First Mountain Forest is a private forest tract located in the Mahoosuc Mountain Range in Shelburne, New Hampshire. The mountain summit and its forested slopes were purchased in 1994 to insure preservation of the forest tract and to protect it from future development. A corporation notorious for sub-dividing large tracts of wild land for vacation homes failed to close on a purchase of the property at the end of the 1980's. Only a downturn in the Northeast real estate market prevented the mountain forest from being fragmented into building lots. This small forest tract lies along the southern boundary of a vast network of forests often referred to as "The Great Northern Forest", encompassing 26 million acres of forest land across the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. The First Mountain Forest also lies at the southern edge of a proposed and controversial Protected Wildland Area identified by the Appalachian Mountain Club and Northern Forest Alliance as the Androscoggin Headwaters Wildland Area.
LOCATION
The First Mountain Forest tract consists of 130 acres of forest land, including the summit of First Mountain and its southern slope extending to North Road in Shelburne. The irregularly shaped parcel is 3,705 feet deep and 2,313 feet wide at the widest point. The property is located on the north wall of the Androscoggin River Valley and the front portion lies approximately 1,500 feet north of the river and outside the river's flood plain. The lowest elevation, at roadside, is 710 feet and the highest is 1,685 feet, on the summit of First Mountain. For perspective, if a downhill ski trail were placed on the mountain, the vertical drop would rank it among the top half of ski resorts in neighboring Maine. While the surveyed lot is measured at 130 acres, surface area is much greater. The combination of an average grade exceeding 25%, the abundance of ravines and knolls on the property, and the nearly vertical cliff walls on the front of the mountain increases the surface area significantly.
First Mountain Forest is an integral part of a larger forest block of more than 700 contiguous acres on the north wall of the Androscoggin River Valley. Those 700 acres are included in four private ownerships, the largest of which is 270 acres and is protected through a conservation easement and trust. This 700 acre block lies within an even larger contiguous forest of more than 3,000 acres in eleven private ownerships, extending from Leadmine Brook to the nearby Maine state line. The lands north of First Mountain were owned by a Mead Corporation subsidiary, after purchase from Boise Cascade. Mead in turn became MeadWestvaco through a merger and owned and managed nearly 22,000 acres of Mahoosuc Mountains forest land north of these private tracts. MeadWestvaco sold their timberlands to Bayroot LLC, an investor group at the end of 2003. While those lands have frequently traded ownership between industrial timber companies over the past 40 years, each of the past owners has practiced responsible stewardship during their periodic harvests. It is hoped that the new owners will continue past practices to insure that those lands remain undeveloped in the future.
DIVERSITY
First Mountain Forest hosts a remarkable diversity within its 130 acres, and eight separate stands have been identified by the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension agent. The forest includes mature moist softwood stands, mature hardwood stands of beech and maple, as well as well drained steep slopes of red oak, and early to late successional stages of paper birch and aspen. Large bare granite ledges and a significant wetland tract with spring fed stream provide even more varied wildlife habitat. The property also contains several pure hemlock stands and contains one of three deer-yards identified in the town of Shelburne.
MANAGEMENT
The owners manage this forest land primarily as a wildlife habitat and as a recreational area for hiking and cross-country skiing. In the future, timber will only be harvested if it increases the health of the forest and also aids the wildlife community. Tree harvesting will be limited to firewood cutting and individual tree selection where removal is accomplished without destructive mechanized means. Ample dead trees or snags are already present to benefit cavity nesting birds and other wildlife and future thinning will be utilized to release trees that are most beneficial to wildlife. Portions of the First Mountain tract were heavily cut during the 1960's and the most recent timber harvest occurred between 1987 and 1989, with a selective cut to harvest hemlock stands and mature hardwoods. Though more than 205,000 board feet of timber was removed during the last harvest, the overall condition of the forest remains very healthy, though it continues to recover from localized severe damage caused by the 1998 Ice Storm. The owner's are monitoring the natural progression of recovery in the ice storm damaged areas and will not intervene, except to keep the trails clear and to aid hanging branches to the forest floor for faster decomposition. Most of the ice damage was to beech trees which will either send out new branches or revert to snags and create openings for new seedlings. More on Management & Surrounding Logging Practices.
TRAILS IN FIRST MOUNTAIN FOREST
Trail construction in the forest is ongoing and takes advantage of the existing logging skid roads where practical. More than two miles of unmarked, but cleared, foot trails now pass through the forest. An orange blazed trail, cleared of ice storm damage, climbs along the eastern boundary to the scenic overlook at Joe's Ledges. Those ledges, at 1,550' elevation, are located on the southeastern slope of First Mountain and provide a breath-taking view of the Androscoggin River as it flows easterly into nearby Maine, and an equally impressive view west and south to the Presidential Range and the dominating Mt. Washington and Madison summits. Middle Mountain Trail passes through the northern boundary of the property and the Gates Brook Trail lies just east of the property. The orange blazed trail along the east property line was noted in the1917 AMC Guide to the White Mountains and has now been restored and expanded, connecting with additional hiking/ski trails throughout the property. The Appalachian Trail and the AMC Gentian Pond shelter are less than two miles north of the property.
WILDLIFE
Moose are frequently observed in the First Mountain Forest and have made use of the deer yarding areas during past winters of heavy snow. Extensive signs of black bear are prominent throughout the property and their "bear nests" high in the tops of beech trees are most noticeable in the late fall or early spring. Plentiful mast is provided by the mature red oaks and beech trees on the property, and new herbaceous growth has been made available by the small forest openings created during the 1988 harvest. The habitat is present to support red-backed vole, snowshoe hare, red and grey squirrels, and white-tailed deer in the transition hardwoods. The more boreal mountain summit can be expected to support moose, porcupine, marten, bob-cat, fisher, and perhaps even the threatened lynx. Osprey, as well as great blue herons and king-fishers, have been observed on the Androscoggin River downstream from the property. A bald eagle was observed perching at Joe's Ledges and soaring along the cliffs and hawks and a peregrine falcon have frequently been seen soaring below the Ledges. Plentiful sign of deer, porcupine, bobcat, and snowshoe hare are observed during winter and ruffed grouse and even turkey are seen frequently throughout the year. Many interior forest bird species, including numerous warblers and scarlet tanagers, are frequently seen and heard. The haunting cries of thrushes and veerys are heard often in the spring and early summer months.
OTHER FIRST MOUNTAIN FOREST PAGES:
Comments From the Owners
of First Mountain Forest
(New for May,
2006)
Shelburne &
First Mountain Topographic Map
First Mountain
1993 Aerial Map (NEW)
A Detailed History
of First Mountain Forest
(Large Text File)
1879 Pychowska
Report to AMC - Documenting Early (1870's) First Mountain
Hikes (NEW)
"Who Owns the
Mountains?" An Essay and Visit With Henry van Dyke
Favorite Passages
from Naturalists and Nature Writers
View From Joe's
Ledges on First Mountain
(Photo)
Historic View
of Androscoggin River Valley From Joe's Ledges
(Photos)
Forest Management
Plan for First Mountain Forest (Multi-Page Text
File)
Forestry Assistance
Links
Past Winter Views
at First Mountain
(Multi-Photo
File)
View of North
Baldcap Peak from Range North of First Mountain
View Fall 2000
Photos (Large Bitmap File - 968K)
Coping with Snow
in the North Country (An Essay)
"Berlin Daily
Sun" Column by John Walsh (Coverts Workshop at First Mountain
Forest)
New Industrial
Forest Owners in the Mahoosuc Mountains - 2004
(2006 Update)
2004 AT Photo
Project
OUTSIDE LINKS OF INTEREST:
PrivateForest.Org
(Private Forestry Assistance
from The Nature Conservancy & USDA Forest Service)
Society for the Protection of New Hampshire
Forests
Shelburne, NH Web Page (Photos &
Info) (NEW)
Appalachian Mountain Club
Appalachian Trail Information
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Mount
Washington Info
Mount
Washington Observatory or Directly to
View Summit
Live Cam
New
Hampshire Fish & Game Department
UNH
Cooperative Extension Service
National Community Forestry Center - Northern Forest
A Forest Landowner's Guide to Internet
Resources
E-Mail your comments to us.
Site last updated on: 5-17-06
