Horse Hill Nature Preserve

Master Plan Committee

During 2003, the Horse Hill Nature Preserve Master Plan Committee completed the goals defined in its charge and delivered the completed Master Plan to the Board of Selectmen.

The committee met twice per month to gather data and debate potential uses for the Horse Hill property. Guest speakers educated the committee on a variety of topics. These guests included:

Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests

New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

Bureau of Trails

Beaver Brook Association

Audubon Society

UNH Cooperative Service Wildlife Diversity specialist

Merrimack Village District

Merrimack Police Department

Granite State ATV Association

Merrimack SnoBuds

Merrimack Youth Association

The speakers engaged the committee in in-depth discussions of their respective areas of expertise and provided informative background materials.

The committee also received information from the Merrimack Community Development Department, the Merrimack Conservation Commission, the Merrimack Heritage Commission, the Merrimack School District, the Up North Orienteers, and the New England Mountain Biking Association.

The committee appointed a public input coordinator and actively solicited public comments, set up a link on the Town's web page to allow the public to easily access committee documents, conducted walks of the property, and organized a Clean-up Day on which Merrimack residents helped to remove trash from the property.

The committee presented its completed Master Plan to the Board of Selectmen on August 27, 2003 and attended several subsequent BOS meetings to discuss the plan.

With the committee's charge complete but with a great deal of work remaining to be done, the BOS decided to rename the committee to the Horse Hill Nature Preserve Ad Hoc Committee and issued them a new charge. They are looking forward to a productive year in 2004.