New Hampshire is home to the largest public land holding in New England, the White Mountain National Forest, one of the most popular in the system. The White Mountain National Forest is now revising its management plan. That means new opportunities for Wilderness and other environmental protection on the forest.
Wilderness Protection on the White Mountain National Forest
The White Mountain National Forest now has five permanently protected Wilderness Areas: the Pemigewasset, Sandwich Range, Presidential Range-Dry River, Great Gulf in New Hampshire and the Caribou/Speckled Mountain where the National Forest dips into Maine. New Hampshire conservationists have their eyes on new wilderness areas, and they have built an effective coalition to make sure it happens.
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White Mountain National Forest Planning
A new management plan is being developed for the White Mountain National Forest, which will set management direction on the Forest for 10-15 years. It doesn't sound exciting, but itīs the best opportunity for identifying potential Wilderness, and gives the stateīs congressional delegation the incentive to pass new wilderness legislation.
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Protecting the Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge
Managers of Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge are writing a management plan for the Refuge that will govern its care for the next decade and beyond. The Wilderness Society is working hard to help the Fish and Wild Service develop a plan that provides protection for wildlife and habitat today and of the Refugeīs survival in decades to come.
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New Hampshire's Mountain Treasures
A hundred years ago, large swaths of New England's forest lands were clearcut, leading to massive fires kindled by the vast piles of slash left behind. Today much of the forest is regaining its former splendor, and The Wilderness Society is determined to see to it that significant portions of this landscape, such as the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) of New Hampshire and Maine, are allowed to fully recover. The Wilderness Society has teamed up with the Appalachian Mountain Club and Conservation Law Foundation to identify 16 roadless areas in this popular forest. We want to see these places protected from logging and road building so that they can grow back to full ecological maturity.
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Community Economic Assessment Workshops
How do we make a living today? That's probably the most important first question a community needs to ask and answer as it thinks about its economic future. The Wilderness Society helps community, conservation and sustainable development organizations develop baseline information about local and regional economic and demographic trends. Our help often includes cosponsoring a Community Economic Assessment Workshop, where participants develop trend information on their own and consider the implications of those trends with others in the community. The Society has created an on-line, interactive map-based means of quickly gathering trend information for any region in the eastern United States. Its name is OIK/OS and you can give it a try at http://www.eco2eco.net
Certified Forest Products
More and more consumers want to know that their wood, and products made from wood, come from sustainable forestry practices. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a non-profit third-party forest certification organization, has developed a system that provides that assurance. Certification means that wood and wood products come from forests that meet the highest standards for environmentally, socially and economically sound management. Learn more about the FSC at http://www.fscoax.org/
