Bear-Paw Print - Spring 2008

Here are some selected articles from our latest newsletter.  For a complete copy, click here. An archive of all of our previous editions can be found on the bottom of this page.

Isinglass River Project to Protect 800 Acres
A Note From the Chair
New Hampshire Congressional Delegation Pledges Support To Isinglass Project
Town Tracks
Bear-Paw Annual Meeting Notes
Community Profile - Peatlands
There's more to be found!
Conservation Funding
Partnership is the Key to Protecting 175 acres in Deerfield
Conservation Project Nearly Complete!
Grants & Project Support
Bear-Paw Membership Grows in 2007
Clay Pond Headwaters Project Approved for $300,000 LCHIP Grant
Calendar of Spring & Summer Events
Join Us for a Biothon!





Isinglass River Project to Protect 800 Acres
Partners Need to Raise Over $150,000 More to Complete

The Isinglass River slips among snow covered boulders - over one mile of frontage will be protected. Photo credit: Dan Kern

Normally it is all good news when you get a $1.3 million grant for the purchase of a $1.5 million property. However, when you have to "match" that grant dollar for dollar, it suddenly becomes a $2.6 million project ($1.3 million X 2) and you start scrambling to make it work. That is where our friends at the Trust for Public Land (TPL) found themselves last year when they learned that their $1.3 million application for federal Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) funding was ranked 1st in the nation.

This conservation project was initiated when TPL negotiated an option to purchase a 287-acre tract of land with over 7,800 feet of frontage on the Isinglass River in Strafford for $1.5 million - a local developer was in the final stages of having the property approved for a 70 lot subdivision. Working with Bear-Paw and the Town of Strafford, TPL spearheaded the effort to secure the federal funding to permanently protect this important resource for future generations.

In order to receive the CELCP grant, the project partners need to "match" that federal funding with an equivalent amount of local or state support. Fortunately, the match can be made up through the appraised value of other land conserved as well as other cash contributed to the project. Three local private property owners have agreed to donate conservation easements and/or land to the Town of Strafford and Bear-Paw. The Strafford School District also recently approved conveying an easement on a portion of land that they own in Town. These generous gifts will permanently protect 500 additional acres of land in the Isinglass River watershed and will provide over $1 million of match toward the federal grant.

Despite those gifts and the Town of Strafford's Conservation Commission's commitment of $150,000 to the effort, there is still a $250,000 cash shortfall. TPL and Bear-Paw have been working to raise the rest for over a year. As of now, grants have already been approved by the Fuller Foundation, the McIninch Foundation, the New Hampshire Estuaries Project, the Samuel P. Hunt Foundation, and the State Conservation Committee through the Conservation Plate Program - with at least five other requests still outstanding. TPL and Bear-Paw are also contacting local supporters of conservation to secure additional private contributions. If you want to support this Isinglass River Watershed initiative please let us know!

This wetland created by an abandoned beaver dam is just one example of a wide variety of habitats found on the project properties. Photo credit: Dan Kern

Water, Wildlife Habitat, and Forests
Of the hundreds of waterways in New Hampshire, only 14 rivers are officially recognized as outstanding natural and cultural resources. The 18-mile Isinglass River, which runs through the rapidly developing southeastern portion of the state, is one of these select few. The 287-acre property that fronts on the river is located within a 1,500-acre block of relatively intact forest and is important habitat for a variety of wildlife species as well as a popular recreational destination for fishing, hiking, and boating.
The Isinglass River property is located within a Conservation Focus Area identified in the Land Conservation Plan for New Hampshire's Coastal Watersheds and was identified as important by the New Hampshire State Wildlife Action Plan. The property provides critical habitat for mink, otter, deer, moose, black bear, and bobcat. According to the Watershed Management Bureau at the N.H. Department of Environmental Services, six threatened or endangered species have been reported along the Isinglass River corridor, including: common loon, Cooper's hawk, small-footed bat, bald eagle, osprey, and the common nighthawk.

Betsy McGean, Michael Giammusso and Gregg Caporossi from TPL explore the Isinglass River property with Phil Auger. Photo credit: Dan Kern

Matt Leahy from Senator Gregg's office discusses the project with Gregg Caporossi from TPL. Photo credit: Dan Kern

In addition to providing critical wildlife habitat along its shores, the Isinglass River is considered an important fishery. Naturally occurring warm-water game fish include small and largemouth bass in the lower portion of the river. The New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game stocks more than 3,000 rainbow trout and 2,500 brook trout in the headwaters and over 73,000 Atlantic salmon fry are being stocked as part of an ongoing anadromous fish restoration effort. Several species of concern are known to live in the Isinglass River, including the American eel, banded sunfish, bridle shiner, and the blacknose shiner, a fish located in only one other waterway in the state.

The Isinglass River property offers recreational benefits as well as habitat protection. A trail network already exists on the property, which makes hiking a popular activity. Pig Lane, the Class VI road that provides access to the Isinglass River property, is used extensively for walking, snow mobiles and mountain biking. Hunting and fishing have long been historic uses of the property, and access for these activities will continue. Due to the free-flowing nature of the Isinglass River it also provides both challenging whitewater and relaxing flat water boating opportunities for canoeists and kayakers.

Private Campaign Underway
To make a personal contribution to support this outstanding conservation opportunity, please send your gift to The Trust for Public Land, 33 Union Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02108 or contact Patti Murray at 617-367-6200 for more information. Checks should be payable to TPL with a notation "Isinglass River Project".
Thank you!





A Note From the Chair
By Harmony Anderson

It began with the grant proposal by the Trust for Public Land (TPL), and continued in hours and hours of meetings with town boards, commissions, and landowners by Bear-Paw and TPL to explain the project and gather support. The Strafford Conservation Commission, charitable foundations, and grant programs have all made commitments to the project. Generous private landowners have agreed to donate conservation easements or actual gifts of land to Strafford toward the "match" value for the grant.  Strafford voters by a large margin have also contributed by supporting the conservation of 290 acres of School District property that will help complete the match.
Now we are looking for a last group of benefactors who will bring this project home.  As explained in the article on these pages, there is the opportunity to answer an important financial need.  Our thanks for contributions will be as public or private as donors wish.
  
Best wishes,
Harmony Anderson
Board Chair





New Hampshire Congressional Delegation Pledges Support To Isinglass Project

Senator Gregg
"As the nation's population continues to soar along the coasts, development is encroaching on thousands of acres of environmentally significant wetlands and coastal habitats. That is why I established this conservation program in 2001. I am pleased to know NOAA will join the efforts to conserve this property and I would like to thank the TPL, the Town of Strafford and the Bear-Paw Regional Greenways for the actions they are taking to reach this goal."

U.S. Representative Carol Shea-Porter
U.S. Representative Carol Shea-Porter, a resident of near-by Rochester: "I have the good fortune to live near the Isinglass River, and I know what a valuable resource it is for our community. I'm happy to be a part in helping to secure funding for this project and I'm very pleased that NOAA has placed it at the top of their list."

Senator Sununu
"Land along the Isinglass River in Strafford is among the most sensitive and vital wildlife habitats in New Hampshire, and I am pleased that NOAA recognizes its importance. Working together with local residents, conservation groups, and public entities, I remain committed to ensuring this acreage is protected for generations to come."



Town Tracks
Updates From Your Neck Of The Woods

Candia
Voters agreed to grant a conservation easement on the 82-acre Deerfield Road Town Forest acquired for the town with Conservation Fund money several years ago.  They also voted to continue transferring 100% of the Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) to the Conservation Fund.

Nottingham
Voters passed the "Nottingham Water Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance", a statement asserting the rights of the town of Nottingham to protect its water resources for the use of its citizens and ecosystems.

Raymond 
Voters approved the purchase and permanent conservation of 56 acres off Route 107 on the west side of town. They also approved raising the amount of the Land Use Change Tax transferred to the town's Conservation Fund (from 30% to 50%), a recovery toward the 100% of the LUCT the fund had received in the past. Two articles were also passed that authorized the study of conservation, forest management, and other possible uses of the town's 230-acre Flint Hill property.

Strafford
Strafford School District voters approved placing a conservation easement on 290 acres of School District property that lies in the woods along the Mohawk River.  The assessed value of this easement becomes an important piece in the "match" value needed to secure a grant to protect other land in the Isinglass River watershed. (See article above.) Strafford voters also voted to continue transferring 100% of the Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) to the Conservation Fund.





Bear-Paw Annual Meeting Notes
By Harmony Anderson

Guests for the afternoon snowshoe examine markings left behind by a hungry porcupine. Photo credit: Bob Cote

Bear-Paw hosted more than 100 members and guests at Coe-Brown Northwood Academy for its Annual Meeting on Saturday, February 9th. The business meeting included a presentation showing the land protection successes of 2007 and conservation projects in progress for 2008. We recognized the generous donors of conservation easements in 2007; Ruth and Ed Fowler of Candia, Jeanne Menard of Deerfield, and Barbara and David Stewart of Epsom. There were also awards for retiring board members Erick Berglund and Wini Young. Conservation Citizen of the Year went to Rick and Jim Fernald and their sister Deb Stevens for establishing a conservation easement on their family's 2,000-acre Mulligan Forest in Nottingham. A round of applause also went to the Nottingham guests; acknowledging the Nottingham Town Meeting vote that had supported the project.

The guest speaker was Chris Schadler, a wild canid ecologist with a special interest in the eastern coyote. Her presentation had slides from her field experiences in the Rockies and the east, as well as data showing the ebb and expansion of wolf and coyote populations across the continent. She explained that after only 64 years in residence in New Hampshire, the coyote has evolved into a more wolf-like creature, larger in body and muzzle, a predator of deer at times but still preferring smaller game like squirrels, voles and mice. The coyote has reproduced prolifically in part due to hunting pressures which can encourage females to come into heat twice a year instead of just once and to produce larger litters. Chris warned that a better management strategy might be to place season on the animal and let other environmental controls exert pressure on coyote populations. She is fascinated by the rapid pace of coyote evolution and by the possibilities of its reunion with the returning eastern wolf. "Evolution is happening right now in our woods and fields... Understanding this creature and its inevitable interaction with the eastern wolf will yield biological and landscape level data unique to our region." If you would like to have Chris address your group, you can contact her at wildcaniddefender@yahoo.com or 603-833-0423.

Following the raffle of donated items and a hearty potluck lunch provided by Bear-Paw members, the Coe-Brown culinary department, and Northwood Diner, more than 30 guests and board members set off for a snowshoe hike at the Stewart family's McClary Hill Farm in Epsom (www.McClaryHillFarm.com). Among the woods, fields and wetlands, hikers spotted a variety of wild animal tracks including weasel, mink, fisher, and grouse and were able to get a real sense of the biodiversity protected there.





Community Profile - Peatlands
A Special Wetland Natural Community
By Frank Mitchell

The Bear-Paw region is located in a transitional area - between the coast and inland hills and between northern and more temperate climate zones. This position gives us a unique mix of species that are at the northern or southern edges of their ranges. Within this landscape is a rich natural heritage that includes vast stretches of representative native forests, wetlands, streams and ponds as well as pockets of rare and unusual plants, animals, and natural communities.
Among these rare natural communities are special wetlands called peatlands, also known as fens and bogs. Peatlands are poorly drained and usually acidic areas rich in accumulated plant material, sometimes surrounding a body of open water, and having a characteristic flora of sedges, heaths, and sphagnum mosses. In these conditions, the decay of plant material is very slow, leading to a build-up of peat over time. Several peatlands are nestled in the Bear-Paw region in Candia, Deerfield and Northwood, and probably elsewhere. Peatlands are often found in cold, low flat areas where the conditions are like those found further north where they are more common.

Growing in a mat of sphagnum moss that floats above the peat in a bog, the carnivorous pitcher plant often has no contact with mineral soil. Instead of absorbing its nutrients from the soil like most plants, it gets them from insects that are attracted to its "meaty" fragrance. Once an insect lands to investigate, it is trapped in the sticky downward pointing hairs inside the "pitcher" and can only travel down, where it meets the well of the plant's digestive enzymes. Illustration credit: Al Jaeger

Organic remains in some peatlands can last for centuries. This is dramatically illustrated by the "bog people," well-preserved human corpses found in European bogs and dated at over a thousand years old. This same preserving quality of peatlands has important scientific value. Researchers have interpreted data from pollen trapped in peat to learn about the sequence of re-vegetation of North America following the last ice age. Peatlands are vaults of living history.
Regarding fens and bogs, fens are less acidic than bogs and usually have more water flowing through them and more mineral enrichment from groundwater. A good example of a nutrient poor fen system called Dead Pond is located partly in Pawtuckaway State Park, near the Boulder Field and the north end of North Pawtuckaway Mountain. The Town of Deerfield also owns a parcel that includes part of the fen adjacent to Mountain Road.
In peatlands you'll find plants adapted to acidic, nutrient poor conditions; including sphagnum mosses, cranberries, leatherleaf, sheep laurel, sweet gale, pitcher plants, and highbush blueberry. Cotton grass with its showy cotton-like seed heads also grows in some local peatlands.

Through most of the year it is difficult to access fens and bogs but you can enjoy the birds and other wildlife that they attract from the edges, as long as you remember to take along your binoculars.








There's more to be found!

The knowledge of rare species and natural communities is by no means complete. It is the result of random sightings and deliberate investigations over many years, but there are undoubtedly examples of rare species and communities yet to be discovered. This is especially the case with individual species, which can migrate over time to new areas.  There continue to be opportunities for all of us to discover rarity in our towns. If you keep your eyes open for things that appear out of the ordinary, you may discover a new biological treasure near you.

How to learn more
The New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau is a good place to start if you want to learn more about New Hampshire's biodiversity, rare species and natural communities. Their web site, http://www.dred.state.nh.us/divisions/forestandlands/bureaus/naturalheritage/index.htm has publications on this topic as well as lists of rare species recorded in New Hampshire towns and suggestions for places to observe some of the state's natural treasures.

The future of rare species and natural communities
Rarity can mean vulnerability. All environments face a number of challenges - climate change, land use conversion, and exotic species invasion among them. A small population of a rare plant, animal or a rare natural community has less back-up as insurance against these changes. Bear-Paw will continue to include rare species and natural communities in consideration of its conservation projects, and will work with landowners to protect the habitats that contain them.





Conservation Funding

Over half of the funding needed to complete this project came from Deerfield's Conservation Fund. The Fund was established by the town and receives a portion of the Town's Land Use Change Tax (LUCT) receipts each year. The LUCT is a tax paid when property is withdrawn from the Town's Current Use program. Having this funding available allows the Conservation Commission to work on projects like this and to provide support for the transaction costs associated with donated conservation easements.







Partnership is the Key to Protecting 175 acres in Deerfield
By Dan Kern

An active beaver pond deep in the middle of the Freese property reflects the surrounding woodlands. Photo credit: Dan Kern

"Fuzz" Freese sent a letter to Bear-Paw in 2005 telling us that his family had decided to sell their 175-acre property with frontage on Mount Delight Road in Deerfield. In the letter he went on to describe some of the natural resource features of the property and that the family asked if Bear-Paw was interested in purchasing it or helping to conserve it.

We quickly contacted the Freese family and set up a site visit for Bear-Paw and other potential partners - the Town of Deerfield, New Hampshire Fish and Game, and the Forest Society. It was a beautiful autumn day when Fuzz and his brother Dana walked us around a portion of the property. Within about 15 minutes, everyone knew that we were looking at a special property in a critical location.
The Freese property is part of one of the largest remaining uninterrupted blocks of forestland left in southeastern NH. This roadless block encompasses more than 8,000 acres of unbroken habitat that straddles the coastal and Merrimack River watersheds in Deerfield and Epsom. Unfragmented forest ecosystems like this support wildlife species, such as moose, bobcat, fisher and bear, which need large areas with diverse habitat features to survive. These rapidly disappearing features of New Hampshire's landscape are also critical to birds and other wildlife that depend on forest interior habitats and are vital to maintaining the region's biodiversity.

Water, Wildlife, and Forests*
The property is made up mostly of Appalachian oak-pine forest with a smaller amount of hemlock-hardwood-pine forest along the streams found there. According to the NH Wildlife Action Plan (WAP), the Appalachian oak-pine forest "type" has a limited distribution in New Hampshire, covering less than 10% of the state's land area. Only 7.3% of the state's potential Appalachian oak-pine forests occur on permanently protected lands. This forest type supports 104 vertebrate species in New Hampshire, including 8 amphibians, 12 reptiles, 67 birds, and 17 mammals. These forests with their abundant production of nuts and seeds provide forage for deer and other wildlife and are often found on south facing slopes that are also important to many species.

Hemlock-hardwood-pine forests, such as those found on this property, are the most widely distributed forest type in New Hampshire, covering nearly 50% of the state's land area, but only 15% of the state's potential hemlock-hardwood-pine forest occurs on permanently protected lands. This forest type supports 140 vertebrate species in the state, including 15 amphibians, 13 reptiles, 73 birds, and 39 mammals. These areas also provide important wintering areas ("deer yards") for white-tailed deer. Threatened and endangered wildlife species occurring in both these forest types include osprey, Cooper's hawk, timber rattlesnake, and eastern hognose snake.

The Freese property contains over one mile of frontage on three streams that form an interconnected network with more than 21 acres of wetlands. The largest stream, Hartford Brook, is one of the largest tributaries of the upper Lamprey River and it was identified as one of the highest quality stream watersheds in NH's Coastal Plan. Riparian areas, the natural corridors along streams and rivers, are important for maintaining in-stream habitat and water quality, as well as providing wildlife habitat, connectivity and storage for floodwaters. Protecting landscapes with relatively undisturbed freshwater systems like this is critical for maintaining biodiversity and ecological functions in NH. Representative wildlife that use these areas include mink, American black duck, sedge wren, northern harrier, northern leopard frog, spotted turtle, and Blanding's turtle.

The Deerfield Conservation Commission and Bear-Paw lead interested residents on a tour of the property. Photo credit: Dan Kern

Conserving the Freese property, and hopefully large segments of the 8,000-acre forest that includes it, will help maintain connections between other areas of significant conservation and ecological value that are already protected. These include the Corey Wildlife Management Area, the Wells Town Forest in Deerfield, the Villnave conservation easement, and the Epsom Town Forest lands. In Bear-Paw's long term conservation plan this area will also serve as a key part of our vision to establish a permanent open space connection between Bear Brook, Pawtuckaway, and Northwood Meadows State Parks, and privately conserved lands owned by the Blue Hills Foundation further to the north.

According to the Wildlife Action Plan (WAP), New Hampshire requires a network of permanently conserved lands that effectively represents the state's wildlife and habitat diversity. Highly threatened and essential habitat resources, such as riparian/shoreland habitat, larger unfragmented blocks, and wildlife corridors that connect significant habitat should be priorities. The forest that includes the Freese property has all of these and is part of a Conservation Focus Area identified by the NH Wildlife Action Plan. Virtually all wildlife and habitats directly or indirectly benefit from habitat protection and land protection is one of the most important ways to ensure long-term wildlife protection.

The acquisition of this property by the Town of Deerfield will ensure a public access point to the area. The property also has the potential to be used for educational activities by organizations such as the UNH Cooperative Extension, local schools, and Bear-Paw. The property was managed by the Freese family as a working woodlot for many years. An interesting sidelight to that is that a portion of the land was a working sugar bush with a sugar house on site during the 19th century and into the early 20th century. The old sugar bush area has now succeeded into a nearly pure hemlock forest with a few ancient maples scattered throughout.

 *Some of this information was taken from the NH Wildlife Action Plan.



 

Conservation Project Nearly Complete

With Bear-Paw's support, the Town of Deerfield's Conservation Commission negotiated an agreement with the Freese family to purchase and conserve this beautiful property below its appraised value. Using funding from the Town's Conservation Fund, the proceeds of a warrant article that was overwhelmingly approved at the 2007 Town Meeting and a $100,000 grant from the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Program (LCHIP), the property will be purchased by the Town and permanently protected by a conservation easement held by Bear-Paw.
We would like to thank the Conservation Commission, the Town, and the Freese family for all helping to make this land protection project a reality! 





Grants & Project Support

We were grateful to receive support from our member towns, grant programs, and other organizations over the last year. Bear-Paw and Deerfield finally received the payment of an $87,500 federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) grant to help complete the Sylvia Clifford Farm conservation easement project in Deerfield.

Our member towns contributed over $29, 000 to cover the transaction costs associated with land protection projects in Candia, Deerfield, Epsom, Northwood, Nottingham, and Strafford.

We helped some of those same towns secure $13,500 in funding from the New Hampshire Estuaries Project Coastal Watershed Land Protection Transaction Assistance Grant program administered by the Center for Land Conservation Assistance.

The Adelard A. Roy and Valeda Lea Roy Foundation recently presented Bear-Paw with a $10,000 check to support its land protection program in 2008. And, we just received a $4,000 grant from the Norcross Wildlife Foundation to upgrade our computer, printer, and GPS unit.

We would like to thank everyone for their support!  We truly appreciate your confidence in our work.





Bear-Paw Membership Grows in 2007
By Bruce Adami, Membership Development Committee


Bear-Paw relies on the generosity of its members to fund the important conservation work that is our mission. During the last two years the Membership Development Committee has focused on increasing the number of members who support our work, as well as encouraging existing members to increase their financial commitment to Bear-Paw. The purpose of this effort is ultimately to allow us to undertake more conservation projects.

Through a combination of mailings in six of our seven member towns, a business member appeal, and personal solicitations by Board members and others, we were able to add 85 new members last year, bringing our total membership up to 284 at the end of 2007. We hope to add even more new members in 2008.

In 2007, we also tried something new for Bear-Paw, which was providing an incentive gift for anyone who increased their annual contribution by $75 or more from 2006 or anyone who became a new member with a contribution of $75 or more. The "thank you" gift was a hat embroidered with the Bear-Paw logo. Thirty existing members and twenty new members responded and received the hat - contributing over $20,000 to Bear-Paw - almost $14,000 more than 2006! Due to its overwhelming success, we are planning to extend this offer through the spring and summer. Please consider taking us up on this great offer or if you know someone who should be a member of Bear-Paw, tell them about us!

Thank you to all our new members, as well as to our faithful, long-time supporters.








Clay Pond Headwaters Project Approved for $300,000 LCHIP Grant

Bear-Paw and the Town of Hooksett's Conservation Commission recently learned that their plan to conserve 275 acres near Clay Pond was approved for a $300,000 grant from New Hampshire's Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP).

Once completed, the Clay Pond Headwaters (CPH) Project will protect 275 acres just north of Route 27 on the Hooksett and Candia town line. The property is part of over 18,000 acres of unfragmented forest that includes 10,000 acres that are already protected. The CPH property is rich in high quality wildlife habitat and is directly linked to Bear Brook State Park and properties owned by the Town of Hooksett and the Manchester Water Works. Important on its own, this large unfragmented forest expands on land already conserved and also serves as a wildlife corridor between them. It will help provide a permanent connection between Bear Brook State Park and other conservation land owned by the Manchester Water Works, including the area around Lake Massabesic. The CPH area has been identified as a conservation priority by the NH Wildlife Action Plan, the Town of Hooksett's Master Plan, and Bear-Paw.

These properties will also provide the Town and members of the public with an important access point to the area for recreational and educational activities.





Calendar of Spring & Summer Events

All programs are free and open to the public. Please pre-register at info@bear-paw.org, www.bear-paw.org, or 603-463-9400 unless noted otherwise.

"Earth Day" Vernal Pool Fieldtrip
April 26, 2008 • 1-4pm • Nottingham
Mark West, Bear-Paw Board member and biologist, will lead folks on an exploration of vernal pools on a property permanently protected by a conservation easement. This fieldtrip will offer a great opportunity for Bear-Paw members and area residents to learn about these ephemeral pools that offer critical breeding and foraging habitat to many of NH's frogs, salamanders, and other species. We will use dip nets to identify aquatic insects as well as amphibian egg masses. Kids are welcome! Please pre-register for directions.

Conservation Options Workshop
May 14, 2008 • 7-9pm • Blaisdell Memorial Library, Nottingham
Bear-Paw, the Nottingham Conservation Commission, and the UNH Cooperative Extension are offering an informative land conservation and estate planning workshop to area landowners and their families. For all those who have been thinking about doing something to protect their land, this will be an opportunity to get expert advice from Phil Auger, UNH Cooperative Extension, and Attorney Charles Tucker, a partner with Donahue, Tucker & Ciandella, PLLC. Please preregister with Deb at 603-679-5616 or 800-248-6672, so that we can provide adequate materials for everyone.

Spring Migration Bird Walk
May 17, 2008 • 7-9am • Pawtuckaway State Park, Deerfield/Nottingham
Davis Finch, a local birding expert, has volunteered to lead an early morning walk to identify birds by both sight and song at the height of the spring migration. Please pre-register for directions.

Global Climate Change and Land Conservation
May 19, 2008 • 7-8:30pm • Dover Public Library
Dr. Barry Rock, a botanist at the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, will discuss global climate change and the role of land conservation in the strategy to combat global warming. Dr. Rock specializes in the remote sensing of vegetation and is highly regarded for his ability to make science interesting and understandable to the general public. This program is co-sponsored by the Strafford Rivers Conservancy and the Great Works Regional Land Trust.

Suncook River Tour
August 14, 2008 • 6-8pm • Epsom
This year during our now annual visit to the Suncook we will explore the river some more with Sally Soule, the Coastal Watershed Supervisor with NHDES and head of the Volunteer Biologic Assessment Program for river testing. She will lead a tour of a portion of river and collect samples while discussing changes in the biology of the river since the historic May 2006 floods. Please pre-register for the location and directions.

Illustration credit: Al Jaeger

Hawkwatch
September 20 • 8:30am-12:00
Mark West will help lead another hawk watch - offering help with bird identification and discussing the natural history of hawks that call the Bear-Paw region their home for part of the year as well as those just passing through on the way to their wintering grounds.
Depending on conditions, we may travel to Blue Job in Strafford, Fort Mountain in Epsom, or South Mountain in Pawtuckaway. If the hawks don't cooperate, we may take a fieldtrip to nearby conservation lands. Please pre-register for directions and so that we can provide materials for everyone.



 

Join Us for a Biothon!

Biothon! on the Isinglass River
June 7, 2008 • Strafford
Bear-Paw invites its members and friends to support its fourth annual Biothon - a species identification treasure hunt to discover and promote the biodiversity of the lands Bear-Paw works to protect.

Two to three teams of skilled naturalists will compete to identify as many plant and animal species as possible on a property in Strafford that is the subject of our biggest conservation effort ever. (See the related article above.)

We are asking our friends to pledge any amount to support Bear-Paw's land conservation activities. A pledge form will be available on our website or you can contact us for more information.

All of the contributors to the Biothon will be invited on a tour of the Isinglass River property at 10am on the day of the event. Please pre-register for directions.

Click here for a complete copy of the "Spring 2008 Bear-Paw Print" newsletter (PDF).

Here is an archive of all of the previous Newletters:

"Fall 2007 Bear- Paw Print" (PDF)
"Spring 2007 Bear- Paw Print" (PDF)
"Fall 2006 Bear- Paw Print" (PDF)
"Spring 2006 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)
"Fall 2005 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)
"Spring 2005 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)
"Fall 2004 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)
"Spring 2004 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)
"Fall 2003 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)
"Spring 2003 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)
"Fall 2002 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)
"Spring 2002 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)
"Fall 2001 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)
"Spring 2001 Bear-Paw Print" (PDF)