Check here now for selected articles from our Fall 2011 newsletter. For a complete copy of the Fall newsletter now, click here. An archive of all of our previous editions can be found on the bottom of this page
BEAR-PAW PRESERVES SIGNIFICANT WILDLIFE HABITAT – YES! - By Daniel Kern
Bear-Paw continues to acquire properties with important conservation values throughout the region – adding over 300 acres to its holdings between December 2010 and June 2011. All four properties had unique circumstances that made Bear-Paw ownership the best option for their permanent protection.
- Pinkney Hill Preserve, Allenstown
In June, Bear-Paw completed its first project in Allenstown – acquiring the Bailey and Duris parcels covering 175 acres just west of Bear Brook State Park (BBSP). Together, Bear-Paw and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department raised almost $300,000 from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Landowner Incentive Program, the NH State Conservation Committee, the Open Space Institute’s Saving New England’s Wildlife program (funded by the Doris Duke Foundation), the McIninch Foundation, and the Davis Conservation Foundation to secure the properties.
One of the properties adds directly to BBSP and both protect land within one of the largest unfragmented forests in southeastern NH. They include a variety of habitats, including wetlands and uplands, that are important to rare and endangered wildlife species. Conservation of this area is a priority in Bear-Paw’s Conservation Plan, the NH Wildlife Action Plan, and the Landowner Incentive Program administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Conserving critical habitats for species of conservation concern and expanding protection of large, unfragmented forests are goals we all share.
A brook tumbles through boulders on the Pinkney Hill Preserve in AllenstownPHOTO BY DANIEL KERN
- Fordway Brook Headwaters Preserve, Candia
Bear-Paw also acquired a 106-acre property off Crowley Road in southeastern Candia in June. Funding to protect the parcel was provided by the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The property has frontage on a section of Fordway Brook; including a portion of a relatively intact [“Tier 1”] watershed and some of the highest quality habitat in the biological region. It includes habitat for species of conservation concern, such as native Brook Trout, Spotted Salamanders, and Blanding’s Turtles. Protection of the area is a goal of the Land Conservation Plan for NH’s Coastal Watersheds.
Previous land uses, including pasture and forestland management, negatively impacted the watershed and caused a decline in breeding success rates of species of concern. The WRP will also provide funding for management practices to restore the riparian area.
Beavers have created a pond on the edge of a young forest on the Fordway Brook Headwaters property in Candia.PHOTO BY DANIEL KERN
- Kimball Family Forest, Nottingham
The property was purchased by Roland and Charlotte Kimball in 1975. During his life, Roland and his family enjoyed many happy hours on this woodlot and the Kimball family donated a conservation easement on this property in 2008 so that it would be permanently protected. At the end of 2010, the family donated the property to Bear-Paw and the conservation easement protecting it was transferred to the Town of Nottingham.
Mark West and trail planning fieldtrip participants consider the impressive beaver dam on the Kimball property in Nottingham.PHOTO BY DANIEL KERN
The Kimball Family Forest is an interesting mix of forested uplands running along the edge of a stream corridor and interconnected wetlands though the center of the parcel combined with 1,300 feet of outstanding North River frontage. The wetlands are quite evident along the northern sections of the Freeman Hall Road frontage where one can see through the red maple swamp to a fairly open sedge dominated wetland and an open water area that was an active beaver flowage and small great blue heronry not long ago. The property includes habitat for species of conservation concern and the area is identified as a conservation priority in the New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan and Bear-Paw’s Conservation Plan.
- Plans for the Future
Management Plans for these properties are still being developed but the protection and enhancement of wildlife habitat will be a priority. All properties are open to the public for low impact recreational and educational uses.
A NOTE FROM THE CHAIR
I want to take this opportunity to thank the Bear-Paw Board for their constant dedication to Land Conservation in our region. Many board members have held their positions since the Land Trust’s inception and this commitment is an inspiration. The board and Dan spent countless hours this year on our Strategic Plan.
This work requires vision, teamwork and a lot of patience. Now we move into the implementation phase to follow through on our plans. The strong growth of our conservation holdings presents new challenges for monitoring, stewardship and management. As always we will need to raise funds to support this work and we appreciate our members for their commitment to our cause. Without you we could not have accomplished so much and had the faith to envision so much more.
Kind Regards, Mark West Board Chair
A MEMBER PROFILE: BOB AND
SHIRLEY BROWNELL
A quilt, designed and
handmade by their three daughters and son, hangs in the stairwell of
the Brownell’s Strafford home. It was a gift from their adult children
as Bob and Shirley moved in to their newly completed home along the
stream Buzzy Run in Strafford. Each of the carefully designed and
stitched squares tells a part of what is this 62-year marriage.
The quilt’s square of
the Phillips Exeter Academy Building stands for the 30 years Bob taught
physics, chemistry, and math there; as well as coaching baseball and
basketball, the longest portion of his 38-year teaching career. He also
had terms as Director of Admissions, Dean of Students, and Director of
Scholarships at PEA. Living on campus as dorm heads came with the job,
and the children grew up and graduated there as well. Shirley spent a
dozen years working at the Exeter Day School kindergarten. Another
quilt square shows a basketball hoop marking Bob’s greatest love of all
his coaching jobs.
Two squares, one with a loon and the other with a little cabin among
the trees and a sailboat on the lake refer to the first real estate
they owned – a lot on the south shore of Bow Lake they bought in ’59.
They still own and enjoy the cabin they had built for about $600 at the
time.
The quilt designed and stitched by their children hangs
above Bob and Shirley Brownell in the stairwell of their Strafford home.
PHOTO BY HARMONY ANDERSON
A square with a tent and mountains behind and another of a leaping
trout represent vacation trips. Their first family trip out west was in
’69 with the four children and a pop-up tent trailer, and it was there
that Bob discovered fly fishing. Repeated trips even after the children
were grown have taken Bob and Shirley from the British Isles to New
Zealand on fishing trips, but most often and repeatedly to Montana and
British Columbia Rocky Mountain streams. Shirley is along not so much
for the fishing, but for the hiking and scenery. “We figure we have
spent in total, a year of our lives living in a tent,” they say. A
carefully stitched Sanibel Island house on stilts represents their many
ocean-side vacations.
The square with skates, skis, a tennis racquet and sailboat show Bob
and Shirley’s life-long love of the outdoors and sports. Her college
degree was in physical education which she taught before the children
arrived. Two huskies, Lara and Laika, are stitched into another square
and were their companions especially during the years they worked on
their 50 acre woodlot north of Bow Lake bought in ’82. A pond stretches
out below the house they had built, and a large vegetable garden gives
proof of one of the last squares in the quilt – Bob’s dictum, “No
Weeds!”
The Brownells were so determined to protect the Buzzy Run property that
they spent a good deal of their own time and money to conserve it.
Bear-Paw helped complete the project and the Brownell’s donated a
conservation easement on their property in 2004. (See “A River Runs
Through It” Bear Paw Print, Spring 2004 at Bear-Paw.org) Bear-Paw
thanks Shirley and Bob for all the ways they have supported Bear-Paw
conservation in our region!
CONSERVATION DONATIONS
More than one-half of the conservation projects Bear-Paw Regional Greenways has completed since its inception were the direct result of conservation easement donations by landowners. Almost 2,000 acres have been protected solely through the generosity of some of your neighbors. Many are the same people who provide support to Bear-Paw through their annual membership contributions.
Our member Towns have provided support for many of these projects by funding the transaction costs associated with them. It can cost as much as $15,000 to complete a conservation easement donation project; including survey, legal, staff time, and stewardship. Most Towns generate funding by designating all or a portion of the Land Use Change Taxes (LUCT) they collect to their Conservation Fund (when landowners withdraw their properties from Current Use they pay a 10% LUCT). We have also received help for these projects through the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership’s Transaction Grant program. Those investments have helped secure millions in landowner donations.
SOME
WHYS AND WHEREFORES OF TRAILS By
Michael Vecchiarelli
“I had not
lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the
pond-side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is
still quite distinct. It is true, I fear that others may have fallen
into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is
soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which
the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the
world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity!”
— Henry David Thoreau
Between the idiom in this title and the quote from Thoreau not much
else needs be said about trails but it wouldn’t make for much of a read
if I didn’t take this opportunity to expound. Why do we want to make
trails and then; how do we make them? Creating and managing trails well
is easier said than done.
Many factors have to be taken into consideration. On one end of the
scale there could be the approach of allowing folks to create their own
paths and, by default, seeing how preference and conformity wears them
in. This laissez faire approach is unacceptable to most land managers.
Intentional trails then attempt to consider such factors as the various
potential user groups and corresponding accessibility; infrastructure
accommodations and options (interpretive signs, benches, viewing
shelters, trail grades and mobility provisions, etc.); the launching
area (parking, shelter, kiosk, etc.). Then there are the actual routes
to consider – an issue covered in an earlier newsletter article.
Ok, so we have the land, we know its value and some characteristics of
value and interest. What else should we consider in making and
maintaining trails? A chemistry professor of mine once said, “You give
me enough water and enough time and I can dissolve anything.” The
geology and topography of our landscape is testament this fact.
This bears on one of the simplest adages of trail building: we need to
get the trail out of the water or the water out of the trail. If we
don’t (and even if we do) the rain and gravity will work their magic on
our trails; especially in temperate and dramatically seasonal areas of
the Northeast. A bridge on the new trail
in the Epson Town Forest provides a proper
wetland crossing. - PHOTO
BY MIKE VECCHIARELLI
How do we actually get it done? Here again there is a scale to
consider. The grade of the trails and access points will be based many
resources that will be applied such as the skills, experience, tools
and supervision; not to forget time, material and other expenses
available.
At one end of the scale you can go so far as to create relatively
impermeable structures such as paving, heavy and high bridges, solid
walls and large culverts. These are obviously expensive and require
specialized skills, tools and equipment but they certainly do last; can
be made to high aesthetic standard; and provide broad accessibility.
At the other end you can inform the user groups of the location and let
them at it (ouch!).
You could flag or blaze trails and let the
“soft and impressionable” earth respond as it will. This is not
entirely unacceptable as a low cost means of providing access and
(attempting) to control impact but these trails, as all, will be
subject to wear and tear, one of the most significant coming from
water. Step it up a bit and one may organize volunteer groups to
“build” your trails. This option requires and eventually provides great
public buy-in because the volunteers then feel ownership for the
outcome but can be limited by the skills and availability of that
support.
At another level along this scale there are trained, tooled, and
supervised teams such as we provide at the SCA and similar conservation
organizations.
Boulders placed along a narrow path define
a trail meant for foot traffic.
- PHOTO BY MIKE VECCHIARELLI
These “shovel ready” teams can be a most cost effective and positively
impactful approach. Not only do they get the job done but their
organizations can be brought to bear on marketing campaigns, leveraging
further funds, and organizing and supervising additional volunteer
support. An added bonus to the SCA program is that these Hitches (a
term for a period and team working on a project) provide significant
experiences to young men and women that foster their future in
conservation and leadership in our communities (the SCA mission).
So here we have Some Whys and Wherefores of Trails. This is a curious
and appropriate idiom because the “Wherefores” is often misinterpreted
to mean something like where but actually could be translated to Whys
and No-Really-Why! Wherefore means to look even more deeply at the
question of why and how so as to not fall into conformity and, at the
same time create a trail of thought for action – the curious paradox of
trails. See you out there!
Mike is the Program
Director for the Student Conservation Association (SCA-NH) Corps (www.thesca.org), based out
of Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown.
STUDENT CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION NEW HAMPSHIRE CORPS
The SCA-NH Corps is based in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown and
specializes in environmental education and all forms of conservation
service throughout New Hampshire. The mission of SCA-NH is to build the
next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong
stewardship of our environment and communities. It accomplishes this by
engaging young people in hands-on service to the communities and land
of New Hampshire through conservation service projects that enhance and
protect natural areas.
SCA-NH is one of SCA’s oldest residential
programs. Interns are housed in historic cabins at Bear Brook State
Park where they share the joys and struggles of rustic life while
dedicating a year of their lives to performing direct service. Benefits
to corps members include a living allowance, health insurance, an
AmeriCorps Education Award and the development of their own leadership
and team-building skills.
SCA-NH partners with organizations across the state; including town
conservation commissions, and more. The Epsom Conservation Commission
has worked on several projects with SCA-NH and they are always looking
for new partners so if you are interested in working with them, contact
Mike Vecchiarelli, SCA-NH’s Program Director, at
mvecchiarelli@thesca.org or 603.485.2191.
BEAR-PAW REGIONAL GREENWAYS (1995 - 2011) ...a look back and a look
forward
Since 1995, Bear-Paw Regional Greenways has conserved 5,000 acres with
the generous support of landowners, our members and member towns, local
residents, and grantors. We now hold conservation easements on 37
properties totaling 4,612 acres and own five parcels that total 355
acres. With the success of our Evans Mountain Campaign, Bear-Paw
membership surpassed 500 in 2010 and our region expanded to include the
Town of Hooksett. We are also working in other towns beyond the
eight-town Bear-Paw region to maintain farms, forests, waters, and
wildlife habitats across a broader landscape.
Our success over the past 17 years comes from the people who love
their land and this region of irreplaceable beauty and rural character
and extraordinary biological diversity. Our goals are ambitious and can
only be achieved through the continued support and good will of our
partners, especially the landowners of this region.
With your help we will strive to:
• Maintain our strong community partnerships
• Conserve an additional 3,000 acres of critical
lands in the next five years
• Monitor all of our conservation easements and owned
properties annually
• Manage the 355 acres owned by Bear-Paw, including
enhanced public access to these lands
• Expand our popular educational programs and field
trips
Our land protection efforts are guided by a strategic Conservation Plan
that we published in 2008. It maps and describes the region’s most
significant wildlife habitat, waters, forests, and farmlands. What we
call conservation priority areas (highlighted in light green on the map
on the next page). We realized early on that the most effective way to
conserve these special places was through voluntary protection of large
unfragmented forests, riparian areas along streams, wetlands, and open
waters, important farmland soils, and special habitat areas.
In addition to Bear-Paw’s conservation priority areas, the Map shows
conserved lands in the Bear-Paw Region. The change from 1998 to 2011
highlights our success in working with interested landowners to protect
important places within the conservation focus areas – almost half of
the additions were conserved by Bear-Paw Regional Greenways. During our
first 17 years we’ve made remarkable strides in forging local
partnerships to conserve priority places. These successes, along with
the conservation and stewardship responsibilities that lie ahead, led
us to an update of our Strategic Plan in 2011. The Strategic Plan helps
Bear-Paw’s Executive Director and Board of Directors focus on the most
effective strategies for achieving our mission and vision for the
region.
Hikers trek across the
fields of the Stewart easement in Epsom following the 2008 Annual
Meeting
PHOTO BY BOB COTE
a look back ...
“We chose Bear-Paw to
hold the easement because of several factors:
First, Candia is a member town of Bear-Paw and it made sense to
consider them; Second, we knew the folks that we were working with and
liked how they were trying to protect open space; and third, Bear-Paw
was timely with their response to our desire to protect the land.”
– ED AND RUTH FOWLER (LANDOWNERS)
Water
The Bear-Paw region includes more than 500 miles of streams and rivers.
It is part of six major watersheds and helps form the headwaters of
three major coastal watersheds: Lamprey River, Exeter River,
Isinglass/Cocheco Rivers. The uplands and wetlands along these
waterways, known as riparian areas, protect water quality, serve as
wildlife travel corridors, filter nutrients, and slow flood waters.
Conservation of these areas is a Bear-Paw priority. Mark West, Bear-Paw Board
member and biologist, explains the importance of woody debris to
wildlife on the forest floor. PHOTO BY DANIEL KERN
The 869-acre Isinglass River project in Strafford included almost 300
acres and over one mile of frontage on the river in addition to another
500 acres and more river and stream frontage in the watershed. The
539-acre Clay Pond project in Hooksett protected over 500 acres of
significant wildlife habitat in the Massabesic watershed – the public
drinking water supply for nearly 160,000 people in the greater
Manchester area. It includes over 50 wetlands covering more than 130
acres and 22 vernal pools and miles of frontage on streams that drain
into Clay Pond.
Wildlife Habitat
The Bear-Paw region provides important habitat to a variety of wildlife
and plants, including over 140 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and
amphibians. Part of Bear-Paw’s focus is to permanently protect areas of
significant habitat and expand on lands already protected.
Bear-Paw recently completed projects in Allenstown (175 acres), Candia
(106 acres), and Nottingham (51 acres) that will permanently protect
areas that expand on other conservation efforts and that conserve
important wildlife habitat for species of conservation concern.
Bear-Paw ownership of these properties will assure that they are
managed to benefit these species.
Forests
The Bear-Paw region includes many large unfragmented blocks of forest –
those areas with few or no roads, houses, businesses, or other human
developments. This includes more than a dozen roadless areas of 2,000
acres or more, and four unfragmented blocks of more than 5,000 acres.
Unfragmented lands represent the best opportunity to protect wildlife
habitat, wetlands, and water resources. These large, unbroken areas
include a mix of habitats and a rich diversity of plants and animals
that depend on these habitats.
The 1,000-acre Evans Mountain property conserves rocky ridges, basin
swamps, and headwater streams within a large forest and it provides
places to hike, hunt, and snowmobile. Bear-Paw will continue to focus
on conserving large forest blocks like this one, working with
interested landowners within these greenways.
...and a look forward
“Both Dina and I were pleased with the extensive support we personally
received when we came under the Bear-Paw umbrella. That positive
experience was reinforced when, as a Selectman in Nottingham I had the
opportunity to support well proposed additions to our Town’s
conservation commitment. Nottingham has had and continues to have a
strong and supportive approach to land conservation.”
PETER BOCK (AS NOTTINGHAM SELECTMAN AND EASEMENT
DONOR)
Farmland
Only about five percent of the Bear-Paw region supports important farm
soils and of these areas only about 5% are permanently protected.
Bear-Paw works with local landowners to protect the remaining
undeveloped farm soils and farms.
The 82-acre Clifford project in Deerfield and the 55-acre Cahill
project in Strafford are examples of Bear-Paw projects that preserved
important farm soils. The Clifford property includes over 22 acres of
Prime farmland and farmland of Statewide Importance and the Cahill
property includes 29 acres of Prime farmland and farmland of Statewide
and Local Importance. These agricultural lands will always be available
for future generations.
Two Bear-Paw field trips
took hikers to the site of the 2006 Suncook River avulsion in Epsom.
PHOTO BY DANIEL KERN
Visiting Conservation Lands
Bear-Paw’s mission is to conserve lands that protect our region’s
water, wildlife habitat, forests, and farmlands. Trails and
recreational pursuits are not the primary focus of Bear-Paw; however,
trails and access to conserved lands allow people get to see, feel,
smell, and experience the special places that we are conserving
together. Bear-Paw’s fee-owned parcels include North River Preserve and
Kimball Family Forest in Nottingham, Fordway Brook Headwaters in
Candia, and Pinkney Hill in Allenstown. These properties, those owned
by our member Towns, and some others where landowners have made a
commitment to leave them open, are available to the public for hiking,
snowshoeing, wildlife viewing, and, in many instances, hunting.
Turning Contributions
into Conservation
As you can see from the map of
Bear-Paw’s proposed conservation focus areas and the current status of
conservation lands in the region, we still have a long way to go. While
we celebrate our first 5,000 acres protected, we are also making plans
for the next 5,000.
Bear-Paw continues to see an increase in the number of opportunities to
work with landowners and towns on conservation projects. And, we plan
to expand our efforts so that we have the resources to respond to these
opportunities as they arise. Thanks to our members, we have been able
to do so much!
As the number and complexity of projects increases, Bear-Paw needs to
manage more land protection projects and secure more project funding.
Our volunteer Board of Directors and Committee members contribute a
great deal to these efforts, but it’s also important to have enough
staff to manage projects and meet with landowners and other project
partners.
How You Can Help
To continue the expansion of our land protection program, Bear-Paw
needs the support of its members – both increases in the gifts from our
existing members and from the gifts of new members. Giving at any level
supports our efforts to identify important areas for protection,
provide valuable project assistance to landowners and towns interested
in land protection, meet our expanding stewardship responsibilities,
and conduct educational workshops and field trips. Supporting Bear-Paw
ensures that towns in the Bear-Paw region will continue to have a local
resource to help protect the open spaces that define your community.
When our mission and landscapes inspire you to greater heights of
commitment and financial support, we offer a variety of leadership
options. Bear-Paw established Friends of Bear-Paw and our Leadership
Giving Society to recognize generous individuals who have made a
significant commitment to support Bear-Paw’s mission.
Please consider contributing today and helping us build on our work
throughout the region.
THE MOOSE, A WILDLIFE PROFILE By Harmony Anderson
So there you are, hiking out on one of the Bear-Paw region’s
conservation lands, thinking that perhaps you might see a moose, and
these days it’s a distinct possibility. There are now about 6,000 moose
in New Hampshire, and although the greatest numbers are in the North
Country, many of us can attest to the presence of plenty of moose in
our own area. It’s hard to imagine that back in the mid 1800’s there
may have been as few as 15 moose in the whole state as more than 80% of
the land was cleared for farming and grazing. The moose, the largest
member of the deer family, and New Hampshire’s largest land mammal, is
much more at home here now that New Hampshire is again more than 80%
forested.
What are some signs you might see
on your hike to let you know that you are in moose territory? The
character of the land may give you a clue. Moose like combination
forests with patches of low new growth trees with twigs and buds for
browsing in easy reach, but they also need areas of mature evergreen
and hardwood trees for shelter. They are less worried about cold in
winter with their thick double coats, but need to find shade to protect
themselves from heat in all seasons. They also need an area with
wetlands because in summer their diet changes. It includes not just
hardwood browse, but emergent leaves and succulent wetland plants.
That dietary change should be noted if you are looking for one of the
wildlife tracker’s chief clues – scat. Wintertime moose droppings are
similar to deer scat, but much larger. That summertime diet of tender
leaves and wetland plants tends to turn moose scat into a large single
mass rather than separate pellets. If you should see such fresh scat,
it would be wise to look sharp and be sure you haven’t surprised a cow
moose and calf. While the bull moose may weigh over 1,000 pounds, the
smaller cow at up to 800 pounds, a calf to protect, and a top speed of
35 miles per hour is probably the most dangerous animal in the woods.
Moose are a danger to us and to themselves in another way – on our
highways. About 200 moose are killed on New Hampshire roadways each
year. Those collisions often result in injury or even death to the
people involved as well. At Bear-Paw we speak repeatedly about the
importance of “unfragmented” forests. By this we mean large tracts
without houses and businesses, and especially, few or no roads. These
are the kinds of habitats that are most valuable for moose, as well as
other wildlife. The Bear-Paw region has the greatest number of these
unfragmented forest blocks of more than 5,000 acres left in
southeastern New Hampshire. In spite of notable conservation successes
in the last 15 years, much of these important areas remain unprotected.
With your help, the work continues – for ourselves, for the future, for
our moose! Join Us For Our Annual
Meeting!
Saturday, January 28th •Coe-Brown Academy
•9am-3:30pm
Our guest speaker is Kristine Rines, Moose Project
Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, a position she
has held since 1985. Her presentation: New Hampshire’s Moose, Past,
Present and Future, a rousing review of moose in the state, life
history, population changes, New Hampshire moose research and
management, and a sneak peek at what the future may hold. Kris has many
interesting and entertaining stories. Don’t miss this moose story.
The annual meeting will again be held at Coe-Brown Northwood Academy,
although a few weeks earlier than usual to avoid February town meeting
days in some of our member towns. Don’t miss all the fun of our annual
meeting that includes a re-cap of the year’s land conservation efforts,
a fundraising raffle, a hearty potluck lunch, and an afternoon snowshoe
hike – this year in search of moose sign.
Bear-Paw welcomes donations from artists, writers, and craftspeople for
this fundraising effort. Please contact Daniel Kern at 463.9400 or one
of our Board Members if you’d like to make a contribution to the
raffle. Moose-related items would be particularly fitting for this
year’s raffle. Thanks for considering a donation and we look forward to
seeing you in January and perhaps before at another Bear-Paw or
community event.
Bear-Paw
Participates in the Federal Employee Workplace Giving Program!
Bear-Paw has recently been approved
again to participate in the New Hampshire/Southern Maine Combined
Federal Campaign (CFC) supported by Federal Employees. The CFC is the
world’s largest workplace giving campaign and Bear-Paw hopes to take
advantage of this opportunity to educate federal employees about its
work in New Hampshire and to gather their support for its efforts.
Bear-Paw provides one of a few
opportunities for participating federal employees to directly support
land conservation efforts in New Hampshire. Daniel Kern, Executive
Director of Bear-Paw, said, “We are very excited to participate in the
Combined Federal Campaign this year and in the future. We hope that
this will be a great way to build financial support for the
organization and awareness of our programs. We want to thank Federal
Employees for supporting the campaign and Bear-Paw.” Federal employees
can support us through the campaign by designating Bear-Paw (#79164) on
their CFC pledge card.
RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP OR BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
Tired of getting those membership renewal letters? In an effort to keep down postage and mailing expenses, Bear-Paw is encouraging members to consider mailing in their membership renewals now in the envelope included with your newsletter or renewing online a the link below! That way, you don’t have to worry about renewing your membership in the midst of the holiday season.