Cog Railway Hotel Proposal
Cog Railway Hotel Proposal, Mount Washington - The owner of the Mount Washington Cog Railway is again proposing a restaurant and hotel accommodations on New Hampshire's Mount Washington. However, this project is a little different than the 35-room hotel proposal he made a few years ago. The Cog Railway owns a 99-foot-wide strip of land that straddles the railroad from ...
2020 Human Impact, White Mountains
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 ...
Backcountry Camping Impact, White Mountains
Backcountry Camping Impact, White Mountains - This photography work focuses on backcountry camping impact in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. Some areas are being littered with trash and are showing signs of surface erosion from heavy usage. And in other areas campsites are completely abandoned; campers are leaving all they're camping gear behind in the forest, and ...
Human Impact, White Mountains
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 ...
Trail Work, Poor Trail Blaze Removal Practices
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 ...
Pemigewasset Wilderness, Conservation Success
Pemigewasset Wilderness, Conservation Success - The 45,000-acre Pemigewasset Wilderness is the result of one the greatest conservation laws ever passed; The Wilderness Act. Unlike in today’s world where everyone wants to gut the Wilderness Act for selfish reasons, the creators of the Wilderness Act were truly concerned about the well being of our wild places. The Wilderness Act has protected ...
Thoreau Falls Trail Bridge, My Viewpoint
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 ...
Scree Walls, Trail Stewardship
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 ...
Mount Tecumseh Vandalism, Illegal Cutting
Mount Tecumseh Vandalism, Illegal Tree Cutting - Since 2011, Erin Paul has been unofficially volunteering his time to document illegal tree cutting on Mount Tecumseh, New Hampshire. And he reports any findings to Forest Service's law enforcement division. Forest Service is investigating this vandalism, and if they can determine who is doing it, they will hold them accountable. The higher ...
Cog Railway Hotel Proposal, Mt Washington
Cog Railway Hotel Proposal, Mt Washington - As you look at the above image can you imagine a 35 room hotel along the Cog Railway in the area you see? I know, it seems far-fetched. But the reality is the Mount Washington Cog Railway is in the early stages of “possibly” building a lodge and restaurant in the area of ...
Trail Blazing, Trail Stewardship
Trail Blazing, Trail Stewardship - Painted trail blazing (paint marks on trees that mark the path of a trail) along the White Mountains trail system is an endless complaint among outdoor enthusiasts. Either the trail is excessively blazed or not blazed enough. I don’t mind the trails that have little trail blazing, but I'm not a fan of the excessive ...
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 Ladders & Stairs, Trail Stewardship
Trail Ladders & Stairs, Trail Stewardship - Today’s blog article focuses on a keyword search term. I chose one search term, trail ladder, and searched my image archive to see what imagery I have available that represents this area of trail stewardship. And because staircases and ladders are often considered to be one and the same among some hikers, I ...
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 ...
Controlled Forest Burn, White Mountains
Controlled Forest Burn, White Mountains - The above photo is of a controlled burn that was done by Forest Service in May of 2011 along the Kancamagus Scenic Byway in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I was able to document the burn site at three different stages of regrowth and was surprised at how quick the forest recouped...[Continue reading] ...
Mt Willard Section House Vandalism
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 ...
Trail Construction, White Mountains
Trail Construction, White Mountains - In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene caused massive destruction along the East coast of the United States. The White Mountain National Forest was officially closed during the storm. Many trails in the White Mountains were damaged. And this series of photos shows how one trail that suffered storm damaged has changed since Tropical Storm Irene....[Continue reading] ...
Vandalism, White Mountains
Vandalism, White Mountains - A common topic among many outdoor enthusiasts is all the vandalism in the White Mountains. And this imagery is intended to create awareness for a very concerning issue here in the New Hampshire White Mountains. However, keep in mind that some outdoor enthusiasts feel some of the below acts of vandalism are perfectly acceptable...[Continue reading] ...
Sustainable Trail Work, White Mountains
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 ...
Mount Washington Cog Railway, Cleanup
Mount Washington, New Hampshire Cleanup - I recently had the opportunity to photograph the on going cleanup efforts along the Mount Washington Cog Railway. Another “Environmental” project that seems to be going unnoticed in the White Mountain National Forest is the cleanup efforts along the Mount Washington Cog Railroad. The Mount Washington Cog Railroad is a three mile (+/-) railroad, ...
Trail Work Erosion, White Mountains
Trail Work Erosion, White Mountains - The included images show how a section of the Mt Tecumseh Trail in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire has elapsed over time. The first two images are from October of 2011 and the last image is from August of 2014. The intent of this visual journal is to record the progression of hillside erosion on ...
Kanc 7 Landing Area, Photo Monitoring
Kanc 7 Timber Harvest Landing Area, Photo Monitoring - The photos included in this blog article show how a parcel of land along the Kancamagus Highway in the New Hampshire White Mountains has changed over time. The first image (above), taken in August 2011, three months after Forest Service did a controlled burn here, shows how this parcel of land ...
New Hampshire Wildlife Crimes
New Hampshire Wildlife Crimes - Did you know you can report wildlife crimes anonymously online in New Hampshire? All you need to do is fill out a short online form to report a crime (see link below). Wildlife crimes can include baiting, poaching and / or harassment of wildlife. Never be afraid to make a report, New Hampshire's wildlife needs ...
Davis Path, AMC Trail Work
Davis Path, AMC Trail Work - In July 2012, I had the opportunity to hike into the Dry River Wilderness in the New Hampshire White Mountains to photograph stonework that is being built along the Davis Path. A professional AMC Trail crew, with the help of volunteers, is working on a trail project repairing heavy erosion damage along a section ...
Greed and Selfishness, White Mountains
Greed and Selfishness, White Mountains - As the new year progresses, I find myself re-evaluating my values as both an environmental photographer and outdoor enthusiast. The sacred places I love and cherish in the New Hampshire White Mountains are all falling victim to the greedy hand of man...[Continue reading] ...
November 2013, Pemi Wilderness Suspension Bridge Update
November 2013, Pemi Wilderness Suspension Bridge Removal Update - The remaining debris from the Pemi Wilderness suspension bridge removal project, along the East Branch of the Pemi, in the New Hampshire White Mountains appears to have been removed out of the designated wilderness area. The debris is now outside of the wilderness boundary along the Pemi East Side Trail. However, ...
December 2011, Pemi Wilderness Steel Bridge Update
December 2011, Pemi Wilderness Steel Bridge Removal Update - Along with the removal of the suspension bridge that crossed the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River along the Wilderness Trail in the Pemigewasset Wilderness, New Hampshire, a steel beam footbridge along the Wilderness Trail that crossed Black Brook was also removed ...
Unattended Campfire, Pemigewasset Wilderness
Unattended Campfire, Pemigewasset Wilderness - In May 2010, I spent a day deep in the Pemigewasset Wilderness of New Hampshire doing research and verifying information along the old East Branch & Lincoln Railroad. It was a wonderful day, but what I stumbled upon caught me completely off guard...[Continue reading] ...
ScenicNH Photography LLC
Specializing in environmental conservation and historic preservation photography mainly in the White Mountains region of New Hampshire, Erin Paul’s photography and writing focuses on the history of the White Mountains, and telling the story of abandoned places and forgotten historical sites.