General Government - Town of Meredith

General Government
Conservation Commission continued...
It should be noted the three bridges were built for material costs only (total $2,700), saving more than
75% compared to hiring a contractor. This is great testament to the community and the 200 hours of
volunteer labor building the three bridges. Thanks also go to the town DPW for their assistance.
Trails
Dominant in our trail maintenance was dealing with an unusually large number of blow-downs. The 4th
of July weekend saw heavy winds and a micro-burst on Arbutus Hill leaving more than a dozen large
trees in one area laying down like pick-up-sticks. The Meredith Community Forest and the Page Forest
also saw their fair share of the chainsaw.
General trail maintenance, including brushing, blazing and the installation of a number of water-bars was
conducted on almost every trail in our three major recreational forests. Thanks goes out to our
community trail adopters for all their work.
September 15th was our second annual community service day event in the Hamlin – Eames Forest with
close to thirty volunteers from the Plymouth LDS Church working on various projects throughout the
forest.
2012 Highlights
The Commission is again working with the town of New Hampton on conserving a parcel of land on the
Snake River in a manner similar to the Spear Conservation Easement granted in 2010.
A complete ecological assessment is being completed for the Page Pond & Forest by the firm Watershed
to Wildlife. The group has spent a number of days throughout the year mapping all the relevant data.
Commission member Paula Wanzer attended a two-day seminar at Crotched Mountain on accessible
trails. Subsequently Paula made presentations to the Conservation Commission, Town Planning,
Community Development and the Village Pathways Committee.
In July your commission hosted a guided hike through the Page Forest followed by a reception
celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Trust for Public Land’s conservation efforts in New Hampshire.
Author and Commission member Peter Miller has published a number of articles in our local papers
providing all of us with wonderful guided tours of our town forests. Peter’s literary skill paints vivid
landscapes of our forests intertwined with some of the history of the land.
Following the completion and analysis of the town’s Natural Resource Inventory – Phase Two (NRI-2),
your commission voted in favor of supporting the updated wetlands designations including the redesignation
of the Hawkins Brook wetlands complex.
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Town of Meredith