Monthly Flashbacks: January 2021
Each month, we will be providing Flashbacks of the great work that the Conservation District in Coos County has completed over the years. However for the January Newsletter we wanted to highlight a special event in history!
On February 27, 1937 Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a letter to all state governors urging the passage of state legislation to create a soil conservation district program. The reason for this program was due to the devastating soil erosion conditions from the great Dust Bowl of the 1930's. Roosevelt's actions provided land owners with the ability to organize conservation districts as local governmental subdivisions of the state. Forty-five states enacted such laws before the statewide New Hampshire soil conservation district was created in May of 1945. By 1946, and currently each county in NH had its own conservation district.
The above picture was taken as Governor Dale signed the bill. Persons in the picture left to right: Alfred L. French, Secretary of NH Farm Bureau Federation; George M. Putnam, President of NH Farm Bureau Federation; Representative Arthur W. McDaniel, Chairman of the legislative soil conservation committee; Governor Charles M. Dale; Representative Roscoe J. Oakes, who introduced the bill in the House; Andrew L. Felker, Commissioner of Agriculture; and Senator Scott Simpson, who sponsored a previous soil conservation bill.
For more information or to see the original document from 1945, check out the links below. This was a major event in history! Thank you President Roosevelt for recognizing the need for conservation districts through out the United States!
On February 27, 1937 Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a letter to all state governors urging the passage of state legislation to create a soil conservation district program. The reason for this program was due to the devastating soil erosion conditions from the great Dust Bowl of the 1930's. Roosevelt's actions provided land owners with the ability to organize conservation districts as local governmental subdivisions of the state. Forty-five states enacted such laws before the statewide New Hampshire soil conservation district was created in May of 1945. By 1946, and currently each county in NH had its own conservation district.
The above picture was taken as Governor Dale signed the bill. Persons in the picture left to right: Alfred L. French, Secretary of NH Farm Bureau Federation; George M. Putnam, President of NH Farm Bureau Federation; Representative Arthur W. McDaniel, Chairman of the legislative soil conservation committee; Governor Charles M. Dale; Representative Roscoe J. Oakes, who introduced the bill in the House; Andrew L. Felker, Commissioner of Agriculture; and Senator Scott Simpson, who sponsored a previous soil conservation bill.
For more information or to see the original document from 1945, check out the links below. This was a major event in history! Thank you President Roosevelt for recognizing the need for conservation districts through out the United States!
| 1945_nh_cccd_signing.pdf |
February 2021
Each year the District holds a Conservation Field Day for the 5th graders from the local valley schools. This Field Day has been occurring for multiple decades with the help from local professionals in NH Fish & Game, UNH Extension, USDA/NRCS, local foresters and farmers, and volunteers. Students are able to learn about crops and agriculture, safety on the farm, what animals can be raised, the soil horizons, timber harvesting, and what fish/macro invertebrates are found in our streams and rivers. The field day is a true hands on experience for the students!
Below are pictures of the Conservation Field Day in May of 2001 that were featured in the Colebrook Chronicle.
Below are pictures of the Conservation Field Day in May of 2001 that were featured in the Colebrook Chronicle.
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No Till Drill Demo
Thank you Jake from The News & Sentinel for coming to the event!
Check out a short video of the No Till Drill in action!
Check out a short video of the No Till Drill in action!
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Coos K-12 Kids Seedlings
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North Country Mushroom Foray
Summer Forest Walk Dalton, NH Wednesday, August 21, 2019 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Join the Dannis Family and Master Naturalist, Dr. Rick Van de Poll, for a tour of a rich and diverse woodland in the upper Connecticut Valley region. The views alone are breathtaking not to mention the diversity of old growth forests and ridgeline habitats. https://abovethefifteenmilefalls.com/ After our walk, we will discuss mushrooms around the table, where poisonous will be separated from edible, and medicinal will be highlighted. Rick Van de Poll, Ph.D., is the principal of Ecosystem Management Consultants in Sandwich, NH, a company that since 1988 has offered natural resource management services throughout New England. With 40 years' teaching experience, Dr. Van de Poll has completed natural resource inventories and management plans on over 325,000 acres in the Northeast. He is a member of the NH Plant Task Force, which surveys rare plant populations in NH, and is President of the Northeast Mycological Federation. Space is limited, please register by emailing the Coös County Conservation District at carolyn.mcquiston@nh.nacdnet.net Directions will be provided by return email to registered participants. Participants should be prepared to walk in the woods, some of which is steep! Please come prepared with comfortable walking shoes, and dress for the weather. Rain or shine. The workshop is free. |
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2019 Natural Resources Field Day for Youth
Another Great Day on the Farm, in the Field, in the Forest and on the Water! Thank you to all of the teachers, students, volunteers, presenters and our hosts for participating and making this field day a great event. See you next year! 
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Spring Ephemerals and Mushrooms Walk
Dalton, NH (workshop is full, if you would like to be added to the waiting list, please email) Saturday, May 11, 2019 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Calling all plant and mushroom lovers! If you or your family would love to walk in beautiful woods and discover the riches of spring beneath your feet, this walk is for you! Join master naturalist Dr. Rick Van de Poll for a tour of a rich and diverse woodland in the upper Connecticut Valley region. Witness the delicate colors and fragility of rare plants, learn about the bedrock and soils that help create this rich mesic forest, and discover the fascinating world of spring fungi that attends the coming of warm weather. We hope to find squirrel corn, maidenhair fern, blue cohosh, jack-in-the-pulpit and some fungi (morels, false morels, cup fungi, early polypores). Sponsored by the Coos County Conservation District, NRCS and the landowners, this gathering will hopefully inspire a series of regular offerings at this 1800 acre farm and forest in Dalton. Rick Van de Poll, Ph.D., is the principal of Ecosystem Management Consultants in Sandwich, NH, a company that since 1988 has offered natural resource management services throughout New England. With 40 years' teaching experience, Dr. Van de Poll has completed natural resource inventories and management plans on over 325,000 acres in the Northeast. He is a member of the NH Plant Task Force, which surveys rare plant populations in NH, and is President of the Northeast Mycological Federation. Space is limited, please register by emailing the Coös County Conservation District at carolyn.mcquiston@nh.nacdnet.net Directions will be provided by return email to registered participants. Participants should be prepared to walk about a mile on woodlands trails, some of which are steep! Please come prepared with comfortable walking shoes, and dress for the weather. Rain or shine. (In case of a severe weather prediction, we will save a rain date, Sunday the 12th and be in touch with you on Friday). The workshop and light refreshments are provided by our hosts at no charge. Although there is no charge for this workshop, donations to support the Coös County Conservation District are always appreciated and will be accepted at the walk. The District helps coordinate and market these types of conservation projects in Coös County. Web page of interest - Dr. Rick Van de Poll - - - - - - - - - - - - Email registration here. |
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Dirt-to-Trees-to-Wildlife
Randolph, NH
Saturday, April 13, 2019
10:00am-2:00pm
3.5 category 1 CFE credits (3.5 contact hours) have been approved
Dirt to Trees to Wildlife (DTW) is an online tool consisting of DTW Mapper and it's companion website housing information used by DTW Mapper to create reports about an area of interest.
Identifying opportunities to enhance wildlife habitats requires knowledge, skills and experience related to interactions between soils, vegetation and the wildlife that use each type of vegetation. A new online tool helps professional managers simplify the process of compiling these complex interactions. The tool, called Dirt to Trees to Wildlife(DTW), simply requires a user to identify a piece of land by drawing it on a map. Behind the scenes, DTW identifies the soils on that land, the vegetation naturally supported by that soil, and wildlife breeding habitats supported by each vegetation type. This information is compiled in a handy report to inform management decisions.
DTW is based on decades-long work reflecting collaboration by soil scientists, foresters, researchers and wildlife biologists. It is largely funded by the U.S. Forest Service and the Randolph Community Forest.
At this workshop you will be introduced to the DTW online tool, set up a free ArcGIS online public account, and develop a report for a tract you identify. https://dirttreeswildlife.org/
Space is limited, please register, email carolyn.mcquiston@nh.nacdnet.net
Bring your laptop with Windows 7 or 10.
A limited number of computers will be available. Request one with your registration.
The workshop & lunch is provided free, provided by the Randolph Community Forest Commission.
Donations to support the Coös County Conservation District are always appreciated and will be accepted at the door. The District helps coordinate and market these types of conservation projects in Coös County.
If this workshop fills and there is enough interest, we will work on providing another training.
Randolph, NH
Saturday, April 13, 2019
10:00am-2:00pm
3.5 category 1 CFE credits (3.5 contact hours) have been approved
Dirt to Trees to Wildlife (DTW) is an online tool consisting of DTW Mapper and it's companion website housing information used by DTW Mapper to create reports about an area of interest.
Identifying opportunities to enhance wildlife habitats requires knowledge, skills and experience related to interactions between soils, vegetation and the wildlife that use each type of vegetation. A new online tool helps professional managers simplify the process of compiling these complex interactions. The tool, called Dirt to Trees to Wildlife(DTW), simply requires a user to identify a piece of land by drawing it on a map. Behind the scenes, DTW identifies the soils on that land, the vegetation naturally supported by that soil, and wildlife breeding habitats supported by each vegetation type. This information is compiled in a handy report to inform management decisions.
DTW is based on decades-long work reflecting collaboration by soil scientists, foresters, researchers and wildlife biologists. It is largely funded by the U.S. Forest Service and the Randolph Community Forest.
At this workshop you will be introduced to the DTW online tool, set up a free ArcGIS online public account, and develop a report for a tract you identify. https://dirttreeswildlife.org/
Space is limited, please register, email carolyn.mcquiston@nh.nacdnet.net
Bring your laptop with Windows 7 or 10.
A limited number of computers will be available. Request one with your registration.
The workshop & lunch is provided free, provided by the Randolph Community Forest Commission.
Donations to support the Coös County Conservation District are always appreciated and will be accepted at the door. The District helps coordinate and market these types of conservation projects in Coös County.
If this workshop fills and there is enough interest, we will work on providing another training.
Web pages of interest -
Dirt-toTrees-to-Wildlife
Randolph Community Forest
UNH Extension, Natural Resources
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Email registration here.
Dirt-toTrees-to-Wildlife
Randolph Community Forest
UNH Extension, Natural Resources
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Email registration here.
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Erosion Control Field Day
Training for professionals working in soils, erosion control, water quality, public works, engineering, roads, planning, consulting, and septic designers & installers. Topics for the day were
Continuing Education Credits, available for these workshops -
- NH Department of Environmental Services, DES Subsurface designers & installers. - EnviroCert International, Professional Development Hours - VT Department of Environmental Conservation, non-soil credits |
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Vernal Pool: Wetlands, Wildlife and Soils Workshop, May
Annual Natural Resources Field Day
for 5th grade students in Coös County
The Field Day is on the third Wednesday of May every year and is hosted at CJEJ Farm in Columbia.
Students alternate through seven unique outdoor stations with presentations by natural resources professionals -
NH Fish & Game
Forest Management Agencies: Wagner, LandVest and Weyerhaeuser
UNH Extension
USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service
Owners/Operators of CJEJ Farm
FFA Chapter, Canaan VT
These stations include information about -
aquatic life, wildlife, forestry, livestock,
agriculture land, soils and farm safety.
Native Plant Nursery
The District's Native Plant Nursery, is a continually growing project. Our native plants, once established, will be available to local, state and private agencies working on conservation, erosion control projects.
We need your help - We have started some plants, grasses, willows, etc. However, we are looking for input, which species work best for you, and what would you like to see available locally for these projects, please let us know. You can send an email to da.cccd@gmail.com
We have been able to create the Nursery with financial support from the -
NH State Conservation Committee / Moose Plate Grant Fund.
The District's Native Plant Nursery, is a continually growing project. Our native plants, once established, will be available to local, state and private agencies working on conservation, erosion control projects.
We need your help - We have started some plants, grasses, willows, etc. However, we are looking for input, which species work best for you, and what would you like to see available locally for these projects, please let us know. You can send an email to da.cccd@gmail.com
We have been able to create the Nursery with financial support from the -
NH State Conservation Committee / Moose Plate Grant Fund.
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Stream bank restoration project, with completed crib wall.
A several of these projects have been overseen and completed by NRCS. The District helped secure funding for a portion these projects. A before and after picture of a couple of these projects.
These projects are designed to preserve agriculture lands but stabilizing stream banks and to restore & preserve natural wildlife habitats.
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Wood Ash Spreader
The recent purchase of a Wood Ash Spreader has also proven to be a great success with our local farmers.
Just in the short time we have owned it, several local farmers have benefited from the availability of the spreader to get wood ash and lime on their fields to improve soil quality and group yields.
Comments from a few of our farmers that have used it and their pictures:
“I used the ash spreader early in the season. Rain was a disadvantage for me the week that I rented the spreader but I got the job done. I spread 150 ton of ash during the week that I rented it. Previous years I had incorporated the ash with manure and used my manure spreader to distribute the combined product. By using the ash spreader I was able to apply a more consistent layer over a wider area, the small size of the machine also allowed me to get back into some more remote places. Thank you so much for making this available to us. It makes a big difference to a small farm!” Tichy, West Milan.
"This spreader is so much better to spread the ash with, compared to my manure spreader. You can see the spread pattern as your moving along. But when I would stop and look for the ash you could barely see it. The next day it was raining a little. Then I could see the fine coating on each pass. This is the perfect way to incorporate the ash in the soil. I didn't take a picture of the field that rainy morning, but I do have a picture before I filled it up." McGee, Lancaster
We would like to Thank the NH Charitable Foundation for providing us with Neil & Louise Tillotson Grant Funds to allow us to purchase this much needed piece of equipment for the North Country.
The recent purchase of a Wood Ash Spreader has also proven to be a great success with our local farmers.
Just in the short time we have owned it, several local farmers have benefited from the availability of the spreader to get wood ash and lime on their fields to improve soil quality and group yields.
Comments from a few of our farmers that have used it and their pictures:
“I used the ash spreader early in the season. Rain was a disadvantage for me the week that I rented the spreader but I got the job done. I spread 150 ton of ash during the week that I rented it. Previous years I had incorporated the ash with manure and used my manure spreader to distribute the combined product. By using the ash spreader I was able to apply a more consistent layer over a wider area, the small size of the machine also allowed me to get back into some more remote places. Thank you so much for making this available to us. It makes a big difference to a small farm!” Tichy, West Milan.
"This spreader is so much better to spread the ash with, compared to my manure spreader. You can see the spread pattern as your moving along. But when I would stop and look for the ash you could barely see it. The next day it was raining a little. Then I could see the fine coating on each pass. This is the perfect way to incorporate the ash in the soil. I didn't take a picture of the field that rainy morning, but I do have a picture before I filled it up." McGee, Lancaster
We would like to Thank the NH Charitable Foundation for providing us with Neil & Louise Tillotson Grant Funds to allow us to purchase this much needed piece of equipment for the North Country.
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Soil Health Initiative
Farmers interested in learning more about ways to improve the productivity of your soil should visit the NH Soil Health website Producers interested in cover crops should sign up by March 15, you will be put on a contact list to receive updated information about cover crop trials, seed mixes, dates. No-Till Corn Planter Rentals and Retrofits equipment availability, click here for more information and signup. We’ve Got It Covered! Already using cover crops? This campaign seeks to assist farmers in getting recognition for the good cover cropping already being implemented on farms. These signs are available in your local NRCS, Conservation District or Cooperative Extension Office. Who We Are We are a group of technical service providers from NRCS, NH Association of Conservation Districts (NHACD), County Conservation Districts across the state, Granite State Graziers, and UNH Cooperative Extension |
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A cooperative funding agreement between the NH Association of Conservation Districts
and the CT Council on Soil and Water Conservation
To provide technical assistance to the
Long Island Sound Watershed - Regional Conservation Partnership Program (LISW-RCPP)
October 2016 - December 2019
and the CT Council on Soil and Water Conservation
To provide technical assistance to the
Long Island Sound Watershed - Regional Conservation Partnership Program (LISW-RCPP)
October 2016 - December 2019
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