OUR
COMMENTS - April, 2005
Spring and Change is in the Air
Once again, a winter ends and the potential for a mass greening is unleashing. It is already past tax filing day and we haven't yet seen the red flowers of the maples, our earliest indicator that a new world is awakening, but the ground is mostly bereft of snow and the club moss is greening up the grim, bare ground. It was a surprising winter in the north country and we had given up on heavy snow by mid-January, but played catch-up in February and March with abundant snowfall that probably brought us near our annual average of 100 inches.
We had even more snow near the coast of Maine, totalling some 120-130 inches at our Maine home, and for that reason weren't present at the mountain as much as we usually are during the winter season. Better snow in Maine and work commitments kept us away. The stove-wood pile will grow this year with the unused firewood to be added to the annual winter blowdowns yet to be bucked, cut, and split. I have to begin work on a red oak and white birch, both 12 to 14 inch diameter, that toppled near the road and onto our west trail.
We
expanded the trail system at First Mountain last fall by constructing a set
of bog bridges that cross the wetland at the stream outflow and then continue
on through the east side of the wetland along the base of the very steep
hemlock ridge. We will finish that portion of new trail this spring and will
then have a pair of relatively short, stacked loops for easy hikes from the
cottage and for walking the dog. Part of the new trail parallels the hemlock
lined brook before it circles the wetland, which is filling now with the
sounds of the numerous warblers back from their winter migration. Breeding
and housekeeping are on their mind right now, so they are quite vocal. The
wetland is a wildlife haven and we will eventually build a wildlife watching
blind on the west side of the wetland as the trail circles around and descends
back to the center trail and back to the cottage.
We are now beginning to arrange for the long term protection for First Mountain Forest with a conservation easement to be held by an organization that meets our needs and has similar goals for our property. The process of placing an easement will probably be fairly lengthy and we will be reporting on progress as it occurs. We expect to donate an easement, but hope to use the leveraging power of that donation to match other funds to protect additional land in the Mahoosucs. Our quiet river valley has so far been under the radar of the developers, but their expansion up the Mount Washington Valley has already spilled through Pinkham Notch from North Conway and Jackson, and now two new large subdivisions are located on inholdings within the White Mountain National Forest along Route 16 in Gorham. The owners of those two inholdings also own a 166 acre tract off the northwest corner of First Mountain. We are probably at a cross-road right now where some great good can occur in the Mahoosuc Range and our Shelburne valley, or else we can see events begin the long downward spiral of development with new homes and mini-estates lining our mountain ridges. The Shelburne valley can remain a unique place in today's fast paced world or join the crowd and become another Anywhere, USA. Time will tell.
Larry
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