Holderness Conservation

Commission Annual Report 2003

The major focus of the commission in 2003 continues 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. LCIP stands for Land Conservation Investment Program. The duties involve monitoring one easement and the Pilote Forest and the Pemi Riverside Park. Picnic tables donated by David Moore of Squam Lakeside Resort, were placed on all three properties. Many thanks to David for that donation. This year using money from the Conservation Commission's special accounts fund, we hired a forester to do a natural resource inventory of the Town Forest and the Pemi Riverside Park properties. We will be using that report during the coming decade to manage those properties.

The Commission continues to be strongly interested in the protection of the local environment, particularly with respect to water (streams and lakes). It is important to protect the local watersheds and the streams that flow out of those watersheds into Squam Lake and the Pemigewasset River. The north end of River Street will soon be incorporated in a well-head protection zone for the Town of Plymouth and it is important also for the Town of Holderness to protect its gravel-pack aquifers associated with the intervale area. This means strong adherence by the Town to existing planning and zoning regulations.

We have continued our cooperative arrangement with Plymouth State College (now University) with respect to the PSC Day Program. Students from the college cleaned up on the Holderness side of Livermore Falls, and the Pemi Riverside Park property. Reggie Pettitt worked with a Holderness School group and using GPS, mapped a possible segment of the Heritage Trail in Holderness. The Commission is working on developing a trail system that would include access to the Pilote Forest from the Central School via the Town Forest. Such a trail would allow Central School students to do natural history studies and also community service work. We’ve met with a few individuals to determine how to go about such projects. The Commission is interested in developing a formal town-wide system of trails that would allow users to hike from the town center to Plymouth. We are actively seeking out local residents to work with us on this project.

The Commission continues to deal on a regular basis with items related to docks, wetlands permits, etc. Although we are no longer directly involved in permits for seasonal docks, we often get involved in violations associated with those structures. One instance of this kind of activity this past year was a complaint from a lake property owner about a dock on an adjacent property where the property owner did not have enough lineal frontage for a seasonal dock. The commission worked with the Selectboard and the Holderness Compliance officer on this matter. We continue to monitor permits to cut and also hope to be involved in the new town Master Plan. Anne Packard served on the Transfer Station Design Committee until that committee was disbanded when Concord passed new measures associated with town land fills.

Commissioner Moran resigned. The Commission thanks Betsey for her work as a member of the Commission and wishes her well on her return to Delaware. Reggie Pettitt was appointed as a new Commissioner. Barbara Currier has been a faithful attendee to our meetings as the representative from the Selectboard.

The commission meets the third 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 Town Administrator at the Town Office. 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 Morrison

Reggie Pettitt

Anne Packard

Larry Spencer, Chairman

Barbara Currier, Selectboard Representative