A special thank you to the Coverts Project volunteers who helped staff our booth at the 2012 Farm & Forest Expo this year!
Nancy Cowan (and her awesome hawk!), Jan Woodbury, Beth Penney, Charlie Mitchell, Nanci Mitchell, Cynthia Hayes, John Trachy, Dave Tellman, Tanya Tellman, Barbara Pinet, Kristina Burgard. Also thanks to Natural Resource Stewards Linda Meserve and Mary Jane Sheldon.
We couldn't do this event without your help! Pictured here l-r: Rockingham County Forester Fred Borman, volunteers Cynthia Hayes and John Trachy, and Coverts Project staff Malin Clyde.
If you are looking for good timber income tax information, look at Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for the 2011 Tax Year by Linda Wang and John Greene (members of the US Forest Service National Timber Tax Team), newly posted to NHWoods.org, or use this direct link to download the publication:
http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000243_Rep262.pdf
Lots of neat looking events for those in and around Hanover. Check out the Hanover Conservancy Website for more details!
MARSHALL BROOK WETLANDS ~ Saturday, February 25, 9am-noon – Explore this extensive wild area in the northeast corner of Hanover, in search of wildlife sign and the special ecological features that led to the Town’s acquisition of this land. Bring snowshoes, snack, and water for a challenging off-trail hike. Location: Meet on Goose Pond Rd. at N tip of Goose Pond. Leader: Naturalist Alcott Smith
MOONLIGHT SNOWSHOE & BONFIRE ~ Saturday, March 3, 5-8pm –Prowl the Slade Brook watershed by moonlight, then gather around a bonfire for hot cocoa, cider, and more. Bring a headlamp or flashlight. Suitable for children 7 years and up. Location: Meet at 11 Old Lyme Road. Leader: Hugh Mellert
RAY SCHOOL FAMILY SNOWSHOE ~ Saturday, March 10, 1-3pm Let’s go play outside on the Ray School trails! Hot chocolate and cookies will warm us up afterwards. Snowshoes available
for those who don’t have them. Passport to Winter Fun event. Location: Meet in the lower school parking lot by the gym. Leaders: Gail McPeek & Janice O’Donnell
GREEN FIRE ~ Film ~ Thursday, March 29, 7 pm – Proposing a land ethic for the 21st century, this thought-provoking new film illustrates the life and legacy of legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold, author of A Sand County Almanac. Location: Howe Library. Co-sponsored with the Sierra Club of the Upper Valley.
On Saturday, February 4, eleven volunteers met with staff and partners of the NH Coverts Project to discuss improvements to the program for the future. You can read all about it in the notes from the meeting, posted on the Coverts website here:
NH Coverts Project Advisory Committee Meeting Notes - Feb. 4, 2012
Our sincerest thanks to all who took the time to attend! I got some great advice about fundraising, questions in the annual survey, promoting the Speaking for Wildlife program, and more. And best of all, I got to see a group of volunteers, all in one place, when it's NOT the Coverts workshop! Very fun for me :-)
Best,
Malin
State Wildlife Grants in Jeopardy:
What would New Hampshire look like without funding for wildlife conservation?
By John Kanter, Nongame and Endangered Species Program Coordinator
Take a Survey, Win a Hat! Win one of 5 “Wild NH” embroidered turtle caps! Just tell us more about you and your ideas for supporting conservation efforts. Complete the survey by February 15 at www.wildnh.com/nongamesurvey. Thank you! |
It’s no secret that serious cuts are being made to government programs on every level. Because of proposed cuts to State Wildlife Grants – federal funds that make up more than half of the N.H. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program’s budget – the work of our dedicated staff is at risk. In the U.S. House Interior Appropriations bill, the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program is slated for a 64% cut for FY12 – that’s on top of a 31% cut to the program last year. In a sagging economy, cuts are understandable. But the proposed slashing of State Wildlife Grants (SWG) is wildly disproportionate – and would jeopardize a 10-year investment in nongame wildlife conservation.
What would the consequences be of deep funding cuts for New Hampshire’s wildlife? Without funding, Karner blue butterflies, terns and plovers, all of which depend on intense management, would quickly disappear. Little brown bats and New England cottontails would continue to decline. Land conservation projects would no longer have access to maps of the state’s priority habitats. Even if enough funds remain to help the most critically imperiled species, the Wildlife Action Plan’s strategies to halt declines in wildlife populations and habitats – and prevent the need for more listings and expensive recovery efforts – will need to be shelved.
You might have read about the results of the Pine Barrens and Karner blue butterfly restoration effort in the latest issue of the Nongame Program’s Wildlines newsletter. It’s a case study in how reviving a species and bringing back habitats takes time, money and people. It drives home the point that even with a well-funded, ten-year effort supported by hundreds of volunteers, much remains to be done to ensure that the butterflies will persist in the wild.
Too often, people contend that there is a stark choice to be made – between jobs and the environment, for example, or people versus wildlife – but the truth is that wildlife and conservation are a net benefit to the economy. Wildlife-related recreation brings in $520 million annually to New Hampshire and supports 4,000 jobs. Moreover, conservation can only succeed with dedicated and well-trained biologists. The Nongame Program has eight staff members, and several more people working under contract at UNH, N.H. Audubon and the Natural Heritage Bureau, which receive significant funding from SWG.
Our program is successful largely because of 10 years of federal funding through State Wildlife Grants. Despite our amazing volunteers, donors and partners, our ability to maintain and build on that success will be severely compromised if SWG takes major cuts in the new Congressional budget. I’ve written before about the need for long-term, dedicated funding for nongame and endangered wildlife – it’s always been a goal, but with SWG in danger, it’s more important than ever.
To that end, we need to rejuvenate the Teaming With Wildlife coalition here in N.H. This national grassroots effort of organizations and individuals helped bring about State Wildlife Grants 10 years ago. Perhaps together we can create a solution to the volatility that seems to mark wildlife conservation funding; please take our survey at www.wildnh.com/nongamesurvey and share your ideas. Thanks for helping ensure that wildlife and habitat conservation funding stays off the endangered list!
Take a Survey, Win a Hat!
Win one of 5 “Wild NH” embroidered turtle caps! Just tell us more about you and your ideas for supporting conservation efforts. Complete the survey by February 15 at www.wildnh.com/nongamesurvey. Thank you!
The Coverts Project collects all kinds of information about the work of our program and our 315 active volunteers. Did you know:
- Coverts volunteers work in over 130 different NH communities?
- Coverts contirbuted over 40,000 hours of volunteer time in 2011, valued at over $850,000?
- Coverts helped protect and conserve over 10,000 acres of land in
NH in 2011? - Coverts volunteers connected with over 100,000 people in 2011 - through conversations, workshops, walks, presentations, newletter articles, media outreach, etc.
These statistics and more are found in our Annual Report, available online. The 2011 report has just been posted - check it out!
or check out
- 2011 Highlight Report - a quick summary of the Coverts Project in 2011 (or click on cover at right)
Workshop Tomorrow! Tuesday, Jan. 24, 6 p.m.
Backyard Maple Syrup and Care of Storm Damaged Trees
Milford Blue Seal Foods, 274 Elm St. Milford, NH
Have you ever had questions about how to care for storm damaged trees and shrubs on your property, or had an interest in making maple syrup in your backyard? Join county foresters Steve Roberge and Jon Nute tomorrow in Milford for this great workshop!!
http://extension.unh.edu/fwt/docs/Milford_Maple.pdf
New Speaking for Wildlife Presentation will have test-run at training on Feb. 10
Location: NH Fish and Game, 11 Hazen Dr., Concord
The Speaking for Wildlife program will be offering a training workshop for new and existing volunteers on Friday, Feb 10 from 1-4 pm (with optional computer training from 12-1).
Click here to download a flyer about the training
A new presentation, "Landscaping for Wildlife," will be shown at the training, and volunteer feedback sought. 
"We need to hear from our future presenters about what works and what doesn't," says Extension staff member Emma Carcagno, who helped draft the new talk. Extension staff Matt Tarr, Mary Tebo, and Malin Clyde also had a hand in the new presentation. "I think that Natural Resource Stewards and Master Gardners will also be interested in this new talk," says Mary. "It covers a lot of ground - invasive plants, using native species in landscaping, Integrated landscaping concepts, as well as basic wildlife habitat principles."
Speaking for Wildlife is a program that trains volunteers to deliver natural resource presentations and walk in their communities. To learn more, go to:
Mark your calendars! Coverts Cooperator Jim Kennedy (CC08) will be hosting his annual Woodcock Walk at his property in Etna on Friday, April 13 in the evening. This is always a terrific program - with (almost) guaranteed woodcock sightings!
Jim reports, "We just finished some brontosaurus work, and (my neighbors at Huntington Hill Wildlife Management Area) did a lot of bronto work on the Goodfellow Road fields and around the main pond, so we will have a lot to see in the field."
More information TBA!
group announces another hike, scheduled for Sunday, January 29 at 1:30 p.m. on the Samuel A. Tamposi Water Supply Reserve (SATWaSR) Conservation Land. Depending upon conditions, it will be a walk or snowshoe or cross country ski event and will be led by John Wallace. SATWaSR consists of 1435.6 acres in the southeast corner of Barrington and is town owned property with extensive wetlands and trails throughout it.
The Town of Barrington placed the property into a conservation easement in 2001. The acquisition of this valuable property was made possible as a result of a donation from the Tamposi Corporation and a grant from the NH Department of Environmental Services ”Water Supply Protection Program”. This conservation area is forever protected from development by a Conservation Easement held by The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
For more details about the hike as it gets closer to the event, check the Barrington Conservation Commission web site at http://barringtonconcom.org/ or contact John Wallace at 664-5974 or email him at Crawford@metrocast.net .
