Conservation


Conservation photography in New Hampshire; this work focuses on land stewardship (environmental issues, human impact, trail stewardship, etc.) in the New Hampshire White Mountains. In this social media era that we live in, outdoor recreation in the White Mountains has skyrocketed to the point where conserving the White Mountains for future generations is a constant topic of discussion. This body of work showcases the scenic beauty of our public lands, creates awareness for issues in the White Mountains, and promotes positive stewardship practices.


Mt Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire

Stone Steps - Mt Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire
Mt. Tecumseh Trail, New Hampshire - This photography focuses on trail work. Since 2011, there has been an excessive amount of stonework done on the Mt. Tecumseh Trail. Sections of trail where four or five stone steps would have done the job have been transformed into one hundred foot long elaborate, unnatural looking, staircases. Trail stewardship groups preach that low-impact trail work entails building stonework in such a way that it looks natural and blends into nature, and man’s impact ...

Scree Walls, Trail Stewardship

Franconia Ridge Trail - White Mountains, New Hampshire USA
Scree Walls, Trail Stewardship - Today’s blog article focuses on a keyword search term. I chose one search term in this case “scree wall” and searched my image archive to see what imagery I have available that represents this area of trail stewardship. As photographer, these keyword searches help me determine what subject matter I need more coverage of. The below imagery showcases this search term....[Continue reading] ...

Mt Willard Section House Vandalism

Crawford Notch State Park - Mt. Willard Section House
Mt Willard Section House Vandalism - In April 2016 the Conway Scenic Railroad, on their Facebook page, posted that the Evan’s family monument at the Mt Willard Section House site had been recently vandalized. I visited the section house site last month and was disappointed to see the vandalism. The monument looks to be permanently damaged. The Mt. Willard Section House site is located along the old Maine Central Railroad in New Hampshire, next to the historic Willey Brook Trestle, ...

Human Impact, White Mountains

Abandoned Tires - Easton, New Hampshire
Human Impact, White Mountains - This photography work focuses on the many ways humans impact the environement. Every day beautiful landscape photos of the New Hampshire White Mountains are posted on social media, and this creates a false belief that the White Mountain National Forest is in a state of pristine condition that will never change. And this is far from the truth – every day a little more damage is done to the White Mountains environment. In order to ...

2016 White Mountains Projects

Mt Parker Trail - Dry River Wilderness, New Hampshire
2016 White Mountains Projects - I have been trying to decide what I want my first blog article of the year to be about. With the start of the New Year, and everyone making resolutions for 2016, I initially wanted to fire everyone up by showing you some disturbing human impact scenes, but the article isn’t coming together as I like so I have moved on from that for now.....[Continue reading] ...

Thoreau Falls Trail Bridge, My Viewpoint

Tropical Storm Irene - New Hampshire,Thoreau Falls Trail
Thoreau Falls Trail Bridge, My Viewpoint - Like many in the New England outdoor community, I have been closely following the Thoreau Falls Trail bridge removal project. I have had interesting conversations as to why the bridge should be replaced, but nothing yet has changed my position, I fully support removing this bridge from the Pemigewasset Wilderness. I wrote about this proposed bridge removal....[Continue reading] ...

Sustainable Trail Work, White Mountains

Mt Tecumseh Trail - Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
Sustainable Trail Work, White Mountains - Here in New Hampshire, all we hear about is environmental friendly and sustainable trail work. And how important it is to conserve the trails for future generations. As an environmental photographer, I support this approach to preserving the trail system. And up until a few years ago, I have always believed that the organizations maintaining our trails practiced what they preached...[Continue reading] ...

Thoreau Falls Trail Bridge Removal

Thoreau Falls Trail Bridge Removal
Thoreau Falls Trail, Bridge Removal - In August of 2011, Tropical Storm Irene caused massive erosion damage to the White Mountains trail system in New Hampshire. Some trails were damaged so badly that they have been permanently closed. And to this day trail crews are still repairing Irene damaged trails...[Continue reading] ...

Trail Work, Poor Trail Blaze Removal Practices

Tree Vandalism in the White Mountain National Forest of New Hampshire
Trail Work, Poor Trail Blaze Removal Practices - In October 2011, Erin Paul photographed newly painted trail blazing along the Mt. Tecumseh Trail in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. And sometime in the spring 2012, poor trail stewardship practices were used to remove one of the trail blazes. The bark where the blaze was had been cut and peeled away from the tree, and a large wound where rot, fungus, and insects could enter the tree was visible. Most trail maintenance ...

Standing Up For The White Mountains

Standing Up For The White Mountains
Each year, I document a few environmental issues in the White Mountains, and to start the New Year I am going to publicly share the four issues I will be documenting in 2015. The rest of my time will be focused on the scenic side of the White Mountains and New England region...[Continue reading] ...