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Conservation Commission

Conservation and More

              by Bruce B. Beckley

Issue #95, January, 2001
2020 Vision

Twenty-three days of 2001 have passed and already 1,265 acres of New Hampshire forest, farm land and natural areas have been converted to development. That's right, 20,000 acres per year is the current rate of development. This is an area statewide only slightly less than Amherst's total 21,692 acres which is being given over to new development every year.

Focusing on Amherst, preliminary projections based on an annual rate of growth of two percent per year indicate that by 2020, only 19 years from now, the Amherst population could be at 14,686. To make room for these new residents and businesses, we will see a loss in town of 1,705 acres of forested land. That's 60 acres more than the total acreage now managed by the ACC.

Someday we'll be sorry that we didn't push in 2001 for a land protection warrant article. Maybe we should be sued for not doing our voluntarily assumed obligation. However the ACC decided to hold it's breath while school and town hall issues are voted upon. Frankly, we are gambling with your town that none of the few remaining larger blocks of land which might be protected goes on the market in the next 18 months. A poor gamble, we know. The Commission is not sitting back. We will work to protect open space for all those important reasons we've listed so many times before. We just aren't asking for additional taxpayer land protection dollars this year.

$37.10 Per Acre

Which price do you like? $37.10 per acre or $3710.00 per acre. The New England Forestry Foundation has negotiated the largest ever conservation easement to protect 754,668 acres of Maine forest including 2,000 miles of river frontage and 110 lakes and ponds. The price to protect these 1,180 square miles from development forever is $37.10 per acre.

Here we are one state away working on purchases in the range of $3710.00 per acre. You ask, can open space be possibly worth that? I'll bet that in 2020 when the unprotected large forested blocks are gone and the folks who came only long enough for an Amherst education have moved on, the Town will wish more was done. The truth is more could be done. However it's a difficult upstream paddle to the ballot box. More voices need to be raised in support of your Commission's efforts.

How about a stiff impact fee on new development to be used for open space preservation? For example, the City of Concord imposes a fee of $1.73 per square foot. That would be about $7,000 per new house as they are being built now in Amherst.

XC News

On a more pleasant subject, XC skiing, this has been a good year. While Bragdon Hill is bumper to bumper, many folks have enjoyed the ACC trails in Pond Parish and Joe English for snowshoeing and XC. In New Boston a beautiful fairly level trail runs on a former railroad grade along the Piscataquog River. The New Boston Recreation Trail beginning at the fairgrounds is maintained by the New Boston CC and provides a comfortable two-hour cruise towards Goffstown.

Another trail for skiers or snowshoers to enjoy can be found in West Wilton. We started skiing in Sheldrick Forest (parking lot on Town Farm Road) and from there took the connector to Heald Forest. There, several miles of trail weave through woods and past frozen ponds and marsh. Over the years I have collected half a file drawer of trail guides from national, state and privately maintained areas. The guide for Sheldrick Forest ($2.00) is exceptional! It was prepared for The Nature Conservancy by Antioch New England and surpasses book shelves of fancier books in interest and educational value.

What Am I?

Preservationist? Conservationist? Environmentalist? Normally, I see myself as a conservationist: concerned about the environment, eager to be outdoors in all weather, interested in wildlife species and their habitats, not opposed to wise use of natural resources. In general, I'm not a preservationist who would lock up the woods for all uses forever. But last week I came close to becoming one.

We were enjoying a ski on a trail I cut for XC on ACC land a short section of which snowmobiles are allowed use per an agreement with the Sno Buds. We heard a ski do coming and side stepped off the trail. As the machine passed, the operator gunned all its 60 plus horsepower sending snow, pine needles and dirt over the trail and us. Could this be classed as trail rage? Then there's the ATV which fish-tailed ahead of us scattering wintergreen and arbutus over the snow and creating paths for future erosion. Is it time to become a preservationist?

A couple of days later we were chatting with Buc Buchanan who gave us a needed reminder, "Don't ever stop telling people "environmentalist" is not a dirty word". Thanks Buc.

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