Chesterfield
Conservation Commission
Welcome!
Chesterfield Conservation Commission is a town commission as authorized under RSA 36-A for the Town of Chesterfield, New Hampshire. It is an advisory and educational body.
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The Chesterfield Conservation Commission focuses on environment protection, educational activities, hiking trails, enhancing visual and wildlife characteristics in town, collaborating with the zoning/planning board and assisting the State of New Hampshire through the wetland and shoreland permit process.
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Chesterfield Conservation Commission meetings are held on the fourth Monday of each month at 7:30 pm at the Chesterfield Town Office (unless otherwise posted).
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Our mission has been to preserve and enjoy the town’s incredible natural resource, its land. The Commission feels strongly that access to our public lands is essential to the appreciation of their value, and has helped establish and maintain trail networks throughout town. Maps are provided on this site.
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Updates & Announcements
Next Commission Meeting
The next Conservation Commission meeting will be on Monday, December 2 at 7:30 pm. Please contact Amy LaFontaine if you would like to attend and be added to the agenda.
CCCD's 79th Annual Celebration​
Stonewall Farm, Keene NH
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The CCCD's Annual Celebration was on Thursday, October 10 from 6-8 pm at Stonewall Farm in Keene. The Annual Celebration was a fun evening of food, music, and connecting with the community! Each year, the Cheshire County Conservation District (CCCD) honors an individual or organization with the “Educator of the Year” award. This is done to celebrate the efforts the recipient has undertaken to steward a conservation ethic and awareness through their personal and professional work, in any form of education that it takes. This year we are happy to announce Laura White from the Chesterfield School as our Educator of the Year. This is quite an honor for the town, the CCC will be collaborating with Chesterfield School for several educational events.
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Beavers and Wetlands Walk
Pisgah Park Woods Walk on October 12, 2024
This past Saturday, the Chesterfield Conservation Commission sponsored a walk in Pisgah Park amid dramatic colors and falling leaves to explore and observe beaver activity and the wetlands they live in.
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Led by Matt Tarr, wildlife habitat specialist from UNH Cooperative Extension, thirty people hiked down to several wetland areas within the Broad Brook / Ashuelot watershed. Plenty of evidence of current and recent beaver activity was observed, and Matt led interesting discussions on beaver and their role in creating and shaping wetlands, and how this contributes to the diversity and health of these critical habitats.
Assisting Matt was Kim Nilsen, the Manager of Pisgah Park. Kim added historical information on the ebbs and flows of the beaver population within the park, and also on management efforts to protect roads and infrastructure without disrupting beaver activity.
The Conservation Commission would like to thank Matt and Kim, as well as all the attendees for this fascinating and educational visit with the beavers of Pisgah Park.
This event is part of an ongoing exploration of ecological connections and watershed health by the Conservation Commission. Coming events will be posted as they are developed on this website and other locations throughout Chesterfield.
Matt Tarr can be contacted and used by private landowners to assist in evaluation of lands for habitat or wildlife species at matt.tarr@unh.edu
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Thank you!
The Chesterfield Conservation Commission would like to thank the following donors and volunteers who worked on the naming of the Tom Duston Trail:
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Paula and Tom Duston, Bob and Lynne Borofsky, Jeff Scott, Ray Dunn, Lew Shelley, Paul Link, Patti and John Hudachek, Pam and Ken Walton, Jon and Kathy Thatcher, Susan and Jeff Newcomer, Linda and Ken Gobbo, Mike Darcey, J.C. Woodward, Jim Barker, Nathaniel Nose
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Please visit the trail on Plain Road and experience the journey of a patient, persistent, inspiring, dependable soul who has been driven to keep the woods of New Hampshire protected, preserved and enjoyed for all the hikers who pass through.
Chesterfield Town-wide Biodiversity Project
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Have you ever wondered what that strange bug crawling on the rock wall is called, or what the name of a plant is that you often see while hiking? What about that fluffy-looking moss on the side of that maple, or the energetic songbird singing away in the canopy? You can answer all these questions and more through a new, community-driven field guide of Chesterfield’s flora, fauna, and fungi. The project, called Town of Chesterfield: A Living Field Guide, collects observations of living organisms that people submit to the community-science database iNaturalist.
iNaturalist is an easy-to-use, free app that can help identify what you are seeing and hearing. When a photo or sound recording is shared to iNaturalist, expert naturalists help identify what was observed. As of April 2021, beginner and master naturalists alike have used iNaturalist to document over 300 wild species in Chesterfield. Among these, are one of New Hampshire’s only records of Wulf’s peatmoss and North America’s largest native moth, the Cecropia Moth, which has a colorful wingspan measuring seven inches.
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The town-wide living field guide project arose out of a natural resource inventory conducted by Moosewood Ecological, a regional consulting group based in Chesterfield. This project, supported by the Chesterfield Conservation Commission and the Chesterfield School Outdoor Education Committee, not only contributes directly to the town-wide inventory, but participants will gain a stronger connection to nature and new discoveries await.
iNaturalist continues to deepen our understanding of nature, and many of Chesterfield’s public lands remain to be documented. Places like Friedsam Town Forest, Pisgah State Forest, and Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area eagerly await your exploration. Similarly, nature knows no bounds, and observations of wild, uncultivated plants and animals from your own yards are welcomed by the living field guide.
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To learn more about this exciting project, get involved, or see a list of all 320 species, visit the project website. (Under community: projects: Town of Chesterfield)
New Bridge in Friedsam Town Forest
The Chesterfield Conservation Commission is excited to announce that a new bridge has been built in the Friedsam Town Forest. We are very fortunate to have an amazing group of volunteers who are giving their time and expertise to this much needed project: Ray Dunn, Darlene Dunn, Jeff Scott, John Herrick, Kim Nilson, Erik Shifflett and Steve Sherman have all been busy building the new Ravine Bridge located on the Doug Sargent Trail. They are also adding new benches and walkways throughout the forest.
The Ravine Bridge was originally installed in 1990 by local boy scouts, Chesterfield School students led by Mary Grove, who taught middle school science and community volunteers.
In 2005, Tom and Shire Morgan-Hunt (who had just completed the bridge at the Chesterfield Gorge and got married on that bridge) built a magnificent 35 ft hemlock bridge primarily using wood from the forest. Their work was paid for from a Trails Bureau Grant. Repairs were made in 2015 by Rob Koning replacing the decking and side rails after several trees landed on the bridge. Now in 2024, a new bridge!!! Much thanks to our talented and devoted volunteers!!!
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The Doug Sargent Trail is accessible from the Lower Lot and the Upper Lot on the Twin Brook Road. The trail is a moderate hike with some ups and downs. The trail has some narrow footings near the bridge and expect some muddy areas this time of year. The trail includes old stone walls, quartz outcroppings, rushing streams and a beautiful ravine view.