Kids and their adults are invited to join the Upper Valley Land Trust and Hulbert Outdoor Center for a FREE day of nature-themed games and activities with a Halloween twist at the Lyme Hill Wetlands in Lyme, NH from 12-4 p.m. on Saturday, October 27!
Treat your family to some outdoor fun and learn about the tricks local wildlife use to survive in their Upper Valley habitats through hands-on games and activities. The event is open from 12-4, and families can come and go as they please during that time. The event is geared for ages 4 and up, but younger children are welcome with a backpack or carrier (a stroller won’t work on the varied terrain). Come in costume and bring a trick or treat bag! Heavy rain cancels, but a little drizzle won’t scare us away.
Lyme Hill Wetlands is on Route 10 just south of the town of Lyme.
Directions:
Coming from “downtown” Lyme, NH, take Route 10 South toward Norwich. Lyme Hill Wetlands is on the right about a mile from town. Coming from Norwich on Route 10, look for Lyme Hill Wetlands on the left as you get close to Lyme. Look for the signs!
For more information, please call 603-643-6626 or email maggie.stoudnour@uvlt.org
The Upper Valley Land Trust’s annual celebration of land conservation drew nearly 150 people to UVLT’s new Lyme Hill Conservation Area last week. All enjoyed hikes and bike rides, live music, good weather and good company as Upper Valley Land Trust shared the accomplishments of the year, honored our volunteers, and elected five new Trustees to the Board of Directors.
“We’ve just installed the sign and trailhead kiosk,” said UVLT President, Jeanie McIntyre, who noted that the 237-acre Lyme Hill Conservation Area was acquired through gifts and purchases of eight parcels of land over a 20 year period. “This property exemplifies the partnerships, synergy, creativity and possibility in UVLT’s conservation accomplishments. It’s a great place for a thank you party,” she said.
Bob Wetzel, Chair of UVLT’s Board of Trustees, announced that UVLT has conserved 2000 acres of land in the past year, and now stewards conservation protections on well over 40,000 acres of land. He thanked the many Upper Valley households and businesses who support UVLT, saying that land conservation contributes to the vibrancy and resilience of the Upper Valley.
UVLT’s Peg Merrens looks on after presenting Willis Wood with the Ashley Advocate Award
The Ashley Advocate Award was presented to Willis Wood of Weathersfield in recognition of his outstanding leadership and neighborly outreach to educate landowners about conservation options. His efforts have resulted in the conservation of numerous significant parcels in Weathersfield and strong community support and understanding.
UVLT’s Pete Helm presents Peggy Willey with the Patchen Miller Award
Peggy Willey of West Fairlee received the Patchen Miller Award which honors the memory of a young naturalist who loved exploring and sharing the world around him. Peggy Willey’s enthusiasm for land stewardship and joy in supporting others as they learn about nature were recognized.
The UVLT members present elected five new Trustees:
• Tracy “Skip” Brown, a longtime Trustee of the Aloha Foundation, who currently serves as Chairman of the West Fairlee Planning Board, and runs the milfoil eradication program of the Lake Fairlee Association. Skip has extensive non-profit experience and a background in law.
• Tom Ciardelli, a retired biochemist and owner of a retail outfitting business. Tom and his wife donated a conservation easement on the 220-acre Sharon, VT property in 2000. He serves as a Trustee of the Center for Northern Woodlands Education and the Vermont Institute of Natural Science.
• Steve Fowler, an attorney currently “of-counsel” with the Concord law firm of Rath, Young, & Pignatelli, focusing on complex commercial real estate transactions and particularly alternative energy projects. Steve has served on the Hanover Board of Zoning Adjustment, the Board of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the Board of the Hanover Conservancy.
• June Hemberger, a former teacher, business owner and independent consultant focusing on team and leadership development and strategic planning. June currently serves on the Enfield Shaker Museum Board and is a past member of the Norwich School Board and the Proctor Academy Board. Her family conserved land on an island in Maine.
• Jim Reynolds, has spent over two decades in the financial services industry in asset management and private equity including at Fayez Sarofim & Co. and Fundamental Capital, in San Francisco. Jim moved to the Upper Valley several years ago and is active here as a private investor. He is on the Board of Advisors for Norris Cotton Cancer Center and serves on the Affordable Housing Committee for the Town of Hanover.
UVLT Chairman Bob Wetzel recognized the leadership contributions of retiring Trustees Freda Swan, Kathy Larson, Charlotte Faulkner, Doug Loudon and Rick Roesch.
This June find a cache and enter for a chance to win a great prize!
UVLT has hidden two geocaches at our new Lyme Hill Conservation Area! Grab some friends and your GPS and go for a hike! Each cache contains a raffle ticket, each individual is allowed to submit one ticket from each cache into the drawing (maximum of two tickets per person).
Cache 1
Image courtesy www.notaboutthenumbers.com
N 43° 47’ 33.2”
W 072° 10’ 24.7”
Cache 2
N 43° 47’ 36.0”
W 072° 10’ 45.6”
What is geocaching?
It is like a mix between a walk in the woods and a treasure hunt. Geocachers use their GPS units to find hidden ‘caches’ and see what is inside!
How do you find a cache?
Your GPS manual should have instructions on how to enter in the coordinates of a cache. Or, sometimes you can download the coordinates right off of the website (unfortunately, not the case here).
What do I do next if I find a cache?
Remove one slip and, after you fill out your information, mail it in!
Raffle ends July 9th and the winner will be announced in the following weeks.
The last Friday of May dawned a bit drizzly, but the clouds, occasional showers, and occasional ticks did not slow down the determined work effort by 16 Hypertherm Associates who volunteered their time to help UVLT staff create a trail connection from its recently established parking and access area at the Lyme Hill Conservation Area just off Route 10, in Lyme, NH.
UVLT hosted its Land Conservation Celebration and Annual Meeting at its Lyme Hill site on Wednesday, June 6 (learn more here) which made this Hypertherm workday particularly well-timed. Hikers and other visitors will now find cleared trails, including a nice wide mulched path from the parking area out to the forest, a pair of newly-constructed bog bridges, many fewer invasive honeysuckle shrubs along the forest edge, and relaxing spaces to take in views over the brook and near the summit of Lyme Hill. It was astounding how much work got done, and Pete, Jason, and Sara (and the rest of us at UVLT!) want to send thanks out to Hypertherm for giving their Associates the opportunities to give back to groups like us for the benefit of our communities! While sharing stories over shovel-fulls of mulch, while sawing and lopping, and while wrestling with weed wrenches, we laughed, groaned about aches and pains (Pete, mostly), and learned a lot about how people, pitching in together at work or in the field, help to build community.
The Lyme Hill Conservation Area is a 237 acre property owned by UVLT and adjacent to another 152 acres of privately-owned conserved land, just south of Lyme Village between Route 10 and River Road. Existing trails provide ample opportunities for outdoor endeavors and many other works-in-progress should enhance visitor experiences in the near future. If you are interested in volunteering with projects that UVLT will have ongoing at this site or any of our conservation areas, please contact Pete Helm or Jason Berard. It feels good to give back!
And, of course, next time you’re looking for a great place to explore with family or friends, consider a trip to this special property which will continue to evolve as an exceptional place to learn, play and celebrate the land we all love in the Upper Valley.
Join us April Fool’s Day, Sunday April 1st, from 10 a.m.-2 pm for some fun in the forest and wetlands at Lyme Hill Wetlands in Lyme, NH! All ages are invited to come and participate in this trickster-themed event that will include nature walks, games, crafts and activities. This event is co-sponsored by the Hulbert Outdoor Center.
Could there be some tricksters frolicking in this forest? Come see on April Fools Day! Photo taken by volunteer Alan DiStasio.
Learn about local wildlife and the tricks they have for surviving in their Vermont and New Hampshire habitats. Pack some snacks or a bag lunch and come anytime after 10 and before 2. Stay as long as you like!
Geared for 4 and above, but younger children are welcome with a carrier (stroller won’t work on the varied terrain). Proper attire is a must – boots are necessary!
Lyme Hill Wetlands is just South of the town of Lyme on Rt 10. Coming from the South, look for event signs on the left as you begin to get close to town. Coming from the North, go through the town of Lyme and look for event signs a few miles outside of town on the right.
We are also looking for 10 volunteers to help out with this fun event!
More than 20 years ago, Put and Marion Blodgett bought a very special piece of land in Lyme, NH. The property includes significant frontage on Pout Pond, one of few remaining ponds that are untouched by, and hidden away from, civilization. Nestled within forested hills, not far from the Appalachian Trail and Lyme Center, visitors to the pond are met with a sense of wilderness that is becoming harder to find these days. No structures can be seen from the pond or its shoreline, helping enhance the natural calm that exists around this pristine feature.
When the Blodgetts first visited the Pout Pond property, conservationist Jane Curtis gave them an important piece of advice to consider when constructing their house, “Don’t cut the trees. You don’t need to see the water from your house.” They took the idea to heart, and since making their home on this land, they have put in many years of thoughtful care and stewardship into the 298 acres of land that surrounds the ecological treasure of Pout Pond.
This month they took their dedication and love for their land to an even higher level by signing a permanent conservation agreement to protect the entire Pout Pond property with UVLT. The conservation easement includes special protections of the wooded buffer that screens the view of the existing house from the pond, and retains the undeveloped shoreline buffer along Pout Pond itself.
This conservation project adds another piece to the local mosaic of protected properties and directly enhances the extensive area of preserved land around Pout Pond and another undeveloped water body, the nearby Trout Pond. The Lyme Conservation Commission provided funds to UVLT to support the long-term stewardship of this property, and neighbors and friends of UVLT made donations to cover UVLT’s transaction costs of this project – many thanks to all those supporters!
The Blodgetts sign the Pout Pond Conservation Easement - Pictured Left to Right: Sara Cavin, UVLT, Amber Boland UVLT, Marion Blodgett, Pete Helm, UVLT, and Put Blodgett
Put is no newcomer to conservation and responsible land stewardship. In 1997 and 2001, he conserved his 628 acre working forest property in Bradford, Vermont with the Upper Valley Land Trust. This year, Put Blodgett was named 2011 Outstanding Vermont and Northeast Regional Tree Farmer of the Year (out of all 13 Northeast Region states!) by the American Forest Foundation in recognition of his outstanding sustainable forest management of these woodlands and his dedication to forest stewardship issues and policies. The ‘Challenge Tree Farm’, which has been enrolled in the Tree Farm program for more than 50 years, surrounds the “Challenge Wilderness Camp” that Put founded and which uses the forests for many of its activities.
In celebration of the Upper Valley Land Trust’s 25th anniversary this year, we have been remembering UVLT’s early days. We couldn’t fit all of the important people of UVLT’s past into this brief ten‐minute summary, but we have used sound & images of some of UVLT’s founders and early leaders – Fran Field, Dana Meadows, Vicki Smith, Freda Swan, Charlotte Faulkner, Dale Peters Bryant, and Lilla McLane‐Bradley, among others.
Breck Hill Easement Project
By Freda Swan
On a summer evening in 1986, I invited my neighbors to meet with Sarah Thorne, a land specialist with the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. I wanted them to learn about conservation easements with the hope that we could protect our whole neighborhood from future development. I thought that we lived on a road that had conservation value for everyone, a gravel road with forestland, open farm land, wetlands, river banks, scenic views and even a covered bridge. In all, there are about 400 acres and over two miles of road frontage on both sides. It is used by walkers, bicyclists, horseback riders, and canoeists.
The meeting was very successful with almost everyone showing great enthusiasm. Sarah had to check on a few legal matters which turned out in our favor. There was no one available at SPNHF who was able to write the easement documents but she was willing to train Vicki Smith to do so. So we got to work.
I felt very strongly that everyone’s easement was their private affair and no one else would know what was in them unless the donor told them. I believe that this one thing was the main reason that we were successful. I set up appointments for Vicki, introduced Vicki, and then left them alone. We got an appraiser to do the work on all of the properties. I got surveys on all of the properties. I must admit that the whole process was much less strict than it is today. For example, there were two properties whose boundaries were marked with stonewalls and the abutting properties had been surveyed. They accepted surveys that I drew.
There were approximately 20 different properties included in the original project with others added later. They varied in size from about 5 acres to about 50 acres. They all abutted each other except for two holes in the middle which have since been closed with one being held by the UVLT. The lawyer of the owner of one of these “holes” felt she should subdivide a lot before doing an easement. This was accomplished and her easement supported a LCIP project. Another owner did not feel that they could afford to donate an easement so we raised the money locally to pay for a bargain purchase.
So, on an evening between Christmas and New Year’s, we all got together for a signing party. What a time we had with about 20 different documents that were signed by over 25 different people. There was great pleasure in the room that night. A great feeling of accomplishment.
I am not sure of the number of properties that have been added to the project since that night in 1986 but it must be close to a dozen. And there are more.
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Posted Date: 5/20/13
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Posted Date: 5/14/13
Announcement: Public Input Meetings Begin Monday May 13, 2013 for Re-licensing of Wilder & Bellows Falls Dams (Read More)
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