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News

  • Forest Society Invites Public Comment for LTA Accreditation Renewal

    Naomi Brattlof
    September 20, 2023

    The Forest Society was one of the earliest adopters of these standards.

  • Forestry Friday: The Rare Milkweed Garden at the Gardner Forest

    Sophie Oehler
    September 15, 2023

    In this Forestry Friday, the forestry team takes a trip to the Gardener Forest in Hollis to check in on a population of a rare species of milkweed. (Photo: Sophie Oehler)

  • Something Wild: Why the treeline of Mt. Washington is not a line

    Dave Anderson, Chris Martin, Jessica Hunt
    August 24, 2023

    In this second episode of our series, Dave Anderson of the Forest Society and Chris Martin of NH Audubon are exploring the different forest zones on the flanks of the mountain, below the treeline.

Fresh Tracks Under Ancient Trees

Snowshoe sleuthing reveals value of conserving Pawtuckaway lakefront property
Brenda Charpentier
March 16, 2015
Land Conservation
Wildlife
Snowshoe hikers search for the creature that dropped its hemlock branch "leftovers" down onto the snow. The group was exploring the wildlife use of a 95-acre property on Pawtuckaway Lake that the Forest Society and Nottingham Conservation Commission are working to conserve. Forest Society photo.

Nottingham Conservation Commission member and expert wildlife tracker Kristen Lamb pointed out the tracks in the snow but didn’t give away their maker right away, giving the group behind her time to lean on their ski poles and look for more clues.

           

Bits of hemlock branches mark the location of recent snacking. Forest Society photo.
Hmmm. Bits and chunks of hemlock branches littered the snow. The tracks were in a furrow -- made by the animal’s chest and belly, Lamb said. So this animal’s short, stubby legs gave it low clearance.

             Hmmmm.

            Most of us had made our guesses when Lamb noted that the trail meandered about, with no sign of hurrying. Then came the clincher hint:

            “This is an animal that looks like it’s carrying 30,000 quills around on its back, and it’s not worried at all about predators.”

            I had come up with porcupine, but 30,000 quills? Wow!  

            Besides working on her local conservation commission, Lamb is also executive director of  The Center for Wildlife in Maine. Her background in wildlife ecology gives her plenty of experience for guiding wildlife tracking snowshoe hikes. Along with co-leaders Tom Howe and Martha Twombly, my colleagues at the Forest Society, Lamb was leading this hike to explore a beautiful, 95-acre property that will soon be conserved on Pawtuckaway Lake in Nottingham.

            The forested property is right next to Pawtuckaway State Park. It’s private land, but through the generosity of the landowners, Helen and Rick Fernald, and the commitment of the town to conserving its special places, the land is close to being protected from development forever by what’s called a conservation easement. The Forest Society, with funds from the town plus those still being collected from donors, is buying – for far below market value, thanks to the conservation ethic of the landowner – an easement deed prohibiting development on this property. The easement will ensure that the land will remain intact while leaving ownership of it in the hands of the landowner. Future landowners will be able to manage it for agriculture and forestry or sell it, but they won’t be able to subdivide or develop it.  

            I wish everyone could experience a hike like this one, in this place. It might change the world. Thoughtless habitat destruction, pollution, littering and other forms of disrespect for nature would disappear like snowflakes landing on a kid’s tongue.

            Even spending a couple of hours exploring the winter-quiet forest on this property is enough to deeply appreciate its ecological richness. We found evidence of at least 10 other wildlife species besides porcupines during our walk. We saw where a fisher, the porcupine’s main predator, followed a porcupine’s trail. (Quills actually dissolve under a fisher’s skin, Howe pointed out.) We saw the smooth channel where an otter slid across the snow and dropped into Mile Brook. We saw deer beds under sheltering hemlocks, snowshoe hare prints near a likely hare den and moose tracks surrounding a downed beech tree with its branch ends bitten off.  

           

Deeply furrowed bark is one characteristic of centuries-old black gum trees. Forest Society photos.
And as we neared the lakeshore, we came across ancient black gum trees, big enough to be close to 300 years old. The area supports a thriving population of black gums, which according to the N.H. Natural Heritage Inventory literature is “apparently the longest-lived broadleaf deciduous tree in North America.” The ones on the Pawtuckaway property haven’t been cored to count their rings (“The growth rings are so tight you need a microscope to see them,” says Lamb), so who knows how many centuries these trees have silently stood watch here?

            Once this land is conserved, it will become part of the largest contiguous block of conserved land in fast-growing southeastern New Hampshire. Lamb credits her community,  strategic planning and education. “The more people we have understanding the way development can impact water quality and our quality of life – why we love Nottingham – the better we can do our job of conserving and protecting what’s here,” she said.

            Because town funds are being used to buy the conservation easement, the Pawtuckaway land will remain open for people to explore, to fish, hike or just sit and admire black gum trees.

            I suggest a snowshoe hike on a winter’s morning to see the forest come alive. 

 

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Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests54 Portsmouth St.Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603.224.9945Fax: 603.228.0423info@forestsociety.org
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