Hampshire’s Ashuelot River, flowing 64 miles from Pillsbury State Park in Washington to its confluence with the Connecticut River in Hinsdale, has been selected as one of nine priority projects under the partners’ Sustainable Rivers Initiative. The 268,800-acre watershed includes many high priority ecological targets for The Nature Conservancy, and two flood control dams operated by the Army Corps of Engineers (Otter Brook Dam in Roxbury and Surry Mountain Dam in Surry). Vermont’s West River, which enters the Connecticut River in Brattleboro, is also one of the partners’ priority rivers. Learn more about the TNC/Army Corps partnership.
Getting it Done: Thanks to a hearty group of volunteers, a recently protected tract near Great Bay in Durham is a lot cleaner now. About 10 local volunteers helped remove junk and construction debris from a portion of lands off Dame Road. They hauled out four trailers of debris, two pick-up loads of wood and another two pick-ups of scrap metal. "The property looks fantastic now," said Joanne Glode, TNC's Great Bay stewardship ecologist. "Many thanks to those who helped."
|
