New Hampshire Coverts Project

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New Hampshire Coverts Project Volunteers Working for Wildlife 2011 Annual Report

by UNH Cooperative Extension, New Hampshire Fish & Game, New Hampshire Division of

In 2010-11, additional funding was provided by grants from the NH Charitable

UNH Cooperative Extension programs and policies are consistent with pertinent

1 New Hampshire Coverts Project Volunteers Working for Wildlife 2011 Annual Report Written by: Malin Ely Clyde Wildlife Program Education Coordinator UNH Cooperative Extension Durham, NH (603) January 24, 2011 The New Hampshire Coverts Project is sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension, New Hampshire Fish & Game, New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. In , additional funding was provided by grants from the NH Charitable Foundation and the Davis Environmental Foundation. UNH Cooperative Extension programs and policies are consistent with pertinent Federal and State laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran s status Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 1

2 Introduction to the NH Coverts Project The New Hampshire Coverts Project is a program that trains volunteers to promote wildlife and habitat conservation and forest stewardship. This report details Coverts Project programs in 2011, and summarizes efforts made by Coverts volunteers to bring the message of wildlife stewardship to a wide range of people across New Hampshire. A brief summary of this report, Coverts Project - Program Highlights 2011 is included in the Appendix. The New Hampshire Coverts Project continues to be one of the most effective ways to broaden the outreach efforts of UNH Cooperative Extension and its partners. The NH Coverts Project is a flagship program for Extension that expands with each year s trained class of Cooperators. The Coverts Project 2011 Project Background Since 1995, the New Hampshire Coverts Project has promoted wildlife habitat conservation and forest stewardship through volunteer education and outreach. The goal of the NH Coverts Project is to enhance, maintain, and conserve habitat for the rich diversity of native wildlife in NH through sound land stewardship. Funding Funding and sponsorship of the New Hampshire Coverts Project comes from UNH Cooperative Extension (UNHCE), the NH Division of Forests and Lands, and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department including funds from the US Fish and Wildlife Service Landowner Incentive Program. Since 2010, the program also has over $35,000 in private funding from the NH Charitable Foundation, the Davis Conservation Foundation, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative s NH Implementation Team. These funds continued to support programing in A part- time staff person coordinates the program (Malin Clyde), while the UNHCE wildlife specialist oversees the project (Matt Tarr). The project also receives assistance from a network of 10 county foresters, the Extension specialist in forest resources (Karen Bennett), and the Wildlife Program Assistant (Emma Carcagno). Volunteer Recruitment Each spring, the application period opens with prospective participants applying online or by mail for the fall Coverts training workshop. Potential applicants are recruited by Extension staff, project partners, Coverts alumni, town decision- makers, press releases, and through events. Selection criteria include the applicant s enthusiasm for wildlife and natural resources, a willingness to commit to outreach, and a recognized leadership role within their community. A copy of the 2011 application form is included in the Appendix Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 2

3 The Training Workshop, 2011 Twenty- five new Coverts Cooperators were accepted and attended the 2011 training workshop held at the Barbara C. Harris Conference Center in Greenfield, NH on September 21-24, The Appendix includes a copy of the 2011 workshop agenda, which includes a list of instructors and field trip hosts who assisted with the 3 ½- day training workshop. Upon completion of the workshop, each volunteer completes an evaluation of the workshop, used to gain feedback on both the workshop as a whole and on topics, materials, and speakers during the 3 ½ day training. Feedback on the facility and the contents of the workshop was excellent. A copy of the workshop evaluation form is included in the Appendix. The cost of the workshop, including food, lodging, transportation, and reference materials, is funded by grants from our partners. This debt encourages strong allegiance and commitment by the volunteers: in exchange for the workshop opportunity, participants agree to become Coverts volunteers and spend 40+ hours volunteering during the following year. Each Cooperator develops an outreach plan on how they will share their experiences and motivate others in their community. Registration requires a $50 fee to reserve a place in the workshop. This fee covers a newly- instituted UNH policy requiring all new employees and volunteers to have a background check completed. New Coverts Volunteers: Action Plans for 2011 Below is a list of the new 2011 Coverts Cooperators, the town where they own land, and a description of one of the outreach projects they have planned as a Coverts volunteer: Celia Abrams of Nottingham will work with the Conservation Commission, scouts and the Recreation Dept. to plan trails on new town easements along the North River, to connect to school trails. Rocci Aguirre of Harrisville looks forward to working with his landlord to inventory her property and work on habitat management projects. Mary Bounlanger of Littleton looks forward to leading nature walks on public lands in town, and to be trained in the Speaking for Wildlife Program. Kristina Burgard of Grantham looks forward to working with her neighbors and local groups to develop a town blog (or other information source) to let people know what s happening related to nature and wildlife in Grantham. Nancy Collier of Hanover will continue her involvement with the Hanover Conservancy, and hopes to involve more volunteers and engage more people in the outdoors. She hopes to lead school groups herself! Carol Doering of Lee wants to continue her volunteer work with Speaking for Wildlife, and to lead more walks in town, including a snowshoe event with the Lee Recreational Department Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 3

4 Mason Donovan of Webster hopes to inventory his land for plants and wildlife, among other projects associated with his non- profit organization, TheYardProject.org. Dori Drachman of Peterborough will work with Nubanusit Neighborhood (where she lives) to get a management plan started for the property, and to lead walks and excursions. Pierre Forest of Colebrook looks forward to meeting with his County Forester to get started on management planning for the school- to- farm community he lives in. He also wants to get involved in Speaking for Wildlife. Paula Frank of Derry will work with her Conservation Commission on stewardship of Broadview Farm (a town- owned property), and also wants to get involved in Speaking for Wildlife. David Gill of Greenland plans to work with neighboring conserved property owners to plan collaborative habitat management projects. Kathi Govatski of Jefferson looks forward to participating in the Speaking for Wildlife program, and giving a presentation at the local library. Robert Gustafson of Kensington has joined the Conservation Commission and wants to work on a natural resources inventory as part of their Master Plan process. Steve Kaneb looks forward to working on habitat management on his properties in Epping and South Hampton. He also wants to collaborate with the Division of Forests and Lands on management of the 50 acre State Forest in South Hampton. Ernie Landry of Kingston will take on my responsibility for land stewardship projects with his local land trust. Rachelle Lyons of Plymouth wants to look for more and better ways to engage her community in the out of doors, including leading walks, coordinating with a local hiking group, and participating in Speaking for Wildlife. Kelley Monahan of Orford looks forward to completing the management plan for her property, and to develop a slideshow showing before and after photos of all of her habitat projects (and to show it to others). Susan Mooney of Nottingham will be working on land protection projects with her Conservation Commission (of which she s a member) and to continue work on their trail systems in order to engage more people in the conserved lands in town. Robin Najar of Portsmouth wants to lead some walks with the Southeast Land Trust (she s a board member) and to continue working on land protection in Rockingham County. Colleen O Neill of Cornish plans to invite a community group to her Tree Farm to tour the wildlife habitat improvements that have been implemented, including wildlife openings, soft edges, delayed mowing and more. Gage Perry of Merrimack wants to think about how his property links with the neighboring Town Forest land, and try to cooperatively manage the two lands to improve wildlife habitat. Alicia Robinson of Kingston looks forward to working on community conservation with her town, and to look at the Wildlife Action Plan maps. She also wants to write about town lands for her local paper Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 4

5 Stephen Snow of Center Tuftonboro would like to host a safety training session for landowners doing their own work with powertools such as chainsaws and brushsaws. Ann Welsh of Durham looks forward to attending a Speaking for Wildlife training session and to giving talks and walks in schools and community groups. Active Coverts Cooperators Cooperators become part of a volunteer network connected through newsletters, the internet, field tours, and continuing education workshops. After some attrition (due to dropouts, re- locations, deaths, etc.), we have 315 active volunteers today, working in over 130 different communities around the state (see map, page 6). A list of all active Coverts volunteers (by County) is included in the Appendix. A yearly summary is as follows: Total Coverts Trained: Training Year # Coverts Trained Total Trained Coverts Volunteers 413 Total Active Coverts Volunteers as of 12/ Number of NH Communities with Active Coverts Volunteers as of 12/ Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 5

6 2011 Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 6

2011 Coverts Events and Continuing Education Programs The Coverts Project connects Coverts Cooperators to many events, workshops, news and new volunteer opportunities throughout the year.

7 2011 Coverts Events and Continuing Education Programs The Coverts Project connects Coverts Cooperators to many events, workshops, news and new volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Through these activities, they build on their knowledge of natural resource topics, often with more in- depth material and presentations than is possible at the Coverts training workshop. Many of these activities are a result of UNH Cooperative Extension partnering with other natural resource volunteer programs, thereby broadening our training audience and offering more continuing education opportunities to all of our natural resource volunteers. Coverts Blog, Volunteers Working for Wildlife Begun a few years ago, the Coverts Project continues to host a blog on the Coverts webpage. This has become the main repository for timely Coverts information, and its contents are included on the Coverts webpage in a sidebar (new this year). Blog postings are also sent directly to Coverts Cooperators through . In 2011, the Coverts Project office posted 191 different news items. A sample page is shown below. The direct address for the blog is: Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 7

8 Coverts Volunteer Activities in 2011: Taking Action for Wildlife Coverts Cooperators are selected to participate in the program based on their commitment and enthusiasm for wildlife conservation and forest stewardship. It is therefore no surprise that Coverts volunteers are involved in a wide range of natural resource- related activities, putting the knowledge and skills gained or refined at the annual training workshop to work in their communities. We present the following summary of Coverts volunteer accomplishments for 2011 based on the results from our annual survey, which Cooperators are asked to complete each year (a copy is included in the Appendix). We received surveys from 56% of active Coverts volunteers in 2011, surpassing our goal of a 50% annual response rate. Coverts Survey Responses in 2011 are summarized as follows: Total 2011 Survey # Cooperators surveyed 288 # Cooperators returning surveys 162 (56%) Summary of Coverts Cooperators Volunteer Activities Activity Talking with other landowners or neighbors about stewardship or conservation 2856 Leading or hosting natural resource tours in the field 1277 Distributing written resource materials to others (neighbors, community members, etc.) 353 Writing and providing information to media about natural resources or conservation 6326 Giving presentations to adult groups (such as "Speaking for Wildlife" talks) 594 Staffing natural resource exhibits or working at events 381 Attending forestry or wildlife conferences, workshops or seminars 2011 Time spent helping to manage town forest or other conservation land (e.g. town forest, land trust land, neighbors) # of Volunteer Hours 3335 Time spent working to conserve my own land 8288 Time spent working to conserve land of another landowner/town/land trust 2560 Serving on a conservation commission 3030 Serving on a selectboard, planning board or town council 2406 Serving on open space group, land trust board or conservation group board 2336 Serving on a watershed assoc., river coalition or other water resources group 934 Helping a community with a master plan or natural resource inventory 690 Volunteered for a wildlife monitoring program (e.g. RAARP, Audubon bird surveys, Biothons) Other special natural resource-related volunteer projects not included above 2356 TOTAL COVERTS VOLUNTEER HOURS, Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 8

9 The total contribution of volunteer time in 2011 was over 40,000 hours. This is a conservative figure, as these are only the recorded hours from volunteers who returned surveys. Special Opportunities to Volunteer the Speaking for Wildlife Project The Coverts blog helped facilitate many new volunteer opportunities for Coverts Cooperators. Along with notices about volunteering for other conservation groups, the Coverts Project also continued to support a special volunteer project called Speaking for Wildlife. This project is supported by two new grants from the NH Charitable Foundation and the Davis Conservation Foundation, which enabled the expansion of this program from the Upper Valley region to statewide coverage and participation. In 2011, we trained over 50 new volunteers to lead walks and deliver wildlife- focused presentations all over the state. A brochure about the program is provided in the Appendix, and a copy of a recent grant status report to the Davis Foundation is also included. Details about the program can be found on the web at SpeakingForWildlife.org. Accomplishments for this program in 2011 include: Added 8 new Speaking for Wildlife kits (to the 2 existing), housed in Extension offices in 10 different locations; trained Extension staff to work with volunteers using kits Held 6 training workshops involving 61 new volunteers statewide Held 1 workshop to train local Conservation Commissioners how lead walks (7 trained) Volunteers have delivered 25 public presentations reaching 740 people Volunteers have led 18 field walks, with over 250 participants Volunteers have made 45 new referrals to County Extension Foresters Added 103 new people to our mailing list for Taking Action for Wildlife e- newsletter Land Stewardship Many Coverts Cooperators own or manage land and incorporate wildlife habitat management and good forest stewardship into their land management. One volunteer wrote this year: With [Extension Wildlife Specialist] Matt Tarr's help, we developed a Wildlife Habitat Improvement Plan for the Quincy Pasture Forest in Rumney. Matt's input helped the board focus on timber harvesting to improve wildlife habitat rather than cutting timber for purely economic reasons. Land Stewardship Statistics: Total 2011 Survey Respondents Acres Owned by survey respondents Acres Responsible for Managing by survey respondents # Landowners implementing habitat management in the last 12 months 23,195 acres 119,297 acres 98 (60% of respondents) 2011 Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 9

All Coverts Land Owned All Coverts Land Managed 52,225 acres 69,744 acres The chart below shows the habitat management activities and acres of land managed by Coverts Cooperators who responded to the

10 All Coverts Land Owned All Coverts Land Managed 52,225 acres 69,744 acres The chart below shows the habitat management activities and acres of land managed by Coverts Cooperators who responded to the 2011 survey. Numbers are in acres. Community Conservation Many Coverts Cooperators serve as local decision- makers and help initiate or implement conservation and stewardship projects in their communities. One Coverts Cooperators reported this year: I'm still chair of our Conservation Commission and was principal in starting a Forest Management Plan for one 50 acre town owned lot. Extending a trail through town owned land to provide an access to a previously private land owner locked pond. And Had a great time hosting a habitat walk through our WHIP enhanced areas on our property this past year. # of acres of land in New Hampshire that Coverts volunteers helped conserve in ,092 acres 2011 Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 10

11 Raising Public Awareness Coverts Cooperators engage in many activities that promote forest stewardship and wildlife conservation to their families, friends, peers, and community members. One Coverts Cooperator reported this year: Wrote a proposal for a NH Charitable Foundation Express Grant on behalf of the Monadnock Conservancy to develop a public outreach program for school children. We won! The pilot will be developed and delivered in the Swanzey schools, with help from the Swanzey Open Space Committee. Estimate of # of people reached by Coverts volunteers with stewardship message through outreach efforts, including through direct contact, media, etc. 34,546 Coverts Project Initiatives for 2012 Communication Continue use of the Volunteers Working for Wildlife Blog, along with the Forestry & Wildlife Facebook and Twitter feeds, and a new website called Taking Action for Wildlife (a collaboration with NH Fish & Game.) Improving Volunteer Opportunities We will train new Speaking for Wildlife presenters, and add at least one new talk to our series (called Landscaping for Wildlife ). Continuing Education a large- scale Coverts Project reunion event is in the works for August 2011 at a property owned by a Coverts volunteer in Loudon. Annual Training Workshop We will return to the Barbara C. Harris Center for the Coverts training in 2012 while investigating the feasibility of moving the workshop to other locations in future years. Advisory Committee After a 2 year hiatus, the Coverts Project Advisory Committee will meet again in 2012, with new members from recent classes added to the roster. Updates The Project Coordinator will continue yearly updates to all project partners. The report is promoted and made available to Coverts Cooperators on the Coverts webpage, Also available on the website is a Highlights Report, summarizing the 2011 annual report. This shortened version will increasingly be used to concisely describe the impact of the Coverts Project on New Hampshire s wildlife, forests, and communities Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 11

12 Appendix NH Coverts Project Annual Report 2011 Includes: Program Brochure 2011 Program Highlights (Summary Report) 2011 Coverts Application Form 2011 Annual Workshop Agenda 2011 Coverts Workshop Evaluation Form List of Active Coverts Cooperators by County Annual Coverts Activities Survey form 2011 Speaking for Wildlife Program Brochure Speaking for Wildlife Davis Foundation Interim Grant Report 2011 Annual Report - NH Coverts Project 12

New Hampshire Coverts Project

New Hampshire Coverts Project Volunteers Working for Wildlife 2009 Annual Report Written by: Malin Ely Clyde Coverts Project Coordinator UNH Cooperative Extension Durham, NH malin.clyde@unh.edu (603) 862-2166