Project Location:

Strafford, NH

In August of 2017, we met with the Strafford county forester from UNH to get acquainted with the land we had just purchased.  He recommended that we apply to have a comprehensive Forest Management Plan written by a certified Technical Service Provider, and we did.  The Forest Management Plan describes the qualities of the environment and recommends actions based on the goals of the landowner.

Our primary goals were to increase biodiversity, create early successional habitat, and provide access to the extents of the property for timber stand improvement, timber harvest, and personal recreation and exploration with our three children.

We were awarded an EQUIP grant to carry out the recommendations from the Forest Management Plan and created a four acre clearing adjacent to the back of our house in October 2019 for the early successional habitat.  In 2020 the logging crew returned and built an access road to our back property line.  The effect is dramatic.  Views were opened to historic trees and pastures, sunlight has been allowed onto ground level, blueberries are flowering for the first time since we moved here, and tiny oak seedlings are emerging on top of bare soil.

We are identifying and quantifying as much as we can and involving the kids in the hopes that we will gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the natural world.