The 17-member Natural Area Working Group was formed by DRED in September as a way to involve lake stakeholders as advisers in the plan’s deployment next summer.

Setting the stage for the group, Don Kent, administrator of the N.H. Natural Heritage Bureau, said all eyes in the state are on the Natural Area project, which seeks to balance recreation and preservation at the fragile site.

The basics of the proposed plan are clear, with a portion of the shoreline to be designated for low-impact recreation and education, and the interior and the remainder of the shoreline to be closed for restoration and preservation.

But the devil is in the details, and as head of the Working Group, it’s Kent’s job to capture and assess ideas on how to address issues ranging from water quality to swimmer safety to nuisance behavior. By winter’s end, the agency will present its final recommendations to the governor.

Kent said the state’s primary responsibility is to protect the site’s natural and historic resources, which he said are found throughout the property and the near-shore waters. But he added he’s optimistic that recreation interests can be accommodated if there is public awareness and cooperation.

“We’re not here to look backward and assign blame to boaters or to the state for the damage that’s already been done,” he said. “Our job is to look forward and make this plan work.”

To clear the air about what he said was “a lot of misinformation” about the property, Kent and DRED environmental information specialist Melissa Coppola presented a chronology of research studies, from the early 1960s to the present, documenting the site’s rare plants and species richness.

Asked how unusual the site is, Coppola said some of the property’s natural communities exist nowhere else in the world.

Public Use Area
After the presentation, the group got down to work with a discussion about how to manage the public use portion of the property, a long stretch of sandy shoreline interspersed with rare plants and natural communities that have been under stress. Kent said the goal of the state is to permit recreation at that location while fulfilling its statutory preservation requirements.

Wayne Killam, who said some of his Lakeside Landing Marina customers use the site, suggested low fencing in addition to signs to keep people in designated areas and away from the interior land.

A question from environmentalist Susan Slack asking whether the state assumes it has a responsibility to provide bathroom facilities prompted a lengthy discussion about public health issues.

Alliance director David Smith suggested that land issues and water issues be considered separately. He said members of the boating community have been discouraging people from using the woods as a bathroom, and their efforts combined with the fences and signs can potentially resolve the onshore issue.

In regard to the water, Jacquie Colburn of DES’ Lakes Management and Protection Program said large numbers of boaters using the lake as a bathroom during the course of a long day is not unique to the Natural Area. She said DES has been looking at innovative solutions to the problem state-wide, including whether portable floating bathrooms can work.

Bud Berry, also from DES, said water tests next year may not immediately show if there is a bacteria problem. He said bacteria usually builds up over time and requires long-term monitoring to determine the environmental impact. Boater Allen McKenney said some people already bring portable on-boat toilets to the site, and he thinks the state should encourage others to do so.

Representing the Town of Freedom, John Shipman said the “carry in, carry out” principal of preventing litter can also be applied to the bathroom issue. He said purchasing a portable on-boat toilet and knowing where the public bathrooms are on the lake, such as at marinas, should be a matter of personal responsibility.

Enforcement Issues
Enforcement, perhaps the most difficult issue the state faces in making the management plan successful, has assumed an even larger importance in the current economic climate.

Josh Dirth, from the state’s Marine Patrol, said his agency can help, but only so much. Once parts of the shoreline are officially closed to the public, Marine Patrol officers can arrest trespassers in addition to enforcing boating regulations. Unfortunately, fewer Marine Patrol officers are likely to be on the lake next year since two positions have already been cut.

As far as enforcement on the public use part of the shoreline is concerned, DRED official Kent was blunt, telling the group his agency isn’t budgeted to fund compliance in natural areas. Beyond an initial period of creating public awareness, he said, local resources and the boating community will have to assume a large part of the responsibility for making the plan work.

To underscore the importance of such a volunteer effort, Kent said the state will likely close the entire shoreline if the public does not cooperate with the plan.

The Alliance’s Smith said he thought compliance with this year’s restrictions was good and that most boaters will comply if the state’s rules are clear, adding that there is still a lot of confusion about what is permitted and what isn’t.

Boater John Panagitakos agreed, saying people who rent or are just visiting the lake for the day are the ones most likely to break the rules because they are unaware of them. He said it is important to reach out to such people.

Consensus Items
Kent said the state has been rethinking the location of the open portion of the shoreline, which now runs from the tree known as Lone Pine east to the buffer zone with the Long Sands residential community.

He said DRED favors shifting the open-use part of the shoreline to the west based on practical and environmental considerations, including maximizing the protection of the property and obtaining the largest possible gain in restoration efforts.

Boaters in the Working Group said the sandy area of the new location has more beach-like space and will make it easier to block the interior property with fences. Jean Hansen of Long Sands Association said that since the new area is further removed from residential properties, it could stop people from illegally accessing the site from Long Sands Road.

On a voice vote with no objections, the Working Group recommended that DRED shift the open shoreline toward the west, and that it fence restricted areas in addition to posting signs showing use regulations.

The group also established a sub-committee to detail sanitation options. Town of Effingham representative Sheila Jones and DRED Parks and Recreation official Kevin Donovan will report to the group at the next meeting, tentatively scheduled for mid-January.

Kent said the state wants the final plan to be measurable, and toward that goal the Working Group decided informally that volunteers should be organized to conduct a spring shoreline clean-up. Once the shore is certified as free of litter and human waste, it will be easier to determine how well the rules work next summer.

Additional agenda items for January include discussions about permitted recreation, public education and awareness, and the potential for a designated area for kayaks and canoes.

The working group, which consists of representatives of state and local organizations and members of the boating community, was established as part of DRED’s management plan for the property – the first such plan to be developed since the state purchased the 400-acre preserve from land developers in 1969.

While the working group does not have regulatory decision-making power, it will serve in an advisory capacity to the state. The agenda for the group’s first meeting includes a presentation on the chronology of rare plants and natural communities at the site, and a discussion of issues related to implementing the management plan next year.

Announced in June, the management plan permits public access to 1,500 feet of shoreline for recreation and education, while the remainder of the property is reserved for the protection and conservation of unique natural and historic resources, which the state report called “non-renewable, fragile and rare.” Boats cannot be pulled onto the shoreline anywhere on the property.

The 30-page plan was one of three alternatives DRED developed earlier this year with a coalition of state agencies that included its own Divisions of Forests and Lands and Parks and Recreation; the Department of Environmental Services’ Lakes Management and Protection Advisory Committee; the Department of Safety’s Marine Patrol Division; and the Historical Resources Division of the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources. The agencies also considered input from two public hearings.

In addition to the aforementioned state agencies, the working group includes Lakeside Landing Marina and Campground, Long Sands Association, Ossipee Lake Alliance, the N.H. Lakes Association and Green Mountain Conservation Group. The Ossipee Lake boating community will be represented by Richard Lover of Milton, Allen McKenney of Hudson and John Panagiotakos of Freedom.

The lake’s three surrounding towns will be represented by John Shipman of Freedom, Harry Merrow of Ossipee and Sheila Jones of Effingham.

Dear Donald Kent:

At the outset, we at Effingham Conservation Commission wish to let DRED know of our support to Alternative 3 (OLNA beach partially open to public) amongst the three alternatives proposed. To that extent, the Commission would be willing to consider any volunteer help, if called upon. However, the Commission has certain comments and suggestions.

It appears that the OLNA has been used exclusively by a select few, namely some boaters (including Indian Mound residents). We are not sure if that is what was meant by the “recreational” part of the “education and recreational purposes” stipulated in the deeded transfer to DRED. These select few boaters are the ones who have been accessing this beach and not the public at large. Unfortunately, it has also depleted and endangered the natural resources with an unlikely educational outcome.

We congratulate DRED in finally acknowledging this reality and now trying to tread carefully its conflicted mandate of tourism vs. conservation. True, the OLNA is in the town of Ossipee, but its natural resources belong to the state. Hence, protection of the OLNA should be viewed as in state’s interest.

Implementation of Alternative 3 would require changing the use pattern of those who have been misusing it. Wouldn’t it have been better to close the region for one year (2009) and take that opportunity to educate these users? And then slowly open it; say in two years (2010-11) in a suitable fashion under NHNHB advisement.

We are unable to see how allowing the use of the beach will escape the pollution problem, mainly since no toilet facility is proposed. If the use of the beach is allowed to the boaters then facilities (Porta-potty; trash-can) should also be provided to prevent unintended pollution problems.

Finally, since this area is not accessible by other than watercraft, it excludes most individuals from recreation and education. DRED could consider at least the educational aspect by providing information through available means and by conducting some seasonal guided tours. The highest priority should be given to the protection of the natural resources, including the wetlands. Hence, unlike in the past, future recommendations by NHNHB should be considered for implementation. Thanks.

Kamal Nath, Chair; Effingham Conservation Commission

The 30-page plan, one of three alternatives DRED considered, would permit public access to 1,500 feet of shoreline for recreation and education, while the remainder of the shoreline would be reserved for the protection and conservation of the property’s natural and historic resources, which the report called “non-renewable, fragile and rare.” Boats could not be pulled onto the shore anywhere on the property.

If the plan is enacted in July as expected, the open and closed areas of the Natural Area will be the same as the agency mandated on an interim basis last August. The open portion would begin at the end of the 200 ft. buffer with the Long Sands residential neighborhood and extend to the large pine tree known as Lone Pine. The swampy fen/bog interior of the property would be closed, and access to the shoreline from Route 25 would not be developed.

The management plan, which was released on June 18, is the result of meetings by a State Agency Working Group consisting of representatives from DRED’s Divisions of Forests and Lands and Parks and Recreation; the Department of Environmental Services’ Lakes Management and Protection Program; the Department of Safety’s Marine Patrol Division; and the Historical Resources Division of the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources.

The Working Group examined options ranging from closing all of the shoreline to opening all of it, and in the end settled on a balance between the two. DRED officials said that the success of the plan will require “changes in public behavior and compliance” with State rules through education and enforcement, noting that “education provides for stakeholder awareness and enforcement ensures compliance of recalcitrant individuals.”

The agency said it will develop programs to monitor and measure the plan’s success, and will encourage use of the property for education to “study rare plants and exemplary natural communities and the region’s pre-historical and native cultures.”

DRED will hold a public meeting at Ossipee Town Hall on June 27 to detail the plan and hear questions and comments, after which the plan will be put into effect.

Damage Documented
Although DRED has studied Ossipee Lake Natural Area since it was purchased from land developers in 1969, the State Agency Working Group report is the first time it has publicly detailed the full extent of the damage caused by the lack of a management plan for the property.

Saying that rare plants and exemplary natural communities historically occupied the entire shoreline, the report concludes that “Landing boats onshore, trampling of vegetation, digging in the sand, fires and other beachgoer activities have significantly contributed to the degradation of natural communities and the extirpation [eradication] of plant species.”

The report cites trash, human feces and debris, threats to water quality, and disturbances caused by illegal parties, camping and bonfires.

The report also acknowledges for the first time that historical resources, which range from 500 to 11,000 years old, exist not only throughout the Natural Area and the shoreline but also in the water, saying that “the potential damage to historical resources from public use is significant.”

Boating and Rafting
Pointing to the large number of people congregating in one place, the plan said there is a potential for swimmers to be injured by boats moving in and out of the area. While the plan does not impose any limitations on rafting or swimming, it says such restrictions could be imposed in the future if the Marine Patrol determines there is a danger.

DRED said Marine Patrol officers will monitor the situation this summer to determine compliance with State boating regulations in regard to headway speed and operating under the influence, among others. After a period of public education, Marine Patrol officers will also enforce the rule prohibiting use of the closed section of shoreline.

The complete DRED management plan is available on the N.H. Forests and Lands website, www.nhdfl.org. The plan and additional materials about Ossipee Lake Natural Area are also available at Ossipee Lake Alliance’s two websites, www.ossipeelake.org and www.OLNA.info.

The project was ranked second among more than 80 Forest Legacy proposals from all over the country and will enable the conservancy to bring the total of protected land in the Ossipee Pine Barrens to more than 5,900 contiguous acres.

“Five years ago, we didn’t dare dream that we could make so much progress so quickly,” said Daryl Burtnett, state director of The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire.

“It wouldn’t be possible without the solid support of our congressional delegation, our partners in the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, and the many local residents who’ve supported this project with dollars and encouragement,” said Burtnett.

Funds for the project are contained in the omnibus spending bill approved by the House and Senate this week, and which President Bush is expected to sign.

“The Ossipee Pine Barrens is one of the places that helps define New Hampshire’s special natural heritage,” said U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg. “It protects not only vital wildlife habitat, wetlands and a rare forest type but an important underground drinking water source and recreational opportunities for the people who live in this region of the state.”

U.S. Sen. John Sununu praised the efforts of the Nature Conservancy, saying that “the New Hampshire Chapter is to be commended for its role in preserving the Pine Barrens for generations to come.”

The Ossipee Pine Barrens campaign calls for protection of five tracts, all but one of which the Conservancy has already acquired: 25 acres in Madison; 170 acres in Freedom; 65 acres in Ossipee; 100 acres in Ossipee; and 355 acres between Silver Lake and Cook’s Pond in Madison, which the Conservancy has a contract to purchase later this month.

Additional funds for the Conservancy’s Ossipee Pine Barrens campaign include $300,000 from the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program and $100,000 from the federal Landowner Incentive Program. Area residents, foundations and Nature Conservancy members and trustees have donated $1.13 million toward the campaign. The Conservancy still has about $68,000 left to raise.

The Ossipee Pine Barrens is a globally rare forest ecosystem of pitch pine and scrub oak that harbors rare plants, declining songbirds (such as whip-poor-will, Eastern towhee, brown thrasher and nighthawk) and 17 rare moth and butterfly species. The ecosystem is recognized as a top priority “conservation focus area” and “highest quality habitat” in the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Wildlife Action Plan, and is formally designated by New Hampshire Audubon as one of the state’s Important Bird Areas.

Burtnett said that in addition to saving New Hampshire’s rarest forest ecosystem, the conservation effort protects clean groundwater supplies for homes and businesses in Freedom, Madison, Ossipee and Tamworth. With its intact forest cover, the Ossipee Pine Barrens serves as a natural filter, ensuring good water quality for New Hampshire’s largest stratified drift aquifer. He said the largely flat and sandy habitat is highly vulnerable to residential and commercial development.

“The Conservancy has been conserving land here since 1988, but had to respond quickly during the last two years when a number of the most ecologically significant tracts were listed for sale.”

[N.H. Union Leader]

Ossipee - August 23, 2007 - The N.H. Department of Resources and Economic Development announced Monday that it is closing most of the beach in the Ossipee Lake Natural Area to public access beginning this week.

The 9,200 feet of shoreline, also known locally as Long Sands, is a popular destination for boaters on the lake. In recent years it has drawn attention from those who sought to develop it as a public beach with land access, as well as from those who were concerned that the current use of the land was destroying natural resources.

The shoreline, part of a 400-acre parcel of land on the south end of Ossipee Lake, is the longest undeveloped shoreline remaining on the lake. It was sold to the state in 1969 by the land development firm White and Sawyer, and is managed by the Department of Resources and Economic Development. Deed restrictions indicate that the land was not to be used for any purpose other than education or recreation.

According to a press release from the Department of Resources and Economic Development [DRED], all but 1,500 feet of beach will be closed to allow for the protection and restoration of rare and endangered plants and natural communities.

N.H. Rep. Harry Merrow campaigned to create a public beach with overland access at the natural area, primarily so that townspeople in Ossipee who do not have boats could have access to a beach on the lake. Merrow said he has no objection to the state’s announced plan.

“I don’t have any problem with them trying to protect stuff,” he said, but he said he is not certain about the extent to which the parcel away from the shoreline will be closed. The land extends from the lake to Route 25, and Merrow said he does not believe it is necessary to close those sections of the beach that are away from the water. “I don’t think the intent was to close the whole thing, but that needs to be clarified,” he said.

The section of the beach that remains open was also, at one point, the section Merrow had identified for a town beach. Merrow abandoned the plan for the beach, however, when George Bald resumed his job as DRED commissioner, and said the plan is not going forward at this point.

Many local conservation organizations, including the conservation commissions in Effingham and Ossipee, as well as Green Mountain Conservation Group and the Ossipee Lake Alliance have advocated for stronger preservation efforts by the state.

David Smith, executive director of Ossipee Lake Alliance, called the move a positive first step toward developing the unique value of the property for the people of the state.

“The lake community wants the Natural Area developed for multiple purposes that include education and low impact recreation, but the first step has always been to stop the damage. DRED just made a huge step forward with this announcement.”

Although he believes there should be recreational uses allowed at the area, the heavy use by boaters is too much for the natural resources, he said.

“That kind of recreation is not compatible. We know that it’s destroying the property. DRED has documented it,” he said.

Growing up vacationing on Ossipee Lake, Smith said he has witnessed the sandy areas of the beach being expanded (and natural vegetation being destroyed) progressively over the past 40 years. In recent years, he said he has seen people raking the beach with steel rakes. “The only reason to do that is to get vegetation out of the way. That’s what’s most disturbing to me.”

Closing Tomorrow
The closure will begin tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 24) and will remain in effect while DRED develops a management plan for the natural area over the winter. The plan is expected to be completed before next summer.

According to the press release, state personnel will be enforcing this restriction, but no details about how they will do that were available at press time. Earlier this summer, when DRED posted regulations for use of the state land at Ossipee Lake Natural Area, the agency sent representatives to the beach and to local boat launches to educate boaters about what they could and could not do there.

From Lone Pine to Pine River
The portion of the Natural Area that will be closed to public access and landing of watercraft will extend along the water between a large white pine tree (that gives the area the name Lone Pine) to the northeast, and the state property boundary beyond Pine River to the southwest. About 1,500 feet of the beach along Ossipee Lake will remain open, starting 200 feet from the northeast property boundary adjacent to Long Sands, and extending southwest to the large white pine. Passive recreation will be permitted in this area in accordance with Department rules.

The portion of the Natural Area immediately behind both the open and closed beaches is also closed to public recreation. This area begins at the top of the slope of the beach where vegetation is present. The open and closed areas of the Natural Area will be posted.

The DRED press release stated, “The Department will be consulting with members of the local community, lake users, conservation organizations, and others who are interested in the management of the Natural Area in development of the management plan. The plan will address the need for protection and restoration of the endangered rare plants and globally rare natural communities, determine appropriate public access and use of the area, address the protection of archeological resources, recommend educational programs, and identify the resources necessary to carry out the management plan.”

Rare plants
According to state officials say the portion of the Natural Area adjacent to the lake hosts a regionally rare sandy pond shore system with two globally rare natural communities (twig rush sandy turf pond shore and Hudsonia inland beach strand). The system provides critical habitat for three state Endangered plants (grassleaf goldenrod, slender bog clubmoss, and mermaidweed) as well as one state Threatened plant (hairy hudsonia).

A public session was held in Ossipee on May 5 to provide information on the unique nature of and challenges to management of the property and to receive public comment. The department’s presentation, a summary of public comment and additional information are on the Division of Forests and Lands website at nhdfl.org. According to the DRED press release, public comment can continue to be sent to Ossipee@dred.state.nh.us.

[Carroll County Independent]

###

Ossipee - August 6, 2007 - Firing a salvo at State officials, Long Sands Association President George Eisener has written a public letter to area newspapers saying New Hampshire landowners should think twice before selling property to the State agency DRED because of its track record with Ossipee Lake Natural Area.

Pointing to continued foot-dragging by the agency on a long-promised management plan to protect rare plants and prehistoric artifacts in the 400 acre site, Eisener said “no one should make the same mistake” the owners of the Natural Area did by entrusting their land to DRED. He called the agency’s management of the Natural Area “deplorable and beyond comprehension.”

Land developers sold the preserve to the State for $320,000 in 1969 with the agreement “it would not be used for other than education or recreation, meaning neither, one or the other, not both.” Eisener said that DRED has never had a management plan for the property and for 40 years has been an absentee landlord that has allowed boaters to destroy the fragile 9,600 ft. shoreline by turning it into a public beach.

Lake groups have counted as many as 3,500 people at the Natural Area on a single day and have sent DRED pictures of boaters cooking on gas grills and sunbathing under tents and on beach chairs surrounded by crumpled beer cans. Neighbors have reported camping, open fires and organized parties.

In 2003 DRED documented the loss of the many of the shoreline’s rare plant species from recreation and put the property on its list of “hot spots,” which are environmentally significant New Hampshire lands that are seriously threatened. Critics of the agency say DRED never acted on the report despite its call for an urgent protection and restoration plan.

“The congestion of boats, lack of sanitary facilities and a no trash collection policy puts the whole lake environment in jeopardy.” Eisner said.

Last August, officials from three of the agency’s departments wrote a joint memo to DRED Commissioner George Bald recommending that the property’s shoreline be closed to prevent further damage. The memo called the Natural Area “one of the State’s most valuable assets in terms of its natural and cultural resources.”

A year later, Eisener says, the shoreline remains open to boaters despite what he called personal assurances from Bald that the agency would act on the closure recommendation by this spring. Eisener says officials at Ossipee Lake Alliance and Green Mountain Conservation Group received similar assurances from Bald.

“Would you believe DRED says it has been working on a policy for the Natural Area on almost a daily basis and given it a high priority for over a year but is incapable to come up with a policy?” Eisener wrote in his letter.

Escalating Confrontations
Eisener’s letter is the latest in a series of confrontations over the Natural Area between DRED and lake and conservation organizations. After DRED officials said they would hold a meeting in May to seek public input on “management options” for the site, Ossipee Lake Alliance executive director David Smith pointed to previous public hearings and testimony and said “DRED doesn’t need more input, it needs someone who can make a decision.”

In June, the chairman of the Effingham Conservation Commission suggested to DRED that it offer an easement on the property to The Nature Conservancy, which has successfully managed the Ossipee Pine Barrens and other environmentally significant properties in the region.

An easement could ensure that [DRED’s] recurring failure and a slow bleeding of our natural and cultural heritage comes to an end, once and for all,” the group’s chairman, Kamalendu Nath, wrote.

Ossipee Conservation Commission and Green Mountain Conservation Group have also called on DRED to implement a management plan.

While local groups recently applauded the State for posting signs prohibiting camping and fires and for increasing Marine Patrol monitoring of the 300 to 350 boats that raft daily on weekends, they say those efforts aren’t enough to stop the damage because the rare plants and natural communities are directly on the shoreline. As long as the shore is open to recreation, the damage will continue, they say.

Eisener, who has been a lake resident for 50 years, says boaters are still pulling their boats onto the shore and damaging the vegetation with beach blankets, tents and beach chairs. He says there are dogs, drinking and organized parties. Last week DRED confirmed that Marine Patrol officers monitored a Natural Area party with live music held in July by a group calling itself the Long Sands Sinners. No arrests were made because the activities remained offshore. The party would have been illegal had it been onshore because DRED requires a permit for organized events.

In addition to the shoreline damage, Eisener says people aren’t seriously considering the potential for an accident or water-borne illnesses.

“Would you believe boaters put their children at risk by having them swimming in this oil slicked water, with boats coming and going in this urine filled water?…What are they thinking?”

[Ossipee Lake Alliance Report]

Ossipee - June 26, 2007 - Here are descriptions of a couple recent interesting and contrasting kayak forays. One is in a 180-acre shallow pond created by a dam, which is quiet and offers wonderful wildlife sighting opportunities. The other involves a short river trip out to the fifth largest lake in New Hampshire, and a journey across it to an endangered shoreline.

There are often ironies to be seen in the preservation of the natural landscape. In these two contrasting cases, a manmade lake turns into a treasure trove of wildlife rarely visited by anyone other than seasonal birders or duck hunters, and occasional kayakers before the lily pads get too thick in July. In the other case, a fragile natural shoreline on a busy lake gets neglected and is considered being utilized for a town beach.

It all depends on the needs of the dominant species.

Copp’s Pond

Copp’s Pond in Melvin Village is a quiet expanse of water lilies and blue water patrolled by dragonflies and presided over by great blue herons. Two of us drove there on a sunny late afternoon, parked next to the Copp’s Pond Wildlife Management Area sign, located beneath tall pines, and carried our kayaks down the bank to the brown water next to the dam.

We slowly paddled out of the small cove, heading toward a big boulder in the water with a mysterious brown cap on top of it. It looked too big to be a snapper, and was more than likely the dead root of an old tree. But it turned out to be our welcoming committee. We recognized it as an old snapper an instant before it began to move. It labored to dislodge itself from its perch, and then let gravity take it to the muddy bottom, where it was at home.

It is surprising that snapping turtles are the most common species of turtle in the state. They like to hide on the muddy bottom, and have an apparatus on their rear cloacal cavity that absorbs dissolved oxygen, so they don’t have to come up to get air if they are quiet. We took to the west shore, and paddled past brown mats of old lily pad roots that had begun to rot and float to the surface in a natural thinning process.

Pickerel shot away from us, leaving small V’s. Other small fish jumped in alarm. These got so numerous as the afternoon progressed, it became normal for the water around us to be alive with splashes amongst the lily pads. Looking down into the brownness between pads, schools of minnows shot by.

We approached a forested island, with another boulder in the water next to it. Another mysterious brown blob sat on top of the boulder. It was smaller than the snapper, and it moved slightly, causing us to speculate on what it was. An otter? We moved closer, silent and slow. At the magic moment of truth, the object divided in three. It was three ducklings. They ran down, jumped in and scattered in different directions. The parent flew up for the wooded island. We felt intrusive, had learned not to get too close to ducklings. We would utilize that knowledge again and again that afternoon.

Swinging by the southern end, two great blue heron landed near us. We watched the closest one walk with its hunter’s gait, a Mister Natural of the marsh. A muskrat surfaced and dived, surfaced and dived. We paddled slowly up the eastern shore and stopped on a rocky island for a snack and beverage. The primary tree of the island — a maple — had recently been felled by wind. Its giant root system was pried up, revealing sharp granite boulders in peat. Flycatchers hovered above the greenery of the tree. We sat on smooth rocks next to the water. The peace of the afternoon was sinking into our bones.

After our snack, I bet that a crayfish would appear under the first rock I moved in the shallows. It did. We put in, and paddled swiftly to the shady northern shore, where we could cool off. Along the way, a redwing blackbird landed on lily pads. A little way off, a mysterious diving bird would probe from a pad then dive, probe from another and dive.

We reached the northern shallows, where old rotting stumps harbored communities of plants. Sundews grew out of sphagnum. I spied a fine specimen of a painted turtle, and my friend glided close to observe its colors and shape. When the turtle finally dove, it shot outward with pent up energy.

Finally we got out around 7 p.m. On the bank, a big female snapper tumbled down into the water. Later we noticed where it was digging to deposit eggs, or, as they sometimes do, making a false nest to divert predators from the real nest. Whichever it was doing, we hoped it would be back after we left.

For directions to Copp’s Pond, refer to the great Appalachian Mountain Club book “Quiet Water, New Hampshire and Vermont” by Hayes and Wilson.

Long Sands Natural Area

A week later, I got the idea of kayaking down the lower Bearcamp River to Ossipee Lake. I related my plans to my friend and headed out. From West Ossipee, I drove south on Route 16 and pulled into the dirt parking lot just after the steel bridge over the Bearcamp. I carried my kayak down the dirt road and put in beneath the bridge.

I had swum under the bridge many times after trips south. This was the first time I had dipped a boat in the Bearcamp, and I liked it. As I paddled downstream, the forested banks were many shades of green, the river deep. I passed a trailer park, and paddled away from development.

I was thinking that maybe I would kayak across the lake later, to Long Sands. It would be a sort of pilgrimage. A couple years ago, I took the pontoon boat tour of Ossipee Lake offered by the Green Mountain Conservation Group at the Watershed Weekend at Camp Calumet.

A naturalist on the boat pointed out Long Sands on the far southern shore. Rare plants and numerous archeological discoveries had made Long Sands — part of the Ossipee Lake Natural Area — an important place to protect. However, some local politicians wanted to make it an Ossipee Town Beach.

On the boat ride back to Camp Calumet, the glowing low profile of Long Sands in the distance brought my imagination back to a time when natives paddled across the lake toward it, after a long hunt.

The threat of a town beach on Long Sands is gone for now, but some neglect by the state has caused rare plants to disappear there. The question has been how to protect it and, most recently, concerned citizens in Effingham have suggested to the state that an easement be made on the land, so that some agency besides the state can manage it.

After many bends of the Bearcamp, each a discovery of sorts, I began to see blue sky behind the trees ahead, then I paddled out into Ossipee Lake. It was a lot for the senses to take in. Then, without much thought, I headed south toward Long Sands and dug deep with my paddle.

After passing a pristine cove, I passed two more with ample development. Once, a speed boat slowed to a crawl for me, and I waved to them. Finally I approached Long Sands, and the green peninsula at the mouth of Pine River.

I spied a tiny piece of sand, and slid onto it, staying long enough for a sandwich and picture. I touched none of the vegetation. One rare plant, the hairy hudsonia, is brittle to the touch. I found out later that these tiny sandy spots are being considered off limits to boaters. They were actually created over time by people landing on peat mats.

As Barry Lopez said more than once, no one is exempt from being part of the problem. At Long Sands, botanists have put in at the beaches to study the plants. But if I go back to Long Sands again via the Bearcamp River, I won’t land there, but will continue up the Pine River to an appropriate take out spot — maybe where a native village once stood.

[Courtesy Conway Daily Sun]

Ossipee - June 14, 2007 - Town officials and local conservation activists are questioning the efficacy of N.H. Department of Resources and Economic Development’s recent announcement of efforts to educate boaters about the use of Ossipee Lake Natural Area.

On Memorial Day Weekend, two DRED employees were at the Boat Launch on Route 25 in Ossipee to talk to people putting in their boats about the state regulations for use of lands managed by DRED. Those rules include protection of plants and natural features, closing of beaches at night, prohibiting camping, building structures or fires, using grills, fireworks, and disposing of waste.

Ossipee Conservation Commission Chairman Elizabeth Gillette sent a letter June 1 to Philip Bryce, director of the Division of Forests and Lands for DRED, saying that the commission is pleased that the department has posted rules regarding use of the area, but adding “We share the concerns concerning the rules, their interpretation, and methods of enforcement expressed by David Smith of the Ossipee Lake Alliance in an email to you dated May 28, 2007.”

Following the announcement about DRED posting regulations for use of the beach, Smith wrote to Bryce saying he believes the regulations do not go far enough and asking whether items not listed as prohibited are therefore permitted. Both Smith and Gillette questioned the seeming lack of plans for enforcement.

Gillette wrote, “Enforcement of the rules is key to success, as is development of a management plan to protect the remaining rare plants on the shoreline, stabilize and reverse degradation of rare and unique natural communities and protect historic resources from disturbance and vandalism.”

“We respectfully ask that to aid in enforcement the area be patrolled several times during busy weekends — particularly during this initial season of posting so that people will become aware of DRED’s seriousness.”

Bryce said last week that educating boaters about existing rules is both a first step and a response to comments made in the past by the public, most recently at a state sponsored public forum on the use of the beach. He said there was a sense that people were not aware of breaking any rules, and would comply if they knew.

“Hopefully we can get people to follow that voluntarily,” he said.

No specific plans have been made for increased enforcement at this time. Bryce said this is a busy part of the season, with public lands opening for the summer and the fire season just ending. The situation could be reassessed once those programs are up and running. There are also difficulties in enforcement due to the fact that Marine Patrol, a part of N.H. Fish and Game enforces laws on bodies of water and their priorities are not those of protecting the land. Bryce said the people at N.H. Marine Patrol are helpful, but there is only so much they can do.

“We’re hoping eventually the need for enforcement won’t be that great,” Bryce said.

Gillette also advocated for stronger regulations to protect plant and animal species, as well as more monitoring to determine if people’s use is causing any environmental problems there. The state’s deed on the land specifies that it be used for educational and recreation purposes. But, Gillette wrote, “As you are also aware, the land is a very fragile ecological area that includes rare plant communities containing several species that are listed as endangered in New Hampshire. For recreation to occur in an ecologically sensitive area, it is reasonable to expect that the new rules should be more stringent than those of a typical shoreline.”

The conservation commission also recommends that DRED test the water downstream of the area before and after busy weekends to measure changes that may result from heavy visitation by people. The state is in the process of developing a management plan, which Bryce said will take into consideration these factors. No date has been set for completion of the management plan, but he said it is a priority for his office.

[Courtesy Carroll County Independent]

Ossipee - May 31, 2007 - State officials kicked off a new effort to educate the public about what uses are allowed at Long Sands this weekend.

Though no decisions have been made regarding changes to the management of Ossipee Lake Natural Area, representatives from the state Department of Resources and Economic Development Division of Forests and Lands were at the Pine River Boat Launch over the weekend to talk to boaters about regulations already in place to protect the land.

Those regulations include protection of plants and natural features, closing of the beach at night, restrictions prohibiting camping, erecting any structure, building fires, using grills, fireworks, or metal detectors, disposing of any kind of waste, digging holes (other than small holes in the sandy beach), conducting commercial activity, or holding any special events “beyond routine recreational activities.” Anyone violating of these rules can be found guilty of a misdemeanor.

Phil Bryce, director of the Division of Forests and Lands, said the rules being posted are general rules for all lands managed by DRED. “They are not specific to the natural area,” he said, adding that specific regulations would be developed as part of the overall management plan for the area, on which the division is working.

“We do not want to start making up specific rules for Ossipee at this point,” he said. The division wants to have a management plan in place, and then look at “What are the rules appropriate to that management direction.”

Blair Folts, executive director of Green Mountain Conservation Group, said she was pleased to hear of a state presence educating boaters about the land, and believes that most people will voluntarily comply with the rules.

“I do think people want to do the right thing. They just don’t understand the fragility of the area. I think that if they do understand the fragile nature of the Ossipee Lake Natural Area, they will want to recreate with care,” she said.

Ossipee Lake Alliance executive director David Smith was also pleased to hear of more state involvement, but said more needs to be done. He wanted to know, for instance, “Is stuff not on the signs now legal? My understanding is alcohol is not permitted [on state park lands]. There is nothing about boats being pulled up on the shore, or chairs or tents or waterslides on the beach. None of this is listed as prohibited, so is it permissible?”

Smith also said Bryce had recommended, and DRED Commissioner George Bald had said he would go ahead with, closing the shoreline to public access while a new policy on public access was being written. He said he has written to Bryce with his concerns.

Bryce said Tuesday he had received Smith’s letter, said the state is working on the management plan.

The beach known as Long Sands is part of Ossipee Lake Natural Area, a 400-acre parcel sold to the state for educational and recreation purposes in 1969 by White and Sawyer. With warm shallow waters and a long expanse of beach it is a popular spot for boaters on Ossipee Lake to visit.

There is no easy access to the beach by land, though the town of Ossipee, in an effort led by N.H. State Representative Harry Merrow, has in recent years tried to open a land-access to the beach. The area has also attracted the attention of conservationists, who want to make sure that rare plant species and ecological communities there are protected.

Earlier this month the Department of Resources and Economic Development held a public forum on use of the land (information on the presentation can be found at www.nhdfl.org). The public comment period is open until June 4. Comments may be sent to Phil Bryce at pbryce@dred.state.nh.us or by mail at N.H. Division of Forest and Lands, at PO Box 1856, Concord, NH 03301.

“One of the things that came out of that meeting was letting people know what the rules are,” Bryce said, because there was a sense that people were not aware of breaking any rules and would comply if they knew.

No date has been set for completion of the management plan. “We are working on Ossipee [the Natural Area] on almost a daily basis,” Bryce said. “The major message from the commissioner to us is we need to do something out there to ensure compliance and ensure protection. This is one of the most challenging pieces of DRED property under our jurisdiction.”

[Courtesy Carroll County Independent]