Horse Hill Nature Preserve Committee

April 5, 2004

 

Members Present: Connie Kreider, Helynne Wenz, Denise O’Dwyer, Sue Siena, Newt Coryell, John Buckley, Janet Cormier, David Rutzke, Harold Watson, Debra Huffman, Andy Powell, Karen Mattor, Bill Keating, Tim Tenhave

 

Committee Chairman Tim Tenhave: The Committee has positive interest by four Boy Scouts

to do their Eagle Scout project on the property.  Walter was contacted and seems interested in this prospect too and will consider what things are appropriate for Eagle Scouts and other Troops.  Karen said she knows these four Boy Scouts and they have submitted a list which includes trail work and bridge building. 

 

Tim sent a list of the Committee to staff.  There are now 22 members and Dick Hinch is the Board of Selectmen (BOS) representative.  The following members are no longer on the Committee: Steve Keach, Greg Kirby, Kathy Provencher, Tim Dutton, Amanda Boerner, Roger Blais.

 

There was a jeep discovered in the pond on Harold Watson’s property, off Amherst Road.  The jeep had been on the HHNP property and ended up stuck in Harold’s pond.  They will be prosecuted for wetlands violations after causing considerable damage to the wetlands.   

 

Beaver have been seen repairing the damage to the broken beaver dams on the property.  Trees are seen down in the area from the active beavers. 

 

There is a photographer scheduled for cleanup day from Merrimack Photo.  Dan Cyr will be able to shed light on the forestry project at the next Merrimack Conservation Commission (MCC) meeting at Monday at 7:00 p.m.  Tim did not know if Walter would be in attendance.

 

The HHNP cleanup will be on April 24th.  Janet also reminded the Committee that the Kid’s Kove clean-up day, which will involve staining the wood playground, will be on April 17th.  She needs to know how many could help out starting at 10:00 a.m. on this day.  In the past Friend’s of Kid’s Kove and the Rotary have organized it but this year the Town of Merrimack, Department of Parks and Recreation are doing it.  Also, the first Saturday of May will be Twin Bridge Day to look at an area for extension of the Heritage Trail.  The Teen Center would like a handicapped entrance there also.  She needs to know how many by Monday and it was recommended to Janet that she should put this in the town website.

 

There was a review of the minutes from last month’s minutes.  Connie said she got only three pages, and not all of it.  Tim had extra copies of the minutes from March 1, 2004.  There was a motion to accept the minutes and everybody approved...it passed.

 

Update on signage, both wetlands and ATV’s/trucks:  Tim and Andy signed a letter to the BOS and Walter about ATVs crossing the wetlands situation on the property and the signage we wanted to put up about wetland information.  Dick Hinch e-mailed Tim the BOS agenda for the following week and about 10 HHNP members attended the BOS meeting.  The BOS approved putting signage in the property and this will do something to protect the wetlands.  Andy brought a representation of what the sign said about wetlands.  Two weeks later Andy, Tim, a police officer, Chris Christensen and a couple of other HHNP members put up the signs around the property.  While working, they educated Officer Kelleher about wetlands and the regulations protecting them.  They caught a jeep stuck in a pond right outside the property on Harold Watson’s property and there will be action taken against the driver and he will go to court since he violated a wetlands regulation.  He will be brought in for the complaint and then could be fined with an administrative fine up to $1,000.  Tim took pictures and gave them to the newspaper.  Harold said that he wanted the driver prosecuted for publicity purposes since this will educate the public about not going through wetlands.  Karen mentioned this would make a good cartoon for the Merrimack Journal and was told to contact Bill Green there.  Tim said that so far nobody has taken the signs down.  Andy said it took four hours and they spent a lot of time educating Officer Kelleher about what wetlands are so he knows where they are and where the ATVers go.  Captain Doyle said they would stop and warn the first time and the second time they would write tickets for OHRV violations.  Tim said Walter said it was okay to put up signs about where the access points are on the property.  Initially they thought the signs would have to be every 300 feet but this would take up to 100 signs so now they’re just handling the access points.  They decided on 12 spots, near access points and wetlands.  Walter gave approval for $1,000 to be spent on signs and it will probably cost much less.  Walter wants input on signs which say “No unauthorized use-Designated trails only.”  Trail websites depict signs saying “allowed uses” which stress the positive, not the negative.  Walter will bring them through Council first.  They might be able to get them free like the snowmobile club.  The staff is still deciding where they should be.  Susan was concerned with the nails on trees but Andy reassured them that the MCC does this and a ½ inch face won’t hurt the tree and allows the tree 5-10 years of growth before they have to be changed.  The MCC ordered more wetland informational signs, which are heavier from a print shop.

 

Public:        Pete Johnson, who lives off Queens Way, who was visiting the meeting said he would help with hikes, etc.

 

Trails Subcommittee:    Debra said they had a March 22nd meeting and walked the

Wasserman Heights Trail a second time, officially this time.  They are now ready to work with Bob Spoerl, from the State Trails Bureau, and have it scheduled for April 15th at 9:00 a.m.  He will walk with them and answer questions especially about the Wasserman Heights Trail.  They also have another volunteer, Harry Watt, from the NH Mountain Bike Assoc.  Andy said they were a good group and have worked on trails elsewhere in town with the MCC.   Debra said they have started work on the Trail Master Plan.  They divided the property into 9 sections and different members would take them so members can get intimately involved in their own section.   Tim had an elevation map which shows some of the trails and said he had small versions available.  Debra asked which trails were shown and was the map accurate.  Tim said some are not there and it is not perfectly adequate.  The Master Plan shows the wetlands and has 2 foot increments in the topographical map.  Tim is working with the layers.  Andy said the National Regional Planning Commission can create different maps showing the layers.

 

Parking Subcommittee: Andy said they have had no meetings and the rain messed up their

schedule.  He said he did measure off Amherst Road, where a parking lot will be.  It was asked whether they can make a date since parking is so crucial now and Tim said they have preliminary approval for a parking lot off Amherst but they are awaiting the forestry plan.

 

Funding Subcommittee:        They did not meet since last time but members are working on

action items.  They would like to start applying for fund-raising and conservation grants.   Connie said PSNH has a grant twice per year on April 15 and October 15th to apply for.  Janet looked into the grants and said there are other nonprofit groups in town like the Boy Scouts that can work on conservation trails, etc.  Bow, for example, got it twice but two different nonprofit organizations got the $1,000 grant.  You need to know the materials required and the costs.  The application is on the website.

 

Historic Subcommittee: David Rutzke said that Denise and Debra went to the State Library

to get historical information about the property like archives and maps.  There are also deeds in Nashua which can be researched.  Harold said they have information prior to 1827 from the Annual Town Reports and the Hillsborough Registry of Deeds.  They have a meeting on April 20th and plan on inviting Ed Chase to talk about blocking the Old King’s Highway to preserve the area.  Ruth and him have talked about this possibility but because it abuts the Public Service Company there are questions.  It was determined that declassifying it is not a good plan but a gate and signage would be better.         Harold said that the town could make it a road in the future and the town does not want to loose it but could make the roads into trails.  Scott said that a 1950's deed had a reference to HHNP and others said they’ve found them earlier, such as 1827.

 

Athletic Field Subcommittee: Janet said they are meeting tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. and

also had a meeting on March 17.  They have tried to coordinate meeting dates and have approved minutes and sent them out.  They looked at a map at the Economic Development Office to figure out where they could put fields.  April is out so they thought they would start reviewing potential areas in May.  They have determined that they need accessible parking and access to the park and access to water for irrigating the fields and electricity for supporting a building and lights in the future.

 

Staff Update:      They have made progress in the ATV situation, including wetland signage and

have the order form to order signs.  There was a reminder that there’s a Forestry Management lecture on May 10th, which is the second Monday of the month, during a regular MCC meeting. Jon Nute will be speaking who has worked on forestry management plans.  The following Saturday from 9-11 a.m. there will be a field workshop at the Gilmore Hills Memorial Forest off Greens Pond Road.  Dan Cyr will be joining us at the MVD site, where they have just finished a logging project since a tree farm is recommended. There will also be a wetlands speaker during the MCC meeting in June and also a field walk about wetlands the following Saturday.

 

Clean-up Subcommittee:       There will be a trail walk and cleanup on April 24th at 10:00 a.m.

They are designing trail walks, at which time they will be picking up trash especially in the areas of the sand pit and the top of Blodgett Hill, which are the 2 main areas needing cleaning.  The Spaulding Trail is also more littered than others.  It will be at the HHNP, off Palmeri Drive, rain or shine on April 24th from 10-noon.  They need 2 way radios, refreshments, dumpster, walks guided with maps, protective gloves, clean up teams.  They will be able to use the dump for free at the transfer station.  The ATV club will be there.  Debra talked to people with ATVs and they will connect the trailer like they did at the last clean-up.  The Snobud guy last year did a lot of work.  There will be refreshments and coffee before at 9:30 a.m.  And a group will do Blodgett Hill early.  They won’t want ATVers on certain trails when people are walking the trails so they will walk and clean them up first, then the ATVers can pick up later.  Newton said he has a hydraulic trailer.  The following will be guides: Harold, Debra, John, and Pete Johnson, visiting from the public.  Debra said they would see who shows up and then coordinate the different walks.

Publicity Subcommittee:        Susan started to put material on the website and e-mailed her update last night.  She wrote everything down and got approval.  Pat with the Telegraph will write an article on the clean-up and Debra will call here.  Last year they sent out photographs to the newspapers.  Rita Delude also does a column on Merrimack on Wednesdays and Sundays and Karen will contact her since she works where she does, at the Community College.  They have not heard back from the MVD yet, according to Denise O’Dwyer.

 

New Ideas and Tasks:  Tim started this discussion by saying while the Committee is not in

charge anymore “we can assist” staff and asked committee members if they had any ideas for new projects.  Debra thought they could work with the abutters to put surveyor tape up so the boundaries continue to be depicted.  And people would know what are private property and will stay off such as Harold’s property and the Watanic Bowmen property.  This will help the forester and everyone else on their projects.  Karen recommended that property owners put up their own flags on the edge of their properties but was told that this might be too much to ask. 

 

Another project could be the target shooting project and this should be resolved.  Debra said they have to figure the rules and regulations regarding this.  Karen asked about using signs.  Debra said there are signs elsewhere being used that say “No Target Shooting” and they need a task force working on this.  Dave thought this would conflict with the allowed hunting but it was agreed upon that they were different. 

 

Another project brought up was that they need to stop the trucks going through there and obstacles and gates are needed to block them.  Susan asked if the work Dan Cyr would possibly be doing include boundaries.  Since there are only 20 abutters or so maybe staff should contact them but Debra thought they probably won’t help.  Helynne reminded everyone that Robert Frost kept a stonewall which helped.  It was concluded that one time isn’t enough for education and more public relations is what is needed. 

 

Another request for staff includes the creation of an activities committee which could be seasonally based and work on walks in the fall, seasonal hunting and blue berry picking, etc. 

 

In terms of the trail creation, members said they would use their GPS to pinpoint the trails.  Andy said UNH can get poles and antennae for free and other equipment.  Newton has the GPS equipment and will put it on the computer and thought it needs to be done with 1 or 2 people for consistency.  Karen reminded them that the 4 Boy Scouts looking for Eagle Projects offered to do this project too.   Harold said a survey of the property needs to be done first so the boundaries can be found since you can’t locate or relocate trails until it is surveyed.  Andy questioned whether the four corners are marked.  Some maps show the property lines and they can take trails out of the forestry plan. 

 

Another project is developing a crossing through the sandpit in the middle of the property.  We could let PSNH deal with the alternatives and maybe they’ll pay since they have the legal obligation.  This would be beyond the scope of an Eagle Scout project.   It was questioned whether Walter has spoken to PSNH or Ed Chase yet and a committee member said he would look into it.  Newton said that they are doing something illegal possibly at the McLaughlin property since there are many trucks and a new stonewall on PSNH land, which is an easement, off Peaslee Road.  Harold said he sold the easement from Olde Kings Highway to Gauthier Road to PSNH to crossover while retaining ownership to the land now part of HHNP. 

 

Janet said it’s hard to see the entrance at the Riverside area since the conservation land signs are 100 feet in.  These are where abutters are moving into the property.  They will have Dan Cyr look into this.  There should be a group for forestry under the MCC since they hired a Town Forester, Dan Cyr, and they could be responsible for managing the town land.  Eighty acres has not had much done and is underused but June is party time and another one is Grater Woods, with 200 acres. 

 

Another possible project brought up is partnering with the schools such as a science teacher at the middle school.  There are all kinds of possibilities such as blue bird projects and field trips.  Janet said that the biggest problem with be getting the school buses in.  The Community College could do water sampling, said Karen, but she was told this would need BOS approval.  Already in the winter there is duck box maintenance which is a form of public education.  Pete, a resident visiting the meeting, said he thought the committee was doing a good job and said the beavers were active.  Someone suggested maybe there could be no ATV use on Saturdays.  Connie said the access point near her house on Palmeri Drive is not on the map but is a popular access point.  The ATVers can’t go down this trail but can walk.  Tim said he will call Connie about this.

 

Meeting Adjourned at 9:17 p.m.