NHDES Awards $2,942,022 to 16 Wetlands Protection and Stream Restoration Projects

ARM funds will be used to protect a 309-acre parcel, the “Tin Mountain Tracts” in Jackson, that contains several tributaries to the East Branch of the Saco River and associated wetlands. The project will conserve many valuable aquatic resources that include 1.9 miles of perennial and 1.2 miles of intermittent streams, 6.7 acres of riparian wetlands, and a basin swamp. The streams on the property are in exemplary condition and ranked as Tier 2 and Tier 3 habitat in the NHFG WAP.

This project will use ARM funds to permanently protect a 144‐acre forested property that drains into the West Branch Brook. The property has many high-value conservation features including 13.4 acres of wetlands, 7,000 feet of undisturbed shoreline along West Branch Brook, 15 confirmed vernal pools with amphibian breeding, 2,500’ of intermittent streams, and a pristine conifer basin swamp. The riparian area is important habitat for fisher, ermine, mink, river otter, bobcat, red fox, coyote, porcupine, moose and beaver.

Funds will be used to restore aquatic connectivity at two deficient stream crossings in the Beebe River watershed. The current culverts are a barrier to brook trout and other wildlife, blocking access to critical spawning and thermal refuge habitats. The undersized culverts are causing sediment buildup and downstream scour and bank erosion, and are also at risk of failing during storm flows. This project will replace the Ryan Brook culvert with a 26’ span structure that will maintain full aquatic organism passage, and daylight a coldwater tributary by removing a second crossing. Building upon recent landscape-level conservation efforts in the watershed, this project moves toward the goal of removing all unnatural barriers within the cold water portion of the Beebee watershed; with future plans to target removal of the two remaining barriers in future restoration phases.

The Leighton Forest project will permanently conserve 407.5 acres in the Nippo Brook/Isinglass River watershed. High-quality wildlife habitat covers 98% of the property (NHFG WAP Tiers 1, 2 and 3), including 51.8 acres of wetlands, and 355 acres of upland buffer. Protection of this parcel will protect important turtle habitat and 13 confirmed vernal pools. The Leighton Forest builds upon landscape connectivity efforts by conserving lands that lie within a 2,350-acre unfragmented Forest Block and are a core focus area within the 2006 Land Conservation Plan for New Hampshire’s Coastal Watersheds.

ARM funds will be used to protect 242 acres consisting of three abutting parcels in Milton. The Teneriffe Mountain property is within the Hart Brook and Mount Teneriffe unfragmented Forest Block, designated a core focus area in the 2006 Land Conservation Plan for New Hampshire’s Coastal Watershed and MMRG’s Conservation Action Plan for conservation priority. There is 3,500 feet of stream that runs through the property, located in the headwaters of the Lyman/Great Brook subwatershed, and eventually flows into the Salmon Falls River. Two deficient culverts will be upgraded to open-bottom bridges to enhance aquatic connectivity through Lyman Brook.

Funds will be used to place a conservation easement on 30 acres on Clay Brook in Hampton Falls. The project will conserve 1,000 feet of riparian buffer on Clay Brook and 500’ on the Taylor River. There are 6.7 acres of wetlands on the property, including one vernal pool, that are part of a larger complex extending into the Taylor River Watershed. This parcel lies in a highly developable part of the watershed and is bordered to the south by a half dozen homes, so protection of this parcel is critical to ensure the long-term viability of the upland buffer.

This project will conserve a 67-acre property that contains 19 acres of wetlands and its forested upland buffer. The Barnes property lies within one of the largest unfragmented forest blocks in the Bear-Paw region and its importance is recognized in conservation plans, including the 2006 Land Conservation Plan for New Hampshire’s Coastal Watersheds, The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient Land Project, and Bear-Paw’s Regional Conservation Plan. The primary wetland on the property is a peatland/fen system that drains directly into Bow Lake, which contains several fish species of greatest conservation need and is the headwaters of the Isinglass River, a New Hampshire Designated River. This project will preserve NHFG WAP Tier 1 wildlife habitat and build upon an existing 1,862 acres of permanently conserved land.

ARM funds will be used to put a conservation easement on a 37-acre parcel that buffers the Gorham Brook Tributary Prime Wetland in Goffstown. The property is a mix of Appalachian-oak-pine, Hemlock-hardwood-pine, grasslands and wet meadow. The project will protect high quality wildlife habitat that includes 0.5 acres of Tier 1, 35 acres Tier 2, and 1 acre of Tier 3 ranked by NHFG WAP, plus suitable habitat for threatened and endangered aquatic species in the area.

A 76-acre parcel that contains 1,200 feet of undeveloped shoreline of the Merrimack River, will be protected using ARM funds. The property contains over 2 miles of intermittent streams and 8 acres of wetlands that are integral to the aquatic resources found on the Stillhouse Forest funded by ARM in 2018. The contribution of water, nutrient, and biological resources from this parcel is essential to the vitality of the Stillhouse Forest wetlands. The project has drinking water benefits by protecting portions of Source Water and Wellhead Protection Areas of the Penacook-Boscawen Water Precinct’s drinking water wells. The property supports important wildlife habitat and includes Tier 1 (13%), Tier 2 (15%), and Tier3 (55%) NHFG WAP and two vernal pools.

The Northeast Wilderness Trust will use ARM funds to purchase the 15-acre ‘Steel-Addition’ to the Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve. The 1.25-acre wetland on the property drains into the headwaters of a perennial stream that feeds into Pratt Pond Brook. This project builds upon local efforts by the Northeast Wilderness Trust which already holds 1,588 acres of land under forever-wild easements. The entire parcel is ranked Supporting Landscape by NHFG WAP and is a critical buffer to the Binney Hill Wilderness Preserve, which contains large blocks of WAP Tier 1 and Tier 2 wildlife habitat. A significant portion of the property (80%) is mapped as a "resilient area with confirmed diversity" by The Nature Conservancy’s Resilient and Connected Lands.

ARM funds have been awarded to replace a degraded stream crossing at the outlet of Rocky Pond; an 83-acre water body at the headwaters of the Soucook River. The road currently passes over four, 30-inch pipes that are structurally compromised and undersized, and overtopping has occurred in recent years during storms. The landowners that access property via Harmony Lane recognize that replacing the existing culverts is necessary to avoid a compete culvert failure and washout of road material into the pond. The culverts will be replaced with a 25-foot span bridge to restore aquatic connectivity for organism passage and increase hydraulic capacity. The stream is ranked as Highest Ranked Habitat in the State by NHFG WAP and is habitat for state-threatened bridle shiner and American eel, and is listed as a potential migratory path for the river herring.

The Town of Walpole will use ARM funds to replace a perched culvert on Houghton Brook that is a complete barrier to all aquatic animals. The 13-foot metal pipe is greatly undersized, which has caused a 4-foot perch at the outlet with a large scour pool downstream. The current crossing is a flood hazard and hydrologic models show that it cannot convey the 100-year flood. The new crossing will be a 24-foot wide span structure that will provide full passage for aquatic animals, sediment transport, and will accommodate 100-year storm flows. Replacement of the deteriorated structure, and stabilization of the severely eroded stream banks, will significantly increase hydraulic capacity and restore functions and values of fish and wildlife habitat. The project will benefit brook trout by regaining access to upstream spawning and foraging habitat. Houghton Brook is within the Highest Ranked Habitat on the NHFG WAP and connects the Connecticut River to upstream Tier 1 and Tier 2 areas.

An 86-acre parcel of forested land in Newbury will be permanently protected using ARM funds. The property is part of a larger area of conserved land that includes Mount Sunapee and Pillsbury state parks. The primary aquatic resource that will be protected is extensive frontage along a perennial brook that is part of the headwaters of the Warner River, a New Hampshire Designated River, and has a substantial brook trout population identified by NHFG. This parcel is in an area of the Contoocook River watershed as increased risk for development and could potentially be subdivided into several house lots, so conserving this land is critical to the protection of the water quality of this brook. The property consists of northern hardwood and coniferous forest in the higher elevations, and hemlock-hardwood-pine forest lower in the drainage, and is ranked Highest Ranked Habitat in the Biological Region and Supporting Landscape by the NHFG WAP.

ARM funds will be awarded to restore aquatic connectivity within Ballard Brook by initiating the first phase of a series of culvert upgrades. This first stage will replace the downstream and most problematic culvert and develop final designs for the two remaining upstream culverts. The target culvert for replacement in this first phase is a 6-foot pipe arch that impedes aquatic animal passage and prohibits sediment transport by the stream. A 16-foot-wide box culvert, embedded with 2 feet of stream simulation, will improve fish and wildlife passage, accommodate the 100-year storm, allow for natural sediment transport, and reduce scour at the outlet. The riparian corridor along Ballard Brook is Highest Ranked Habitat in New Hampshire and Highest Ranked Habitat in the Biological Region by the NHFG WAP. Ballard Brook supports populations of brook trout and burbot (both species of greatest conservation need), as well as the more common blacknose dace, brown bullhead, chain pickerel, common sunfish, fallfish and white sucker.

The Child’s Brook Stream Crossing Restoration will use ARM funds to replace a severely degraded culvert in Bath. The current 6-foot metal pipe is completely rusted through on the bottom and perched, preventing fish and wildlife passage, and causing erosion to the streambed and river banks. The undersized culvert is vulnerable to failure during storms and is not only a public safety issue, but would result in a significant impact to the Childs Brook’s aquatic ecosystem if the culvert fails. Increased velocities leaving the culvert have created a 6-foot scour pool that is 50 feet wide (three times wider than the natural channel width at this site). The proposed replacement is a bridge with a 24-foot open span that will enable brook trout access to critical upstream spawning habitat, forage, and coldwater refugia. This proposal will reconnect 3.1 miles of that highest ranked habitat upstream in the mainstem of Childs Brook to the 1.6 miles downstream before flowing directly into the Ammonoosuc River, a New Hampshire Designated River. The project also includes riparian enhancement work and bank stabilization measures to restore the stream to more natural conditions.