April 5, 2010

Workshops Spotlight Economic Opportunities in Conserving Farmland and Floodplains

LANCASTER, N.H. – Two workshops in April will focus on conserving farmland and floodplains in the upper Connecticut River watershed. Strategies for conserving land and economic opportunities for landowners will be detailed.  Landowners and all interested residents are invited, including members of conservation commissions, planning boards, and select boards.

Click here to download the poster.

The first workshop is Thursday, April 22, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Parish House of the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 113 Main Street, Lancaster. We will address how landowners can permanently keep their land open for farming, while maintaining the natural benefits of flood control and wildlife habitat. We will overview the ecological and economic importance of farmland and floodplains in our area, and discuss myths and facts about developing in floodplains. New maps will show the junction of floodplain habitat and agricultural land. We will present scenarios based on real-life situations illustrating the financial, tax, family, and business implications and opportunities for farmers and other landowners in using conservation agreements on their land.

The second workshop is April 29, also from 6 – 8 p.m. also at the St. Paul’s Parish House. We will focus on the nuts and bolts of “farm-friendly” conservation agreements and how landowners can permanently keep their land open for farming or forestry, or in its natural state. Funding sources for landowners to do conservation and new ways of paying landowners to protect riverbanks and allow the river to move naturally will be detailed. Roger and Suzie Irwin of Maidstone, Vt. will tell the story of conserving their farm last year. A panel that includes farmers, a lawyer, and land trust members will respond to the questions raised in the scenarios offered at the first workshop.

Our river valley has some of the richest agricultural land in New England. This land is a backbone of the region’s traditional economy, and renewed interest in local food and farming is a welcome trend. Much of this prime agricultural land is also floodplain. The floodplains provide natural storage that helps protect towns and communities against flood damage, and provide key habitat for a wide range of wildlife. Floodplain forests are an especially important and declining type of habitat nationwide, but are still present in our region.

Because of this intersection of the economic and ecological importance of floodplains and farmland, several groups have teamed together to work with willing landowners to bring the financial and technical resources to do conservation work. The project, called the Farmland and Floodplain Conservation Initiative, is a partnership of the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust (ACT), the locally-based non-profit land conservancy in the North Country, and the N.H. Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. We are working closely with the Coös County office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, UNH Cooperative Extension, Vermont Land Trust, and the Connecticut River Joint Commissions.

For more information, please call Rebecca Brown, executive director, Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust, at 616-3445 or rbrown@aconservationtrust.org. ACT’s mission is to encourage conservation as an integral part of the growth and future well being of New Hampshire’s North Country, through conserving places with ecological, historic, community, or scenic values. We especially focus on conserving the farms and working forests that are the foundation of our region’s economy and character. More information about ACT may be found on the Web at www.aconservationtrust.org.

The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to protect the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of lie on earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. TNC has identified floodplains as one of the most critical ecosystems for both conservation and natural flood control.

Last evening I attended a session sponsored by the Connecticut River Joint Commission, whose job it is to study the Connecticut River, to hear the science behind river protection. The study of rivers is called Fluvial Geomorphology and by the end of the evening I  had a new appreciation for the scientists that spend their lives studying the rivers. The fundamentals of river behavior and the general principles of fluvial geomorphology are sedimentation, hydraulics, restoration, fish habitat improvement, riparian grazing management, and streambank erosion. Problem solving techniques for watershed management, riparian assessment, fish habitat structure evaluation, stream restoration, non-point source pollution and the integration of ecosystem concepts into watershed management are the outcomes of this kind of serious study.

As you can well imagine, it turns out that water will make its own path regardless of how man has tried to train  or confine it to new barriers. The ripple effect of changing the flow of water at one point works its way back to the point of original tampering. It has been estimated that over one third of the Connecticut River’s 85 mile stretch from Pittsburg, NH to Dalton, NH has been manipulated by man. In the 1800’s, when logging was the primary industry, the river was straightened to prevent log jams. Water powered mills popped up to take advantage of no cost power. The railroads also played a part in moving the water’s course to reduce the cost of building bridges over meandering streams.

Slowly, over time, the river has worked to regain control over its original path. Seems we could all take a lesson from the fluvial geomorphologists. Let’s get with the flow and stop operating our lives from a place of fear, shake it up, let’s have some fun!