The forest's owners are members of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF) and plan to insure future protection of this forest with the cooperation of the Society or through easement to another conservation organization. The forest has been recognized by the New Hampshire Forest Stewardship Program and its owner is an active New Hampshire Coverts Cooperator, promoting wildlife habitat conservation and forest stewardship through volunteer education and outreach. It is their goal to promote good forestry practices and to aid New England forest owners in an area where more than 70% of the forest land is held by private non-industrial owners.
The average private New England forest owner has 50 acres of forest land and no management plan. Numerous public agencies offer assistance to those owners with free educational resources and programs, yet few forest owners take advantage of the available opportunities. A management plan can be beneficial for managing a forest for wildlife benefits and for recreation, as well as to promote timber growth. This web page provides many links to help the private forest owner. A copy of the First Mountain Forest's detailed forest management plan is also posted here as an example or template for others to use in preparing their own plans. The original plan was prepared without the use of a consulting forester, but with the free assistance of the UNH Cooperative Extension Service. That plan was accepted by the local town selectman and resulted in the land being taxed at the lowest rate reserved for forest land managed under responsible stewardship. Since the 1998 ice storm, a consulting forester was retained and the original plan updated and certified to qualify for USDA SIP funds. The First Mountain Forest is also listed as a Demonstration Forest on the National Community Forestry Center - Northern Forest Region web site at www.ncfcnfr.net.
& SURROUNDING LOGGING PRACTICES
Fairly extensive logging occurred on the parcels east and west of First Mountain Forest from 2002 through 2003, which has increased the diversity of habitat on a larger landscape basis, but also increases the value of First Mountain Forest as a preserve for the wildlife species that require a more mature forest habitat. The west parcel (100 acres) was logged under the supervision of a professional forester with some assistance from NH Fish and Game to insure protection of existing deer yards. The purpose of that harvest was to regenerate hardwoods, primarily red oak species, but the logger certainly maximized his income from the huge amount of timber removed. The logging was fairly extensive and has left quite an ugly scar upon the land and an eroding skid road that extends to the northwest corner behind the summit of First Mountain. The parcel has been enhanced for the large number of turkey flocks that inhabit our valley and participants in a recent UNHCE wildlife course visited the tract for that reason. Despite those scars, the parcel retains a large number of steeper unlogged sections.
The east parcel (130 acres) was logged by an independent logger from northern New Hampshire who used a chain saw and a single skidder to remove timber down to a landing along North Road. There was no supervision by a forester, but the cut has had less of an impact so far than the managed logging on the west tract. The main skid road utilizes the old AMC trail as its route and the southernmost portion of that trail is now a wide log road with wide open swaths along the First Mountain Forest's boundary. As of December, 2004, the logger had completed most of his cutting and had reached the northern border of the tract and crossed over Gates Brook and up the west slope of Mt. Crag. Logging to the north has been ongoing by Boise Cascade, Mead Paper, MeadWestvaco, and now by Wagner Forest Management, Ltd. for the new anonymous investor owners. Each succeeding owner tries to get a little more pulp and timber off the land, but the forest seems to rebound well after each incursion.
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