A capacity, standing-room only crowd attended the March 27 talk by NH coyote expert Christine Schadler.
The Forest Society and the NH DIvision of Forests and Lands co-sponsors of the annual Cottrell-Baldwin lecture series are pleased with enthusiastic crowds for the first lectures of the 2018 series. This year’s series "Wildflowers, Song Dogs, Log Driving & Bogs" explores topics ranging from New England wildflowers and eastern coyotes to the history of Connecticut River log drives and the special ecology of New England bogs and fens.
On Tuesday March 27, more than 130 participants enjoyed a photo-illustrated lecture by Christine Schadler on the historical migration, ecology, genetics, breeding behaviors and self-regulating population dynamics of coyote packs in NH. Schadler advocates for coexistence with coyotes and active hazing to discourage coyotes from habituating to human settlement.
The Cottrell-Baldwin series will continue in April with two more events scheduled:
Log Drives of the Connecticut River Valley Tuesday April 3, 7 pm
Speaker Helen Pike, journalist and author
Long before there was modern logging equipment, there was an ax. Men went into the woods in winter to cut trees by hand and stack them by a river bank to wait for spring. When the ice went out, the logs began their journey downstream to saw mills. Helen Pike will trace the most famous logging route of all, the Connecticut River. Her talk will include images collected by her father, Robert E. Pike, author of “Spiked Boots”, “Tall Trees, Tough Men” and “Drama on the Connecticut”. As a child the accounts found in these books were Helen’s bedtime stories told by her father who, at the age of ten, watched the last long-log drive down the Connecticut in 1915.
Bogs & Fens of the Northeast Tuesday April 10, 7 pm
Speaker Dr. Ronald B. Davis, photographer and author
Author Dr. Ron Davis will showcase the unique features and plants found in the beautiful peatlands of New England in this slide illustrated talk. Dr. Davis is author of Bogs & Fens: A Guide to the Peatland Plants of Northeastern US and Adjacent Canada. Boardwalks have facilitated increased public visitation to these fascinating ecosystems. Dr. Davis produced his informative guide to 155 species of trees, shrubs and wildflowers found in the Northeast along with a primer on peatlands ecology and a guide to 78 bogs or fens with boardwalk access – including Mud Pond Bog at Fox Forest.