Holderness Conservation

Commission Annual Report 2002

The major focus of the commission in 2002 continued to be the three town conservation properties. Members of the commission visit all three properties on a regular basis, both for trail repairs and LCIP related duties. This year using money from the Conservation Commission's special accounts fund, we hired a forester to do a natural resource inventory of the Pilote Property. We will be using that report during the next decade to manage the property. Although no cuts are required at the present time, suggestions were made as to how to improve existing timber stands for both timber and wildlife.

We have continued our cooperative arrangement with Plymouth State College PSC Pride Day Program. Students from the college cleaned up on the Holderness side of Livermore Falls, the Pemi Riverside Park property, and trail work on the Pilote Property. We also gave the new principal of Holderness Central School a tour of the conservation properties and began discussions how the Central School children might become involved with the work of the commission. A late Fall meeting was held with the Campton Conservation Commission at the Pemi Riverside Park where discussion about how to work cooperatively with that commission on a possible segment of the NH Heritage Trail.

The commission continues to deal on a regular basis with items related to docks, wetlands permits, etc. We hired a soil scientist and began a project to re-map the boundaries of existing prime wetlands in town. Many thanks to Marty Riess who volunteered to assist us by supplying us with GPS data points for the hydric soil boundaries. One of our members, Lynn Johnson, has been an active member of the "dump closing committee" and has kept us informed of the progress of that group. Another member, Anne Packard, has been an active member of the transfer station relocation committee and now the transfer station planning committee. She has kept us informed as to the work of those two groups. We met with the director of exhibits of the Squam Lakes Science Center and made an on site visit to determine the impacts of a new planned exhibit that was located adjacent to a stream.

The only changes in membership this year are that Commissioner Connelly has resigned and a new commissioners, Jacque Jewell and Betsey Moran have been appointed to the commission. The commission thanks Shelagh for her work over the past few years and looks forward to her return when her schedule is less hectic.

The commission meets the second Wednesday at 19:00 at the town hall every month except for the summer months. 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:

Jacque Jewell

Lynn Johnson

Betsey Moran

Anne Packard

Larry Spencer, Chairman