Holderness Conservation

Commission Annual Report 2001

The major focus of the commission in 2001 continues to be the three town conservation properties and easements. Members of the commission visit all properties and easements on a regular basis, both for trail repairs and LCIP related duties. LCIP stands for Land Conservation Incentive Program and was the venue used to purchase the Pilote Forest and Pemigewasset Riverside Park properties. As a consequence, we must visit those properties annually and file a visit report. A newer program LCHIP (Land Conservation Heritage Incentive Program) recently came into being during the last session of the NH State Legislature. The Commission is planning to take advantage of the new program in the not too distant future. For the 5^th year running, as part of PSC Pride Day, a group of PSC students assisted members of the commission in a cleanup at Livermore Falls (the Holderness side) and trail maintenance at the Pilote Forest. The commission still plans to place picnic tables, donated by David Moore of Squam Lakeside, on all three properties.

The commission continues to deal on a regular basis with items related to docks, wetlands permits, etc. One of the major considerations this past year was the proposal submitted for a wetlands permit by the Windward Realty Group for the Valpey property in east Holderness. After a great deal of interchange with the Windward Realty Group, we supported their proposal to the Wetlands Bureau. As an outcome of this interchange, the commission gained a non-public access conservation easement to a portion of that property. This easement will further protect one of the town's prime wetlands adjacent to the property. As part of the arrangement, the Windward Realty Group has also erected a sign noting the presence of the prime wetland and its ecological functions. Members of the commission have served on a variety of town committees including: Flood Mitigation, Transfer Station Relocation, Dump Closing, and Landfill Committee. The chair also attended the first meeting of a group in Plymouth examining a well-head protection ordinance.

Items on our longterm agenda are:

Making available at the town office maps and information about the town properties in order to facilitate recreational use of those properties

Up-dating the management plans for all thee properties

Upgrading our prime wetlands maps and adding them as a layer to the new Town Tax Map

Protection of existing and future water supplies, particularly those associated with the Pemigewasset River Valley gravel deposits

The only change in membership this year is that Commissioner Vogel has resigned and Barbara Currier has been appointed as the liaison between the commission and the select board.. The commission thanks Harry for his work over the past few years and looks forward to working with Barbara. Anne Packard has now returned from her leave of absence in Texas.

The commission meets at 7:00 pm second Wednesday of the month. Special meetings and field inspections are sometimes held in between regular meetings. If you have an interest in becoming a member of the commission, please contact the Chair. All proceedings of the commission are open to the public and we welcome all comments and any offers of assistance.

Submitted by:

Shelagh Connelly

Lynn Johnson

Anne Packard

Larry Spencer, Chairman

Barbara Currier, Liaison