February 2010 Archives
Malin Clyde wrote:
2010-02-19
Coverts Cooperators & Friends,
News of upcoming workshops is listed below – look for lots of new workshops coming up in the next few months. As always, this announcement is available anytime online at: Volunteers Working for Wildlife.
Also, on a fun note: Coverts Cooperator Nancy Czarny (CC99) of Bethlehem is featured on the back cover of the latest edition of “Forest Notes,” the magazine of the Society for the Protection of NH Forests. Nancy is quoted about her volunteer activities at the Rocks Estate. Great story, Nancy!
Cheers,
Malin
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SPECIAL REQUEST FOR COVERTS COOPERATORS
Looking for New Coverts Field Trip Sites
We’ve had some great field trips in recent years, visiting lands owned and managed by Coverts volunteers. I need your help to plan more! Have you done wildlife or forestry projects on your land in recent years? Or built new trails, inventoried your land, pruned trees or done other stewardship projects? Or maybe you simply have a personal story to tell about what owning your land means to you. Please email Malin if you are willing to share your landownership story. I’d love to hear from you! Please send me the following information:
- Location and size of your property
- What kinds of projects (or stories) you would like to share
- What you have in the way of facilities (# of parking spots, use of a barn, etc.)
- Season(s) when a field trip would be feasible
I can’t wait to hear from you!
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
“Communities Taking Action for Wildlife” Team Member
Coverts Cooperators have lots of knowledge and experience when it comes to wildlife species, habitats, and conservation. If you are looking for a new way to share your interests and skills, consider this new volunteer opportunity: The Communities Taking Action For Wildlife program is a partnership by UNH Cooperative Extension and NH Fish & Game to provide assistance to towns or groups of towns that wish to include wildlife considerations in local conservation planning and actions. We are looking for Coverts Cooperators who can assist project staff in working with new towns going through the planning process. Click here to read the volunteer position description . Towns receiving help this year include:
Fremont
Lempster
Nelson
Alexandria
If you live in or near enough to any of these towns and are willing to help, please email Frank Mitchell or Amanda Stone , and let them know which town(s) you want to work with. Thank you!
UNH Researchers Seek Bobcat Sightings
Bobcat researchers at UNH have a great new website where you can submit your bobcat sightings and contribute to their understanding of bobcat populations in New Hampshire. There’s a lot of other great information on the site, including photos of bobcats taken by landowners all over New Hampshire. You could be next – get your cameras ready! Check out the UNH Bobcat Research website here .
WORKSHOPS
Monadnock Winter Conservation Series
Feb. 20 - Where the Wild Things Are: Tracking workshop at Robb Reservoir
Mar. 20 - Tick Talk: Be Ready For Ticks, Hancock
May 15 - Forest Openings: Wood & Wildlife, location TBA
To learn more about any of these workshops, get directions, or to register (all workshops are free), click here for the workshop brochure , or call the Cheshire County UNH Cooperative Extension office at (603) 352-4550.
Washburn Family Forest Presentation
February 24, 7-8 p.m., Bretzfelder Memorial Park, Bethlehem, NH
Coverts Cooperator Tanya Tellman (CC95), wearing one of her many hats, is giving a talk at the Society of NH Forests’s Bretzfelder Park Lecture Series. She’ll present a photo essay on the 2,28-acre Washburn Family Forest, the Forest Society’s largest Northe Country property. Tellman will explore the forest’s diverse habitat, multi-use trail system, and wildlife enhancement efforts. Click here for directions and more information.
Small Woodlot Owners Series: Belknap & Carroll Counties
Feb. 20 & April 17 – Selling Timber on Small Woodlots
March 29 & April 19 – Shoreland Protection Act and Landscaping at the Water’s Edge Click here for complete registration information and directions.
Your Farm is Important Wildlife Habitat, March 6
Northeast Organic Farmers Association Meeting, Concord, NH
Matt Tarr, UNH Cooperative Extension Wildlife Specialist, will present a workshop highlighting the many habitat values of farmlands to this gathering of organic farmers. To learn more, visit the NOFA website .
Taking Action for Wildlife, March 8, 7:00 p.m.
Town Library, Moultonborough, NH
Would you like to learn how you can use NH's Wildlife Action Plan in your local planning efforts? The Wildlife Action Plan identifies species at risk, assesses threats to their continued existence, and offers strategies to address these needs statewide. Come to this workshop if you want to learn how to interpret the plan, maps, and data and then help turn it into action. Fish and Game's Lindsay Webb will present the Wildlife Action Plan highlighting how other individuals and communities have used the plan to implement conservation strategies that are aimed at preventing the state's wildlife from becoming endangered. There will be an opportunity to look at the maps at a town level as we discuss planning for conservation and tools to implement your town's plan. Conservation Commissioners, Planning Board members, and anyone interested in wildlife habitat protection are encouraged to attend. For more information, visit the NH Fish & Game website here .
Wild Apple Tree Pruning Workshop
Sunday, March 29, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Concord, NH
The Forest Society is sponsoring this hands-on workshop for those interested in pruning wild apple trees to benefit wildlife. Course include instruction by Coverts Cooperator Nigel Manley (CC96) of the Forest Society’s Rocks Estate. Click here to register and to learn more !
Who’s Coming to Dinner?
Understanding Habitat & How to Improve it for Wildlife
March 31, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Wolfeboro Public Library
Looking for ways to make your yard more attractive to wildlife? Moose Mountain Regional Greenways and the Wolfeboro Conservation Commission are sponsoring a workshop with Jon Batson, a professional landscaper who is also a volunteer with UNH Cooperative Extension’s Tree Steward/Natural Resource Stewards Program. This event is free and open to the public. For registration and directions, please contact Moose Mt. Regional Greenways: (603) 817-8260, or email at info@mmrg.info .
Saving Special Places Conference, April 10
John Stark High School, Weare, NH
Among the many conservation-related workshops to be offered at this highly-recommended annual conference, four focus on wildlife:
- Importance of Shrublands and Young Forests to Wildlife;
- Importance of Floodplains & Riparian Corridors to Land Conservation;
- Wolves, Coyotes and Land Conservation; and
- Forest and Wildlife Habitat Stewardship in the Public Eye, co-presented by Coverts Cooperator Andy Powell (CC95)!
Click here to register and learn more about Saving Special Places 2010.
Caring for your Forest Series – Hollis & Lancaster
June 4 – Tree & Shrub ID
June 11 – Chainsaw Safety for Weekend Woodcutters
June 18 – Cutting Firewood from Your Woodlot
June 25 – Selling Timber? Do it Right!
Click here for registration information & directions.
OTHER NEW RESOURCES
New Webpages on NH Habitats!
We’ve adapted much of the content in the Habitat Stewardship Brochures Series for reading and viewing online. You’ll find new photos and links in a format that’s more readable online. Check out the links for the following habitats:
Please share these pages with friends who you think would be interested. Ands thanks go to NH Fish & Game for the financial support to create these pages!
Coverts Annual Report 2009 posted online
Interested in the collected impact of Coverts volunteers in New Hampshire? Check out the 2009 Annual Report, posted on the Coverts website here. This is where Malin compiles all of the response to the annual Coverts Survey – many thanks to all Coverts Cooperators who responded last fall!
Malin Clyde wrote:
2010-2-1
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Volunteer with the Sustainability Project – Gilsum, NH
Three projects to get involved with the Sustainability Project, run by Coverts Cooperator Valerie Piedmont (CC04). Check out their website for complete details:
Feb. 13 – Seed Celebration & Exchange
Nature & Gardening work with school children – ongoing
Stewards of the Earth Docents Program - ongoing
WORKSHOPS
Monadnock Winter Conservation Series
Feb. 2 - Backyard Maple Sugaring, Keene
Feb. 18 - Care & Feeding of a Conservation Easement, Hancock
Feb. 20 - Where the Wild Things Are: Tracking workshop at Robb Reservoir
Mar. 20 - Tick Talk: Be Ready For Ticks, Hancock
May 15 - Forest Openings: Wood & Wildlife, location TBA
To learn more about any of these workshops, get directions, or to register (all workshops are free), click here for the workshop brochure, or call the Cheshire County UNH Cooperative Extension office at (603) 352-4550.
NH Farm & Forest Expo
Friday, February 5, 2010 (9 a.m,-7 p.m.) – Sat. Feb. 6, 2010 (9 a.m.- 4 p.m.)
Center of NH - Radisson Hotel Manchester, 700 Elm Street, Manchester NH
This is a great event for the whole family -- lots of booths, vendors, and organizations represented who will get you thinking about your plans for working in the woods come spring. Come visit the UNH Cooperative Extension booth or the Fish & Game “Taking Action for Wildlife” booth! Admission to the Expo is $7.00, and the meetings and workshops are free (located in rooms off the Expo floor). For 2010, the expo encourages you to bring 2 non-perishable food items and receive $1 off the admission price. All donated food benefits the NH Food Bank. For a complete schedule of events and workshops, visit their web site at: NH Farm & Forest Expo.
Introduction to Invasive Plants Workshop
Feb. 17, 7 p.m., Northwood Town Hall, Northwood
You’ve seen them – along roadsides, bordering streams and wetlands, and even in your own back yard. Many non-native invasive plant species are pretty, grow easily and spread rapidly. They are pervasive throughout Northwood and surrounding towns - and that’s the problem. Invasive species overwhelm and crowd out native plants, reduce wildlife habitat, impact water quality, and decrease diversity in natural plant communities. This workshop will help you to:
- Identify invasive species in your neighborhood
- Understand how they got here and how they impact our environment
- Learn how to control their spread and preserve native plants
- Get involved with community efforts to monitor and control invasive species
Presented by: Doug Cygan, Invasive Species Coordinator, NH Dept. of Agriculture. Please join us to learn more about invasive species and how you can take action to help! Sponsored by the Friends of Northwood Meadows State Park, the Northwood Area Land Management Collaborative, and the Lamprey River Watershed Association. For more information, contact: Carl Wallman, NALMC at info@nalmc.net or 435-5209, or Dawn Genes, LRWA at dawn.genes@lrwa-nh.org or 659-9363.
Backyard Wildlife in the Seacoast,
February 17, 6:30-8:00pm, Exeter Town Library
Do you know that a bobcat was recently spotted in Hampton Falls? Did your neighbor really see a moose in her backyard? Why haven’t you heard the evening call of a whip-poor-will in the last few years – and is there anything you can do to help? Come learn what makes our southeastern NH forests and farms special for wildlife, and why our unique habitats depend on land conservation and good management. A wildlife biologist from UNH Cooperative Extension will highlight a dozen commonly-seen wildlife species as well a diverse mix of habitats that support such important species as bobcat, whip-poor-will, moose, ruffed grouse, New England cottontail, Blanding’s turtle, silver-haired bat, and other captivating creatures. This program is free and open to the public, but registration is required – please call 603-778-6088 or email Karen McCormack.
Your Farm is Important Wildlife Habitat, March 6
Northeast Organic Farmers Association Meeting, Concord, NH
Matt Tarr, UNH Cooperative Extension Wildlife Specialist, will present a workshop highlighting the many habitat values of farmlands to this gathering of organic farmers. To learn more, visit the NOFA website.
Taking Action for Wildlife, March 8, 7:00 p.m.
Town Library, Moultonborough, NH
Would you like to learn how you can use NH's Wildlife Action Plan in your local planning efforts? The Wildlife Action Plan identifies species at risk, assesses threats to their continued existence, and offers strategies to address these needs statewide. Come to this workshop if you want to learn how to interpret the plan, maps, and data and then help turn it into action. Fish and Game's Lindsay Webb will present the Wildlife Action Plan highlighting how other individuals and communities have used the plan to implement conservation strategies that are aimed at preventing the state's wildlife from becoming endangered. There will be an opportunity to look at the maps at a town level as we discuss planning for conservation and tools to implement your town's plan. Conservation Commissioners, Planning Board members, and anyone interested in wildlife habitat protection are encouraged to attend. For more information, visit the NH Fish & Game website here.
**SAVE THE DATE**
Saving Special Places Conference, April 10
John Stark High School, Weare, NH
Among the many conservation-related workshops to be offered at this highly-recommended annual conference, four focus on wildlife:
- Importance of Shrublands and Young Forests to Wildlife;
- Importance of Floodplains & Riparian Corridors to Land Conservation;
- Wolves, Coyotes and Land Conservation; and
- Forest and Wildlife Habitat Stewardship in the Public Eye, co-presented by Coverts Cooperator Andy Powell (CC95)!
