HORSE HILL NATURE PRESERVE

AD HOC COMMITTEE

Minutes of Monday, November 1, 2004

Courtroom at Town Hall

7:30 p.m.

Members Present: Denise O'Dwyer, Debra Huffman, Karen Mattor, Tim Tenhave, Ruth Roulx, Janet Cormier, Mike Ruggiero, Nelson Disco, Susan Siena, Connie Kreider, Harold Watson, Helynne Wenz, Chris Christensen, Andy Powell, John Buckley

Also present: Dan Cyr (Bay State Forestry), Ann Poole, Walter Warren, Scott McPhie, Diane Hardy

Call to Order: Tim Tenhave called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.

Announcements and Updates: Tim Tenhave made the following announcements:

The December meeting will be in the Selectmen's Conference room at Town Hall.

The cleanup subcommittee will host a short cleanup day on 11/20 to remove some roofing materials. Call Tim if you can help.

The Permitted Uses signs are ready. Ernie Buck will handle the signs on posts, committee members will put up the signs on trees on 11/7. Call Tim if you can help.

Forester's Report Presentation: Tim Tenhave thanked the Merrimack Conservation Commission for paying for and overseeing the production of this report.

Walter Warren, Community Development Director, made introductory remarks and introduced Diane Hardy (Planning Administrator), Scott McPhie (Community Development department), and Dan Cyr of Bay State Forestry, the author of the report. Dan then presented an overview of the report.

Dan stated that the land was likely all sheep pasture at one time and has probably grown and been logged three times since then. There are old cellar holes and stone walls from this time. There are now approximately 70 acres of open water, which is good for wildlife. PSNH provides free habitat improvement every few years when they mow the area under the power lines.

Dan set up a cruise line to sample the land using a 300' by 300' grid. He assessed the land and timber using this grid. He stated that sometimes the best action is to do nothing, to leave some areas alone for conservation and some manipulation. Other areas should be managed.

He urged the town to decide on a body to manage the land. He suggested that the town consider creating a body for open space management throughout the town.

Dan stated that the entire property contains approximately 1.4 million board feet of timber, but we can't get to it all. Most of the timber is on 45 acres in three stands that were not cut in the last harvest. There is approximately 908 board feet of white pine, much of the rest is low quality, such as black oak, which is poor quality timber but produces great acorns for wildlife, such as turkeys.

Much of the timber is appropriate for firewood now but will grow into saw timber. The white pine and hemlock that is too small for boards would be pulpwood if harvested now.

Most trails are heavily used by ATVs and they have made significant impact on the wetlands.

Dan flagged the boundaries with pink ribbon but this is not a survey. There were many stone walls and wire fence to follow, but much still needs verification. Most boundaries are in fairly good shape but they should be blazed and painted.

Dan reviewed the stand map in the report and described how the stands were identified. Stands 4, 5, and 8 are where most of the timber is.

In Stand 1 he mentioned that the well is a liability issue and should be covered, and the water line that runs from the well to Amherst Rd should be located and marked. The invasive species in Stand 1 should be controlled.

Stand 2 is in an early successional stage. It is a competition and it is not yet clear which species will succeed. Birch and aspen will die off; oaks, pine, and hemlocks will prevail. The town can encourage whichever species it wants to prevail.

Access to the property is bad. Dan recommends creation of parking areas at Amherst Rd and Palmeri Dr. and creation of a corridor road through the property that stays on the high ground. Existing roads can be used in most areas.

The sand pit area is very sensitive and the road as outlined in his report cuts right through the sand pit. An alternative is to come in from Palmeri then block the road at the power lines. Coming in from Amherst Rd, the road would be blocked on the side of Horse Hill. Both end points should have gates.

Most existing roads were put in by logging companies. The culverts have collapsed and they need to be upgraded. Some trails should be abandoned and some impact wetlands.

For ATVs, the town should show the riders what they are doing and find a place in town more suitable for riding.

Creating a parking area at the end of Palmeri Dr would get the cars off the road and at the same time the town could get rid of one patch of bamboo, which is very invasive.

To do logging, the town first needs to improve access. A staging area near Palmeri could service stands 5 and 8 and be turned into a parking area. Stand 4 could be accessed through private land or up a steep hill on the town property.

Timber stand improvement (TSI) is needed throughout the property, particularly in stand 2. Invasives should be managed, especially the burning bush in the northeast corner.

Dan then read through and explained the 20 priorities he outlined in his plan and he described the benefits of tree farms. He then introduced Ann Poole, who wrote the biological assessment section of the Forester's Report.

Ann stated that there is a lot of water on the property, both surface and wetlands. The ledge outcrops in the Blodgett Hill area provide crevices and cracks that are great snake habitat. Large salamanders would love the larger vernal pools.

White Pine Swamp is a remarkable asset. It is a heron rookery with a dozen nests. She has submitted paperwork to the state describing this exemplary community.

The grapes near the Spaulding cellar hole were probably planted. Birds and animals love them.

There is an obvious wildlife corridor along the waterway through the middle of the property going north/south. There are lots of vernal pools in this area that are attractive to ATVers. There is an ideal turtle nesting habitat in the sand pit along this corridor and that area will present a conflict with humans who also want to use that area. The turtles like a loose sandy soil with some grade near water. The nests she saw were predated but there were probably more under cover. The open ones are often predated by raccoons and weasels. The town should watch for Blanding turtles and Spotted turtles, which are declining.

Ann then reviewed and described the species list in the report. She stated that this property would make a great place for someone to do their masters work on reptiles.

Audience Questions: Janet Cormier noted that when the property was purchased the voters were told it was for multiple recreational use. The Forester's report identifies only 10 acres for ball fields, and they are under power lines with no water, parking, access, or electricity. Walter Warren responded that this is not the definitive plan, only the forester's assessment of the land. Dan and Ann have found that only 10 acres are optimal for ball fields but staff will look at other areas, cost, and acceptability. Dan stated that the Master Plan calls for up to 50 acres for ball fields, but he did not find 50 contiguous acres of high ground that would be suitable. Houses can be built on two acre plots of high ground divided by streams and hills, but for ball fields there would need to be a lot of wetlands mitigation.

Tim Tenhave asked about the exposed ledge near the Amherst Rd trail. Dan said it was a bedrock outcrop, probably a fault line. The steep rock face on the south of Blodgett Hill is very unusual, where certain animals might congregate to hibernate in large groups.

Chris Christensen noted that the town was not necessarily looking for contiguous acres for ball fields and wondered about finding smaller areas that might be suitable. He also asked for clarification of the information that was filed with the state. Ann clarified that the swamp has been filed as both a heron rookery and an exemplary community, which is a vegetative community that is very unusual statewide. It is a state designation that is just a way to track unusual communities.

Nelson Disco asked about the wetlands map in the report and the apparent mismatch of some lines. Ann responded that it was created using an aerial map overlaid on a GPS map, which caused some of the lines not to line up.

Connie Kreider asked if they considered surrounding areas in their assessment. Ann stated that she looked at it mostly stand-alone. She only considered continuity around White Pine Swamp and the stand four area for Eastern Box and Hognose snake areas. It is mostly hemmed in by roads, so the smaller animals are mostly hemmed in. Dan stated that he looked at it in the larger context of a greenway including Wasserman Park, the Bowmans Club, Grater Woods, the Buker site, Watkins Forest, and the Sklar site.

Connie stated concern for the drainage that comes from the top of the hill down through the Palmeri Dr area. Dan agreed that there is a lot of water coming off the road and going behind the houses in the gravelly soil off Palmeri. A catch basin should be considered.

Carolyn Whitlock asked about the effect of the property on the abutters, particularly hunting in regards to people. Dan stated that he is a hunter and he wouldn't hunt there due to safety concerns. Carolyn stated that it is similar to ATVs, where there a lot of good ones but some are not careful.

Debra Huffman asked about the cost of constructing the smaller access road running from Palmeri to service stands 5 and 8. Would the timber harvest pay for the work? Dan responded that it is just a guess, but probably the sale of the timber would roughly equal the cost of constructing the road.

Sharon Akers asked for clarification of the recommendation to clear open spaces to encourage wildlife and wondered if there wasn't enough open space in surrounding areas. Ann responded that the goal would be to diversify the habitat to broaden the species that could thrive there. Dan responded that as the forest matures you lose the food of young successional growth and grass. Thinking long term, it's useful to create permanent openings like fields you mow once per year. Sharon asked about how useful it would be to make it a tree farm, and whether it had monetary or ecological benefit. Dan responded that there is monetary return and that creating a tree farm is good land stewardship. Tim Tenhave and Andy Powell mentioned that the 80 Acre site is mostly a mature forest and there is limited undergrowth, which limits wildlife.

Debra Huffman asked if it was foolish to remove the few old growth areas if the goal is to diversify and most of the property is young. Dan agreed that removing the older growth would limit the diversity. Andy Powell added that in the past the property was not managed with sustainable forestry methods. Removing older trees makes a healthy, sustainable forest and the growth rate of remaining trees is better.

Richard Malloon asked if there was a newer trail map available. Debra Huffman stated that an Eagle scout is working on a GPS map and it will be available shortly.

Tim Tenhave asked about the implications of a conservation easement, the logistics of timber harvest in stand 8, future uses of the timber landing, use of wildlife culverts, and the recommendations for brush piles per acre. Ann answered that a 20' diameter pile is preferred so predators cannot get through to the young. It was noted that PSNH is likely to cut the brush under the power lines soon so the timing is good to encourage them to do certain things. It might be possible to use the brontosaurus for mowing the power line at the same time as creating a wildlife opening.

Tim asked for examples of towns that have a Forest Committee. Dan listed Pelham, Hollis, Dunbarton, Weare, and New Boston. Andy Powell said he will get a list.

Debra Huffman asked if the snakes would be bothered if a mountain bike trail is constructed on the steep slope of Blodgett Hill. Ann said that it depended on the level of disturbance.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:55.