All Are Welcome at Mary’s Trail in Brookline
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The Town of Brookline NH’s Conservation Commission recently completed a years-long project to create a trail that follows accessibility guidelines along the banks of the Nissitissit River. Mary’s Trail, named after Mary Clarke Fessenden (1920-2014), exists on property acquired from … Read More

Seen & Heard: Dragonfly and Butterfly Walk at Betsy Dodge Conservation Area in New Boston
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On Saturday July 16th, PLC Trustee Mike Thomas led a group of members and PLC friends on an exploration of New Boston’s Betsy Dodge Conservation Area. This property, owned and protected by the Town of New Boston, includes a pond … Read More

Family Friendly Hikes for Summer Fun
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Summer vacation is here! Adventure awaits. We know when kids are in tow, things like easy parking, accessibility, and interesting destinations can make a big difference for a fun day in nature.  We’ve made a list of local, family-friendly hikes … Read More

PLC Birding Summary – May 2022
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Three groups explored PLC properties, looking and listening for birds during the busy spring migration season. Matt Tarr of UNH Extension led a group at Tuthill Woodlands Preserve in New Boston, Gail Coffey led a group at the Nissitissit Headwaters … Read More

Timber Tour Takeaways
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Mike Gagnon of UNH Extension’s forestry team joined PLC staff and 15 attendees on March 5th to tour the Tuthill Woodlands Preserve in New Boston.  This property was harvested in 2017 by foresters from   Meadowsend Timberlands as part of a carefully developed forest management plan. The unique topography, ecology, and history of the Tuthill Woodlands Preserve were factored into the forestry decisions with the goal of protecting soils, water, the wildlife who call Tuthill home, and improving the timber quality for the future.… Read More

Branches, Buds, and Bark – Oh My! What We Learned at the Winter Tree and Shrub Identification Workshop.
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On Sunday, January 16th PLC partnered with the Brookline, NH Conservation Commission and UNH Extension to host a Winter Tree and Shrub ID Event at Hobart-Fessenden Woods in Brookline, NH – and winter it was! Morning temperatures clocked in at … Read More

5 Favorite Southern NH Foliage Hikes
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At PLC, we encourage getting out on our properties in September and October – the temperatures are comfortable, there’s a lot of wildlife activity, and the changes of the season mean plenty to observe in the natural world.  

We’re starting to see those first flushes of color, so we put together a list of a few of our favorite spots to get some exercise, peep some leaves, and take in the beauty of the season.  … Read More

Woods, Water & Fish
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This summer PLC and the NH Fish and Game Department will be working to improve fish habitat in Scataquog Brook at our Proctor Preserve in Lyndeborough. The stream restoration project will involve felling a small number of trees away from the stream, and then carefully and strategically placing them, either whole or cut into specific lengths, into the stream. The practice has been used for about twenty years in New Hampshire, first in the White Mountain National Forest.

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Rocky Roads
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One of my favorite woods walks is the Chestnut Hill section of the Joe English Reservation in Amherst. A unique feature of the area are the piles of stones that are scattered randomly across the hillside. These piles are identical to the cairns one sees above tree line in the White Mountains. But where did these piles of stones come from, and why are they in the middle of the forest?

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The Story Behind the Red Pines
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In his book Reading the Forested Landscape, ecologist Tom Wessels writes that if you find a stand of red pines in New England that is not in its natural setting (dry, rocky slopes), then the trees were almost surely planted.  Take the red pines at PLC’s Jon Brooks conservation easement in New Boston.    If you walk northwest along the trail that runs through the property, at the top of the hill you’ll find numerous red pines on your right, but no red pines on your left. 

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