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Conservation Commission

Conservation and More

              by Bruce B. Beckley


Issue #114, January, 2002
Beyond The Law

Once upon a time, perhaps a decade ago, the Conservation Commission was dubbed the conversation commission, affectionately of course. Our plate was nowhere near as full in those days as it is now. We talked more about less. The buffet of possible activities, goals and purpose was the same then as now. We just didn’t choose or know how to put as much on the plate. Today, there is usually no time to converse at the Sunday night meetings beyond the agenda items which regularly include grant applications, open space protection, property management, Peabody Mill programs, dredge & fill matters and recreational usage.

For some reason at a recent meeting the regular business was done by 8:30 and we sort of fell into a conversation mode. A few questions informally posed channeled our sharing, freewheeling thoughts:

  1. What should be the Commission’s mission? We all know what the RSAs (state law) require of commissions - space preservation, protection of natural communities, maintaining a natural history inventory, etc. How does this translate to Amherst specifically? Our consensus: What we do should be getting folks to think about land and nature issues. Think, that’s a hard one. Getting people to think, how? This is being approached in several ways: Peabody Mill programming, provision of space and trails for study, school and community programs, articles and enforcement. Are there more?

  2. Should we seek ways to increase usage of ACC-managed properties? “Build it and they will come” is very true. Our properties and programs are becoming focal points for outdoor activity, not just for Amherst residents but also for the many who come from out of town, especially Bedford and Merrimack. With more users more trail wear is going to happen and more maintenance be required of us volunteers. Greater requests for programs translate into more space and program leader needs. Should we stop the PR? Does advertising in the long run harm the environment we are charged to protect? Len summarized our thoughts at this point saying, “PR is good. It elicits care for the properties and the natural world in general”.

  3. What is the ACC responsibility for passive recreation? We’ve been into this many times. “Passive recreation” seems to be a common term used in the law and many policy statements. However, it does not appear to have been defined in the law or by the courts. The ACC takes the term to include: individual activities versus organized team or group programs and competitions - skiing, hiking, biking (except in Joe English reservation), quiet time and nothing motorized. Since the ACC manages open space generally suitable for such activities, we have assumed a limited obligation to provide passive recreation opportunities when these are not in conflict with our other duties and goals. It’s not clear how much of our resources we should invest in recreation facilities. Case by case, I guess. For instance, what about developing a cross-town recreation trail? Is there a need? Whose job? It would use ACC land. Should it?

And so the conversation went, all focused around what should your commission be doing beyond its strictly preservation role…beyond the law. Could we hear from you? Face to face at our meetings would be great (2nd Sunday at 7 PM). A letter or phone call works too. Since these articles started two-plus years ago, we have sparked only one comment, just one. Maybe it’s time to be more assertive. But how do we reach the non-reader? Create a crisis? But we already have one! The NH population grows by 26,000 people a year causing 13,000 acres of woodland to be cleared, subdivided or asphaltized. At this rate in a generation an area nearly one half the size of the White Mountain National Forest will go into development. And you know what part of the state most of that will come out of. Now, is that a crisis?

We need conversation to achieve conservation.

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