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Conservation Commission

Conservation and More

              by Bruce B. Beckley

Issue #36, November, 1997
The New Boston Tracking Station

Bombs were dropping around the world in 1942. Amherst, Mont Vernon and New Boston were not spared as pilots and bombardiers trained over a bombing range lying in parts of the three towns. Use of the area as a practice range continued through the Korean war until 1956. Since then, the New Boston Air Station (NBAS) has been home to an Air Force satellite tracking station. Less than 50 acres of the station are needed for the tracking function. The remaining 2800 acres have a limited military function and are managed to encourage a diversity of habitats and wildlife species.

A comprehensive biodiversity survey has just been completed of the four square mile NBAS by a team of eight principal scientists from Argonne National Laboratory. The survey findings and the researchers’ recommendations will be among the bases when the station’s forest management plan is revised this Fall.

The ACC 500-acre Joe English Reservation lies just to the south of the NBAS and is contiguous with it, sharing watershed, habitats and species. We are definitely the beneficiary of the Argonne survey whose findings and recommendations can be extended to our Joe English area. Our resources for scientific studies could not begin to match those of the Air Force. We also will benefit from the spirit of cooperation and sharing between the NBAS command and conservation commissions from the three towns whose land was taken in 1942.

Since colonial times, the Southern Tier of New Hampshire has been cleared for farms which in many cases were later abandoned, reforested and logged for white pine, reforested again and now cleared for subdivisions. The Argonne report points out that "Although Federal facilities have been the site of numerous activities and developments, the nature and extent of these activities generally have resulted in less adverse effects on biodiversity than the land uses in surrounding areas. As a consequence, many Federal facilities now support relatively high levels of biodiversity that are important in maintaining regional natural systems."

The findings summarized in the 170 page report are interesting:

Physiography - The NBAS has an elevation range from 350 to 1283 feet above sea level at the summit of Joe English Hill. There are 24 open water locations and 17 streams, most of which drain into Joe English Brook and through ACC property. Wetlands cover 198 acres.

Habitat - Eighty-nine percent of the undeveloped NBAS land is forested. Nine different classes of land cover were identified. Mixed forest is the most extensive cover at 1300 acres followed by coniferous forest and deciduous forest at 710 and 540 acres respectively.

Plants - A total of 450 plant species was found during the survey.

Moths et al - 152 moth species and 37 butterfly and skimmer species were identified during periodic night and daylight sampling periods.

Birds - Sophisticated observation techniques were used to develop as complete a listing as possible over the 2-year study period. A total of 147 species were observed. 109 of these are considered to be neotropical migrants (wintering in the tropics). 42 neotropicals were confirmed breeders on the NBAS.

Other species - Amphibians (12 species), reptiles (4 species) and mammals (20 species) were not specifically studied. However, when sightings occurred they were recorded.

The Biodiversity Survey of NBAS is a valuable resource as the ACC and Recreation Dept. develop educational programs at the Peabody Mill Center and as the ACC completes its forest management plan for the surrounding Joe English Reservation.

Yahweh must have been a list keeper for, as the psalmist wrote, "He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names." And Thomas Jefferson had his lists and wrote, "There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me, nor any thing that moves." Do you suppose Jefferson was the first environmentalist on the Federal roster?

Monson Village - Time is running out to stop a 20th century developer from building on top of 18th century Monson. Call the SPNHF at 224-9945 to help.

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