Posts Tagged: conservation



Happy Earth Day 2021, New Hampshire

22 Apr
2021
Earth Day, a small cascade on a tributary of Lost River in Kinsman Notch in North Woodstock, New Hampshire during the spring months.
Tributary of Lost River – Kinsman Notch, New Hampshire
 

Earth Day, April 22, 2021 – Happy Earth Day from the New Hampshire White Mountains! Earth Day is an annual day founded by US Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970. Many consider Earth Day to be the birth of the modern environmental movement. And the purpose of this day is to celebrate and create awareness for the environment.

Earth Day acts as an educational tool and influences all generations to care about the environment. If you have never heard about this day take some time to read up on the history and importance of Earth Day here. In the 21st-century, it is essential that we understand the impact we have on the environment. Education and proper training can help control the problem.

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April 22, 2021 | Categories: Nature Celebrations | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Weeks State Park, New Hampshire

30 Jan
2021
Weeks State Park - John Wingate Weeks Estate on the summit of Mt. Prospect in Lancaster, New Hampshire USA. The Mount Prospect Tower was built by John W. Weeks in 1912 and is still in operation today.
Weeks State Park – Lancaster, New Hampshire 
 

Weeks State Park, New Hampshire – Weeks State Park is a 420-acre, more or less, property on Mt. Prospect in Lancaster, New Hampshire. The main attraction of the park is the historical Weeks Estate on the summit. Built in 1912 for John Wingate Weeks (1860-1926), the main house is built of fieldstone and stucco.

Born in Lancaster on April 11, 1860, John Wingate Weeks was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. He was a leading conservationist, congressman, senator, and secretary of war but is best known for the Weeks Act of 1911. The Weeks Act authorized the Federal Government to purchase private land in the eastern United States and maintain the land as national forests. He is the reason why we have the White Mountain National Forest.

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January 30, 2021 | Categories: Historic Buildings | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

2020 Human Impact, White Mountains

21 Sep
2020
2020 human impact, mask hanging from a tree along the Georgiana Falls Path in Lincoln, New Hampshire during the summer of 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic).
COVID-19 Pandemic – White Mountains, New Hampshire (Sept. 2020)
 

2020 Human Impact, White Mountains – During these strange times, like many of you, I have been trying to stay safe and worrying about family and friends. I also have watched the New Hampshire White Mountains get trashed over the last few months. While human impact (overuse) is not a new problem here in the White Mountains, it has gotten much worse during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Being a native of New Hampshire, I hate seeing the White Mountains being treated so poorly. I have never seen such a lack of respect for nature. However, overuse has been a problem throughout the history of the White Mountains. And with the surge in outdoor recreation in the 21st-century, this was bound to happen again. And even in today’s conservation minded-society, there is still no easy solution to the problem.

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September 21, 2020 | Categories: Human Impact on Nature | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Happy Earth Day 2020, New Hampshire

22 Apr
2020
Agassiz Basin, on Mossilauke Brook, in North Woodstock, New Hampshire on a foggy autumn day. Agassiz Basin is named for Swiss naturalist, Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), who visited the region while doing research in the 1800s.
Agassiz Basin – North Woodstock, New Hampshire
 

Earth Day, April 22, 2020 – Happy Earth Day from the New Hampshire White Mountains! Earth Day is an annual day founded by US Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970. Many consider Earth Day to be the birth of the modern environmental movement. And the purpose of this day is to celebrate and create awareness for the environment. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

Earth Day acts as an educational tool and influences all generations to care about the environment. If you have never heard about this day take some time to read up on the history and importance of Earth Day here. In the 21st-century, it is essential that we understand the impact we have on the environment. Education and proper training can help control the problem.

Continue reading right arrow

April 22, 2020 | Categories: Nature Celebrations | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Happy Earth Day 2019, New Hampshire

22 Apr
2019
Happy Earth Day! Cascade on Spur Brook, at Coldspur Ledges, in Randolph, New Hampshire during the summer months. This small cascade is located at the confluence of Cold Brook and Spur Brook.
Coldspur Ledges – Randolph, New Hampshire
 

Earth Day, April 22, 2019 – Happy Earth Day from the New Hampshire White Mountains! Earth Day is an annual day founded by US Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970. Many consider Earth Day to be the birth of the modern environmental movement. And the purpose of this day is to celebrate and create awareness for the environment.

Earth Day acts as an educational tool and influences all generations to care about the environment. If you have never heard about this day take some time to read up on the history and importance of Earth Day here. In the 21st-century, tourism (biking, hiking, fishing, etc.) has exploded in the White Mountains, and areas are being overused. And because of this, it is essential that we understand the impact we have on the environment. Education and proper training can help control the problem.

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April 22, 2019 | Categories: Nature Celebrations | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Mount Tecumseh, 4000 Footers Hiking List

05 Mar
2019
The village of Waterville Valley, New Hampshire during the autumn months. Mt Tecumseh is in the background. This mountain is named for the Shawnee chief, Tecumseh (c.1768–1813).
Mount Tecumseh (2012) – Waterville Valley, New Hampshire
 

Mount Tecumseh, 4000 Footers Hiking List – On the same day that I publicized my Owl’s Head, Conserving Wilderness article, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) posted an article about some of the mountains on the White Mountain 4000 footers hiking list may not be over 4,000 feet. Being over 4,000 feet is one of the criteria for a mountain to be on the list. While our articles focus on different mountains on the hiking list, they both suggest that the time is coming for the AMC 4000 footer club to reevaluate the hiking list.

Lidar, a laser based technology, is currently being used to remap the White Mountains. This technology is very accurate at determining mountain elevations. And it was made public that the Lidar data is indicating that at least one mountain, Mount Tecumseh, is under the 4,000 foot criteria. According to the data Tecumseh is 3,995 feet (see footnote for actual new height), not 4,003 feet. Will the Lidar data reveal that Mount Isolation (4,004 feet) and Mount Waumbek (4,006 feet) are also below the 4,000 foot criteria?

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March 5, 2019 | Categories: White Mountains Issues | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Owl’s Head, Conserving Wilderness

22 Feb
2019
Owls Head and the Pemigewasset Wilderness from the Franconia Ridge Trail in New Hampshire.
Owl's Head from Franconia Ridge, New Hampshire
 

Owl’s Head, Conserving Wilderness – This remote 4025-foot mountain in the western region of the federally designated Pemigewasset Wilderness creates much debate. The controversy isn’t really about Owl’s Head its more about wilderness management. Hikers unhappy with the management of the Pemigewasset Wilderness use Owl’s Head as a stepping stone to criticize the Wilderness Act.

Established in 1984 under the New Hampshire Wilderness Act, the 45,000-acre Pemigewasset Wilderness is managed under the National Wilderness Preservation System and the Wilderness Act. Considered to be one of the greatest conservation laws ever passed, the Wilderness Act has protected over 109 million acres across the United States. And yet some are against the Wilderness Act.

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February 22, 2019 | Categories: White Mountains Issues | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

National Trails Day, White Mountains

02 Jun
2018
National Trails day, hiker on the Appalachian Trail (Gulfside Trail) in the White Mountains, New Hampshire. Mount Washington is in the background. The Great Gulf is on the left out of view.
Gulfside Trail – White Mountains, New Hampshire
 

National Trails Day, White Mountains – Today is American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day, an annual event held on the first Saturday in June. The intention of this day is to celebrate and create awareness for America's Trail system. It is also a day to recognize the work of all the volunteers who do trail maintenance along America’s trail system.

My photography work is mainly done in the New Hampshire White Mountains these days, and I see a lot of the work trail maintenance groups and the volunteers of the adapt-a-trail program are doing to better the White Mountains trail system. Unfortunately, I have also seen the destruction done to our trails when volunteers are not properly trained, but that is for another day.

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June 2, 2018 | Categories: Nature Celebrations | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »