Meet A Member

Two Women, Two Stories – One Common Goal
by John McCausland

Verna Martin and Alicia Walker have been friends and neighbors on Mount Dearborn Road in Weare for 48 years. Now in their nineties, the two were born just 20 days apart. Both have protected their land with PLC conservation easements, but their stories are quite different and represent the varied motivations people have in protecting their land.

Verna was born in the room she still sleeps in and hopes to die in. Her old farmhouse came into the family in the 1850s, when her great grandfather, James Grant, a tenant on the farm, married the widow who owned it. James passed the property to his son Hiram, and Hiram to his son Leon, Verna’s father. Leon was the last family member to actively farm the property, giving up farming in 1938 to start the first Ford dealership in New Hampshire, now Grant Family Motors in Manchester. The Grants continued to live on their property and run a maple syrup operation, which Verna’s cousin continues to this day. Verna remembers her father telling her, “Never sell your land!” The land was always there, good times or hard.

That ethic, that rooted sense of continuity and security, is shared by Verna’s three children, including Terry Knowles, who with her husband Craig lives just down the road. As Terry explains, “No one in the family ever thought of dividing our land.” As Verna grew older, she and her family turned to PLC a few years ago to discuss putting easements on three parcels, totaling 85 acres, that will ultimately make up the Grant Family Farm Conservation Area. The first two easements were completed last year; the last is in the planning stage. The approach has been a combination of gifts and bargain sales – the latter to provide some cash to support home health care for Verna. Not only has she thus been able to stay in her home, but she also has peace of mind of knowing the family legacy will endure after she is gone.

Alicia Walker, unlike Verna Martin, was born elsewhere – in Connecticut. “We were foreigners,” she says with a chuckle, remembering when she, her late husband Raymond, and their six children moved to their rambling old farmhouse in 1963, just up the road from Verna. “We were looking for country living and a place we could afford with seven bedrooms,” explains Alicia. They bought the Dearborn homestead, one of the oldest homes in Weare. Their 114 acres includes the summit of Mount Dearborn, the highest point in town.

The Walkers planted Christmas trees in their open fields, a few of which remain as towering giants. “We got 1000 seedlings from the state nursery,” Alicia recounts. Interested in environmentalism even before they moved to New Hampshire, Alicia and Raymond were early members of the PLC. They and their children were enthusiastic about putting the land under conservation. Today, from her front porch, Alicia can look out over miles and miles of rolling hills and mountains to the south. While the property will pass from her family after she is gone, it will remain intact, protected forever, as it was when the Walkers found it, and when the Dearborn family homesteaded there in the 1760s.

So, two wonderful women, two families, two stories, each with its different personal twists. But out of them, thanks to PLC, emerges one common legacy for the future. And these neighbors on Mount Dearborn Road have inspired a quiet movement on what they call “the block.” PLC members Neal and Heleen Kurk spearheaded the effort to put properties on the road into a historic district to help preserve their architectural character. There are other large holdings in the area which, if put under easement in the future, can connect to the Peacock Marsh wildlife preserve below Mount Dearborn Road, which would then form one of the largest contiguous protected parcels in the Piscataquog Watershed. Thank you, Verna, Alicia, and all the others who, working together, are making such projects possible.

Ed. note: Verna Martin passed away on October 25, 2011 following a period of declining health. The Grant Family Farm Conservation Area on Mount Dearborn Road serves as a perpetual reminder of her commitment to conservation.

PLC Graduates 12 New Trackers!

Congratulations to PLC’s 12 intrepid new trackers (listed below) who recently graduated from a year-long course in wildlife sign and track identification run by renowned Wildlife Biologist and Tracker Susan Morse of Keeping Track, Inc. Based out of Jericho, Vermont and sponsored by PLC. The students participated in 6 full;-day workshops, 3 in Vermont and 3 here in the watershed, as well as two evening workshops. PLC uses teams of trained trackers to help in the identification and prioritization of prospective conservation projects where the preservation of wildlife habitat is a goal. Working in teams of 4, trackers walk a route, or transect, every month for one year, gathering data and documenting signs of wildlife and habitat. PLC will now be deploying three new teams across the watershed. If you would like to join them, new trackers-wannabees are always welcome!

Alicia Bergeron, George Carville, Holly Cassidy, Sanja Chambers, Kate Fitzpatrick, Holly Green, Ethan Judd, Steve Judd, Abby Kelly, James McNaughton, Candice Shaffer, Lou Springer, Susan Tucker and Ellie Weiss.

Why I Support PLC
by Lisa Ferro

When I was fourteen, the horse farm where I spent years exploring fields, hedgerows, woods, and streams, was turned into an industrial park. The verbal agreement between the landowner and the woman who ran the farm – to allow her to reside at and manage the modest boarding and rental stable for as long as she wished – was tossed aside by his heirs as soon as he died.

We tried to fight back. A bunch of us kids trouped down to the Zoning Board (on a school day!) to plead our case. The Washington Post even ran a full-page article on our battle. All to no good, of course. Too many people had too much money to gain from the sale and development of the land.

Years later, I drove up to the old place, but there were no landmarks to guide me amidst the unforgiving concrete. I knew the old dairy barns would be long gone, but where were the berry bushes that we used to harvest in late summer, filling buckets to bring home to our families? Where was the old apple orchard whose trees welcomed us up into their fragrant hideaways? Where was the shady stream where we had taken our horses wading bareback on hot summer days? Where were the woods we explored on foot when the barn chores were done? It had been our little piece of wilderness, and it was destroyed.

A sad tale, indeed. A landowner’s wishes not honored. Human development that had squeezed out nature and those who value it. Nearly 25 years later an advertisement in the New Boston Bulletin catches my eye: “Like to walk in the woods?” That was how I discovered the PLC. I had been a longtime member of the National Wildlife Federation and the Nature Conservancy, and those organizations do vital work, but here was an opportunity to be part of preserving my little neck of the woods. With the PLC, I know my efforts will not be in vain, as they were all those years ago.

As a volunteer easement monitor I’ve discovered so many unexpected rewards and forged new friendships in my community. My monitoring partners and other PLC members are “my kind of people.” Monitoring in pairs is another boon. While two sets of eyes increase the chance that a problem will be noticed, the practice also serves to enrich our enjoyment of the watershed because we point out discoveries to one another – a ladyslipper here, a tiny tree frog there. And, knowing that I need to make a careful record of all I observe, my senses are stretched to perceive all they can, encouraging me to pay attention to details that I start to take for granted in my routine walks in the woods.

Then there is the easement property itself. I like to monitor it at different times of the year, to experience the watershed in all its many moods. I like to observe the natural changes of the seasons, touching new green growth or lightheartedly scuffling through crackling leaf fall, listening to the roar of the Piscataquog in spring or its quiet ice-shrouded murmur in winter. Having the opportunity to do this year after year for the same parcel of land brings me a sense of security and comfort: all is well.

I feel like a parent who peeks into a child’s bedroom at night, stepping quietly to the bedside to run a gentle hand across the soft, sleepy, head -- just to feel the child’s continued presence, to glory in the joy, the gift that is this child. But of course I’m not the parent. I’m the child, the dependent on this land, this gift. What a privilege to have a part in preserving it for future generations.

Meet PLC’s Volunteer Stewardship Coordinator:

Graham Pendlebury

by Paula Bellemore with input from Pam Pendlebury

When you meet Graham Pendlebury, the first things that capture your attention are his easy smile, bright eyes, and his remarkable ability to put a person completely and entirely at ease. Graham is the kind of guy that everyone likes – and that’s a trait that comes in handy in both his professional life and in his volunteer work with PLC.

In his “day job” Graham is an accomplished masonry artist, creating stone walls, fireplaces, chimneys, patios, walkways, and more from natural stone and brick. His creative, artistic, and first-rate work is well regarded and graces many homes and landscapes throughout this part of New Hampshire. In the course of his work, Graham has introduced many people to PLC, including some associations that have led to protecting places those people hold as special.

In his volunteer role, Graham has been working closely with PLC for more than 15 years. He served on the PLC board for several years, starting in 1995, and has been involved with the organization in one capacity or another ever since, serving for many years as chair of PLC’s Land Protection Committee. For some of those years, he also served on the New Boston Forestry Committee and then initiated the New Boston Open Space Committee.

In 1997, Graham and New Boston Conservation Commission member Sally Garrett initiated PLC’s involvement with the Keeping Track (KT) program. 16 PLC members took the initial intensive training in Vermont with Susan Morse – this year’s annual meeting speaker and photographer extraordinaire (see insert). PLC was among the first to establish a KT program in this area, which continues to this day, providing a wealth of data on wildlife and the health of their habitat, which has led to protecting some important areas.

Today, as PLC’s first official Stewardship Coordinator (a title that staff bestowed on him this year, and which he only grudgingly accepted – not liking to call attention to himself), Graham helps oversee the annual monitoring and stewardship of more than 80 PLC-protected properties across the watershed. On any given day you might find him cleaning up a trail with good friend Gordon Russell, posting PLC property signs with another good friend, Mark Brown, or in the PLC office reviewing paperwork with Paula and Eric. In addition to working with PLC’s Land Protection Committee to evaluate possible land protection projects, he also coordinates the annual easement monitor training and the monitors’ potluck dinner. He makes himself available to train new volunteers, answer questions, and lead site walks.

Many longtime members will also recognize Graham as the man behind the spaghetti at PLC’s annual meeting. For years Graham has helped to orchestrate this incredibly successful event – taking on whatever task is needed, from making PLC’s special sauce, serving up spaghetti, washing dishes, and even picking up and delivering tables and chairs on the weekend of his wedding in 2007! (Now that’s commitment!)

Graham has two grown children, Alex and Merrie, and is married to massage therapist/art therapist Pam Pendlebury, with whom he shares one of his lesser known passions – ballroom dancing! They live in New Boston next to one of Graham’s favorite haunts, PLC’s Tuthill Woodlands Preserve, which he was instrumental in protecting.

A tireless volunteer, a committed conservationist, and a level-headed, rational, and creative thinker, Graham is just the kind of guy that makes a fantastic PLC volunteer. Thanks, Graham!

Photo: Pat Nelson

Joel & Cindy Stave

Six years ago Joel & Cindy Stave moved to New Boston, and into the Piscataquog River watershed. Here they were introduced to the PLC by friends who have since left the watershed but Joel and Cindy carry on their legacy.

Joel, a computer technology specialist by day, puts his hobby of macro photography to use as a Keeping Track volunteer for the PLC. Keeping Track is a wildlife tracking program that identifies and documents wildlife use of habitats throughout the watershed. The Keeping Track volunteers have a ball, learning about the habits of their watershed neighbors while providing a valuable service to the PLC. Trackers enjoy wildlife sightings, analyzing the remnants of kills and other animal activities, and of course fresh scat – oh, how they love their scat!

Cindy, a self-employed graphic designer, provides design services for the PLC’s bi-monthly member newsletter Watershed News. When not designing, or tracking wildlife along with Joel, Cindy might be found in her shade gardens which were designed by PLC member Lyn Lombard and feature such native non-invasive plants as viburnum, serviceberry, and Joe Pye weed. What’s more, Cindy serves on the PLC’s Outreach committee and helps cater the PLC’s annual spaghetti feast.

Joel and Cindy also monitor PLC conservation easement properties, an activity which contributed to their decision to permanently protect their land. They began this process out of a desire to protect the northern hardwood and softwood forests and large beaver pond on their property. A PLC Conservation Easement on this parcel, which abuts several other pieces already conserved, now helps protect the beaver pond and surrounding uplands from development.

Thank you Joel and Cindy, for your multi-faceted support of PLC!

Ben Haubrich

Working Out of Doors, At Last!
by Paul Susca

If you encounter Ben Haubrich off the beaten path in the watershed, he might be scouting a new trail.  After 32 years as a park manager, Ben is just the guy to figure out where to put a trail on a newly-protected PLC parcel.  He has scouted trails on the Bicknell and Rand Brook properties in Francestown, the Colburn Meadow property in New Boston, and the Burke property in Deering.

Ben finds himself as busy in early “retirement” as he was when managing the Monadnock State Park or supervising 21 state parks in western NH or administering the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the NH Division of Parks and Recreation.  Ironically, his career with Parks involved more time working indoors than he ever expected.  Even now, when he isn’t locating property boundaries (either in the field or in the Registry of Deeds) or scouting trails, Ben is writing baseline documentation reports for new PLC lands, or helping out on similar projects for the Francestown Land Trust or the Harris Center, both of whom he serves as a board member.  “Obviously,” he says, “I have a passion for protecting land and I believe in what PLC and these other organizations are doing.  And being involved with all of them helps us share ideas.”

Ben became involved with the PLC in 2003 after his job with the state intersected with then PLC President Margaret Watkins’ job with the National Park Service.  He joined Margaret’s Keeping Track team – walking a transect in Dunbarton four times a year.  Keeping Track is not just a great way to enjoy the woods, he says, but it helps support PLC’s land conservation mission.  “You show a landowner the data on all of the species on their property or a neighboring property,” he says, “and they really get interested in protecting the property.”  He soon started monitoring conservation easements, preparing easement baseline documentation, and scouting new trails – to add to an ever expanding list of volunteer activities.

Being “retired” for the time being finally gives Ben a chance to get outdoors!  When he can tear himself away from his volunteer activities, Ben heads for the woods or the water.  One of his favorite activities is “brook whacking,” as he calls it – bushwhacking to follow a brook – just to see what is there.  One of his favorite paddling spots is Lake Horace Marsh* at the inlet of Lake Horace in Weare.  “You have to portage over a few beaver dams,” he says of the marsh, “but you find yourself canoeing through a hardwood forest!”
Ben and his wife, Robin, live on a gravel road near Scobie Pond in Francestown, where they can enjoy a pleasant walk at any time of the day or night.

Jeff Jackson

A few years ago, Jeff Jackson stepped into the PLC office to drop off some samples he had collected as a volunteer water quality monitor. “I became aware of PLC’s need for help with computer services right away,” he remembers. “Old computers, an ad hoc network, obsolete software, no data backup or security.” Since then, Jeff has helped bring the PLC office into the 21st century. Referred to as the organization’s “technical guru” by PLC staff, Jeff, owner of Summit Computer Services in Weare, says he can give much more to PLC in services than he could in cash.

“There are a few things I’m passionate about,” Jeff says, “Family, protecting the environment, and enjoying the environment.” In addition to enjoying his favorite place, nearby Ferrin Pond, Jeff is a dedicated hiking enthusiast, sometimes hiking 100 miles at a stretch. Whenever a new property comes under PLC’s protection, Jeff checks it out. As a volunteer, he takes inspiration from the individuals and families that donate land or easements to PLC.

That inspiration goes a long way to enhancing what the PLC can do with its computer systems. Jeff’s projects in the office have included rebuilding computers, data recovery, setting up a better network with a central server for data storage and backup, improved security, remote access, and developing recommendations for new equipment. With the money the PLC saves on Jeff’s services, it has more to invest in new computer systems, for example, to support a geographic information system and enhance its donor database.
Why does Jeff Jackson choose to help the PLC? “It’s local. As I drive around the area visiting my customers, I’m always crossing brooks and streams that drain into the Piscataquog. As a small organization, PLC puts so much of their money and effort into monitoring and protecting the watershed, and into education. That’s what they should be doing.”