Malin Clyde wrote:
2010-11-23
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Dear Coverts Cooperators, Partners & Friends,
Have a few pieces of news before everyone checks out for the Thanksgiving holiday. Hope everyone enjoys their long weekend! My oven broke yesterday...not a very good start! Anyone want to invite us to Thanksgiving? Ha ha, just kidding.
Good news about the Coverts Survey: seventy-seven Coverts Cooperators have completed the annual survey, which represents 26% (up from 15% in my last update). That’s better, but I need to hear from 50% of you before I’ll stop bugging you! Please...take the survey today!
Cheers,
Malin
Remember this update is available online at Volunteers Working for Wildlife
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NEWS FOR COVERTS COOPERATORS
Take the Annual Coverts Survey Today!
The annual Coverts survey is ready for all Coverts Cooperators except the newest class, who don’t have to fill it out until next year...enjoy your rookie year, Class of 2010!. The survey has some new questions this year, in an effort to coordinate our data with other New England states who run Coverts-like programs. But it should still only take 15 minutes. Please take it today, and thank you for your help!
- Click here to connect to the online survey
- Email Malin if you want a paper survey instead.
Learn How to Present Wildlife Talks in Your Community!
Speaking for Wildlife Volunteer Training
Friday, Dec. 3, 12:30 – 4:30, Concord, NH
As Coverts volunteers, we ask that you spread the word about wildlife habitat conservation and land stewardship to other members of your community. Speaking for Wildlife is a new program, now offered to all Coverts volunteers (not just those in the Upper Valley) that offers you a forum to easily share your enthusiasm for wildlife with others. We’ll provide all the equipment, handouts, presentation materials, and training for how to do a talk...you just need to add your energy! At this new training session, you’ll get a change to hear the two NEW talks added this fall to the program: “Bats of New Hampshire,” and “New Hampshire’s Natural Communities.” Existing Speaking for Wildlife presenters should also attend – you will learn the new material, and we want to hear your ideas for how we can improve the program as we take it beyond the Upper Valley.
If plan to attend on Dec 3, please contact Malin as soon as possible: malin.clyde@unh.edu or call 603-862-2166.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
“Pulling Together” to Combat Invasive Plants: Weed wrenches available for free loan!
Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is pleased to announce its new invasive plant removal tool loan program funded by the Lamprey River Advisory Committee. The purpose of the library is to provide a storehouse of specialized tools, called Weedwrenches, useful for manual removal of invasive plants such as glossy buckthorn, autumn olive multiflora rose or honeysuckle. We have enough tools available for large work groups and encourage you to use them. We currently have thirteen Weedwrenches available in three different sizes. We will soon be adding another thirteen to our tool library. Why so many? We want to provide an easy, free way for conservation commissions, land trusts, natural resource managers, restoration ecologists or individual landowners to carry out their invasive plant control projects. Tools are housed at the Great Bay Discovery Center in Greenland and available on a first come first served basis. Please contact Paul St Pierre at: StPierre@wildlife.nh.gov to make arrangements. Tool loan is free, we just request a brief form be filled out giving the location of your project, the species of invasive plant to be removed and an approximate acreage. A full press release will be distributed once the lending library is complete with its full inventory. We look forward to hearing from you soon and ask that you please forward this to other conservation partners that may be interested. More information about Weedwrenches can be found www.weedwrench.com
WORKSHOPS
Landscaping at the Water’s Edge
Nov. 30 & Dec. 1 (2-day workshop), Auburn, NH
Sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension, this workshop is intended for people who are policy makers or are in the business of developing, maintaining, or preserving shoreland properties and others who are concerned about the impacts of landscaping on water quality. Registration before Nov. 22: $79-99. Register and learn more online by clicking here. Questions about the program, contact Suzanne Hebert at (603)862-3200
Water, Weather, Climate & Community: Wacky Weather, Are You Ready?
Nov. 30, 5-8:30 p.m., Greenland NH
Te first in a series of community conversations about climate and community preparedness for severe weather events. Held at the Hugh Gregg Coastal Conservation Center. Click here to learn more and to register. Call 603-778-0015 for more information.
Bear Paw Regional Greenways Workshops – click here to learn more and register
- Land Conservation Options & Estate Planning, Dec. 8, 7-9 p.m., Deerfield
- Annual Meeting with speaker David Foster of Harvard Forest, Feb. 12, 2011
COVERTS NEWS
- Congratulations to Dave (CC96) and Tanya (CC95) Tellman, winners of the “Spirit of New Hampshire” Family Category award from Volunteer New Hampshire! This is the highest award in the state given to volunteers, and everyone who knows Dave and Tanya knows they deserve it. We wrote a story about the Tellmans in the Making Tracks newsletter a few years ago that gives you a taste of their commitment to volunteerism, particularly about forests and the environment: "If you visit Dave and Tanya Tellman, landowners in Bethlehem, you will be meeting the sort of forest enthusiasts that will make you want to go out and buy a big chunk of land, whether or not you have the time, the energy, or the means." Read more. Congratulations, Dave and Tanya!!
- For those of you who read Roscoe Blaisdell’s (CC97)story on the Coverts Listserve this week, but wanted to see the accompanying photo of his moose, I’ve posted his story and the photo on the Coverts Webpage here
- My colleague Sarah Smith, Forest Industry specialist here at UNH Cooperative Extension, forwarded this article about woodland owners in Maine that I thought was very interesting. It confirms what we tell you at the Coverts Workshop: you, as a forest owner, are in a very strong position to influence other landowners with your knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm.
RESOURCES & PUBLICATIONS HIGHLIGHT
**New!** Taking Action for Wildlife Website
Taking Action for Wildlife is a collaboration between UNH Cooperative Extension and NH Fish and Game to assist communities and landowners in conserving wildlife and habitats in New Hampshire. We bring you the Taking Action for Wildlife newsletter three times a year...and now we have built a website (www.TakingActionforWildlife.org) where you can learn about new tools, download habitat maps, and read stories about what other people and communities are doing to conserve wildlife in New Hampshire. Be sure to check out the new “Landowner Stories” page – you’ll read about lots of Coverts volunteers!!
NH Wildlife Sightings Database
A way to share your NH wildlife sightings online with NH Fish & Game (and everyone else!). This is an exciting new development for everyone in New Hampshire interested in wildlife and species conservation. Now anyone can get involved in inventorying wildlife across the state. The online database will take some learning – but we encourage Coverts Cooperators to go ahead and get an account on the site. It’s really cool!!!
