NORTHEAST DELTA DENTAL SPONSORS FOREST SOCIETY RESERVATION IN CONCORD
Grant will support popular Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservation Area
Concord, N.H., April 7, 2010—Northeast Delta Dental granted $5,000 to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests for stewardship and programming at one of its most popular Forest Reservations, the Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservation Area. Constituting nearly 100 acres of conserved land along the Merrimack River in East Concord, the property is frequented by many Concord residents seeking a nearby scenic walk or picnic spot.
“We are thrilled that Northeast Delta Dental has stepped forward to help us steward this important community resource,” said Jane Difley, president/forester of the Forest Society. “Given the number of people we welcome to the floodplain, it takes significant resources to maintain it.”
“As neighbors and enthusiastic supporters of its work, Northeast Delta Dental is extremely pleased to sponsor this education and conservation area for the Forest Society,” said Betty Andrews, manager of community relations. “We think of this sponsorship as an extension of our own commitment to be sensitive to the environment and minimize our impact on it, and we’re very happy that this land will be more enjoyable to the public through our support.” Northeast Delta Dental administers the dental benefits of over 700,000 people in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont; and it designs programs for organizations of all sizes and for people with no access to employer-sponsored dental insurance programs.
With support from Northeast Delta Dental, the Forest Society plans to upgrade the trail maps in each of the information kiosks on the property, do some needed clean-up from flood damage, improve trail signage, and make repairs to the parking lot. The Forest Society also relies on volunteer floodplain monitors to help oversee use of the reservation. People interested in becoming a Floodplain Monitor can contact the Forest Society at 603-224-9945.
The Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservation Area is a dynamic landscape that includes native silver maple floodplain forest, a maple-oak-hickory terrace community, oxbow marshes, wooded swamp and beaver influenced wetlands. Waterfowl and other birds, turtles, beaver and various other small mammals populate the property’s diversity of upland and wetland natural communities. An easy-to-walk loop trail winds along the Merrimack River and returns along the wetlands and floodplain forest adjacent to Mill Brook. A small parking area provides access to the trail.
The Forest Society owns and manages 165 Forest Reservations across the state, all of which are open to the public.
Founded in 1901, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (www.forestsociety.org) is the state’s oldest and largest non-profit land conservation and sustainable forestry organization.
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