Revisiting

As we wrote the last C&M article, snow was in the air. This morning snow again haunts the Monadnock region. I’ll try to choose carefully the time for writing the July fourth article.

In 1998 a fully revised Amherst Town Master Plan was adopted after information-gathering meetings and public hearings. Each branch of town government had a chance to provide its input. Finally, the document was completed and captured the Town’s needs, the sentiments of its citizens and provided a focus for the future. If we were to replay the process today, I believe the conclusions would closely parallel those reached four years ago. Several of the Plan recommendations have been achieved while others still wait to be championed.

Chapter III of the Plan provides a 30-page summary and discussion of the town’s environmental resources and steps that can be taken for their protection. Remembering that the 1998 Plan captured the views of townsfolk, here are just a few excerpts. First a tone setting paragraph from the introduction:

Amherst is graced with an abundance of natural resources. There are lakes and ponds, not so big to invite noisy crowds, not so small to pave over. There are wetlands; large, bountiful and fecund enough to deserve State prime wetlands designation and to harbor rare species. There is a river to provide exciting spring whitewater canoeing, lazy summer family outings and all year long the dutiful recharge of the aquifer beneath it. Forests stretch all about in every view; harboring four-footed and feathered wildlife with food and shelter and enjoying their own quiet push for the sun.

The section on conservation land recommendations contains these statements.

While preserving open land in general is important, large contiguous tracts of undeveloped land are far more important to wildlife and natural resource preservation than small fragmented pieces. The Town should continue to support land acquisition of contiguous parcels whenever possible. If the Amherst section of the New Boston Air Station were to become available, the Town should act immediately. The area should be left in its pristine state, as it is extremely valuable for watershed protection as well as wildlife habitat.

Open space in whatever form, fields, woods or wetlands, is an expected if not essential element of Amherst’s land use pattern. Part of the environmental character or heritage of this town lies in the diversity of the resident species from the large quadrupeds of the Joe English area to the sundews of Ponemah Bog. In all our planning, deliberate steps should be taken to preserve and enhance biodiversity. A connecting thread of protected land between larger reserves is better than none and may provide for the biker. But wider corridors are needed for species movement and breeding and for water protection.

A few of the specific recommendations pertaining to open space and land:

The Town should expand its efforts to preserve and protect open space parcels as they become available through the purchase of development rights, easements or fee purchases.
When appropriate, a conservation restriction should be placed on parcels of land that become town-owned through failure of the owner to pay taxes.
Residents desiring to preserve the open space character of their town should be able to find encouragement and support from town agencies and in town policies.
The open space fraction of one subdivided parcel should be engineered and designed to abut that of an adjoining subdivision or other protected open space.
Amherst officials should work with their counterparts in Merrimack to establish a Pond Parish Corridor as a protected resource approaching 1,000 acres in area.

That is just a portion of the Plan’s goals and recommendations. There are many more regarding land and water resources. They all need to be revisited as town planning and build out continue each day.

Beaver Engineering

In the last issue we invited you to calculate how much water was being retained in Baboosic Lake behind a 16-inch high beaver dam. Here’s our answer:

Last Update:

Conservation Commission

Conservation and More

by Bruce B. Beckley

Issue #122, May, 2002
Revisiting

Beaver Engineering

Conservation Commission

Conservation and More

by Bruce B. Beckley

Issue #122, May, 2002 Revisiting

Beaver Engineering

Issue #122, May, 2002
Revisiting