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Temple conservation commission to share Town Forest plan with NHDES and explore trail connector, boardwalk and Barry property conservation
Summary
The commission agreed to respond to an NHDES request for Town Forest information by sharing the Town Forest Plan and the Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) chapter links; members also discussed a Wilton-led trail connector between Fisk Hill and Heald Tract, a potential boardwalk to link trails near the Chris Weston property and interest from Piscataquog Land Conservancy in the Barry property.
At its Feb. 11 meeting the Temple Conservation Commission agreed to provide information requested by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and discussed several conservation and trail projects.
Cathy Joly will respond to the NHDES request by sharing a link to the Town Forest Plan and to the Natural Resource Inventory (NRI), with particular emphasis on the Recommendations and Climate chapters. Members noted the NRI was last updated in 2023 and asked Beth Preston to draft corrected descriptive language for the ABCs of Temple materials.
Mike Madden reported outreach about a possible trail connector between the Heald Tract and Fisk Hill. He spoke with Jennifer Beck of the Wilton Conservation Commission, who supported the idea and suggested he attend a Wilton meeting to discuss route and stewardship. Mike also contacted Chris Wells of the Piscataquog Land Conservancy and said he will consult Tim Fiske for recommendations; the minutes record that a steward named Bart has largely retired from work on the Heald Tract.
The commission discussed two trails around the Chris Weston property that are not yet connected because a boardwalk is needed to cross wet areas. Members suggested consulting Peterborough about construction techniques and considered applying for a T-Mobile community grant to fund a boardwalk project (the minutes include an editor’s note that the grant program ends March 2026). Beth Preston will draft revised language for the ABCs documentation and share it with the commission.
On the Barry property, Mike Madden said he had shared the commission’s letter with Alec MacMartin of the Wilton Planning Board. Piscataquog Land Conservancy is interested in the property but is managing a large project this year; Sean Radcliffe and Mike Madden will speak about the commission’s letter at the Planning Board meeting.
A scheduled work session on conservation education was delayed until the next meeting.
