3/28/08:  Assisted Rye Jr. High School with a risk tree assessment of a Norway maple in front of the school.

4/4/08:  Assisted the Northwood Conservation Commisssion with an assessment of invasive species on town property near Harvey lake.

4/29/08:  Visited a town conservation area in Hampton with the Director of Seacoast Youth Services.  The property is overgrown with Japanese knotweed and oriental bittersweet.  The town will utilize labor from Seacoast Youth Services to clean up the area and remove invasive plants.  I provided information to the Director on the best methods to control invasive species. 

5/1/08:  Distributed 6,000 seedlings from the State Forest Nursery to 80 clients.

5/5/08:  Finished marking a timber sale at the Merrimack County Farm.

5/10/08:  Attended a vernal pool workshop sponsored by the Exeter River Local Advisory Committee in Raymond.

5/13/08:  Assisted Jon Nute with the Tree Farm inspection of a municipal water company's properties in Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties.

5/19/08:  Attended the annual state-wide Extension conference at UNH in Durham. 

5/27/08:  Attended an Invasive Species Outreach Group meeting and a Big Tree meeting at SPNHF in Concord. 

7/19/08:  Participated in the opening of a new 5 mile loop trail at Northwood Meadows State Park.  The new trail was a cooperative effort of the Northwood Area Land Management Collaborative (NALMC).  19 individuals hiked the trail.  Jim Oehler of NH F&G and I provided a talk on the different wildlife practices implemented on a private property abutting Northwood Meadows State Park.  Two local landowners led the group on a hike of the entire trail.

Press coverage was provided by the Foster Daily Democrat, Manchester Union Leader, Suncook Valley Sun and Portsmouth Herald. 

During the month of August, as time allowed, I responded to several requests for assistance with sick/diseased trees.

8/8/08:  Drooping Rose of Sharon, Kingston (advisory council member).

8/13/08:  Diseased hemlock, Sandown (not HWA)

8/15/08:  dwarf false cypress.  Sample taken to UNH (bark beetle)

8/15/08:  Diseased hemlock, Kingston (former State Representative)(not HWA)

8/22/08:  Diseased red pine, North Hampton (with DRED entomologist)(not Red pine scale)(could be tip blight)

As a result of the individual and workshop-based activity, Extension foresters referred over 400 landowners owning 35,000 acres to licensed foresters who wrote forest stewardship plans on over 29,000 acres. This represents $435,000 of direct economic activity as well as improved management and timber harvesting. Over 25% of New Hampshire’s private forest land is managed according to an integrated forest stewardship plan.

New Hampshire licensed foresters attending Extension workshops manage an estimated 650,000 acres of private forest land resulting in improved practices. 80% of attendees reported that attendance had a positive influence on their land management practice.

Improved timber harvesting emphasizing the use of best management practices (BMPs) and minimizing negative impacts on water quality has been a focus of Extension programming with a variety of audiences. An Extension evaluation of BMP effectiveness demonstrated that in New Hampshire, BMPs are being used effectively during timber harvesting resulting in soil stability 77% of the time at crossing structures; 80% at approaches outside 50’ buffer and 76% at approaches inside the buffer.