Conservation crews from the NorthWoods Stewardship Center recently completed several projects that improve access to New Hampshire’s great outdoors. The work, done in cooperation with local and state partners, includes two segments connected with the 162-mile Cohos Trail and an access area that further improves the Connecticut River Paddlers Trail. All three projects are intended to increase sustainable recreational access in the North Country while protecting natural resources. They also have the benefit of engaging local youth in natural resource education and management.
Earlier this month, NorthWoods finished construction of the 4-mile Trio Trail in the remote Nash Stream Forest. The project was sponsored by the Cohos Trail Association (TCTA) with funding from the New Hampshire Recreation Trails Program. The route, which took over 7 weeks to fully prepare, links the Percy Peaks north to the Pond Brook Falls and Sugarloaf Arm, bypassing roughly 2-miles of road and highlighting the rugged forests on the shoulder of Long Mountain.
A second, on-going trail project is taking place on Deer Mountain — far to the north near the Canadian border in Pittsburgh. Working with the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Lands and with support from TransCanada and the Tillotson Foundation, NorthWoods crews have re-established the historic Deer Mountain Trail. The route is a 2-mile journey into the remote Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Forest and is a side route of the Cohos Trail. Both trail projects included significant investments of labor by Cohos Trail volunteers.
On the Connecticut River, NorthWoods recently completed a significant upgrade to the river access on the New Hampshire side of the historic Columbia Covered Bridge. The parcel was recently protected by the Vermont River Conservancy and the Town of Columbia and NorthWoods was happy to be a part of the project.
“We have been paddling and leading groups on the Connecticut River for decades and the Columbia Bridge is definitely an iconic feature on the northern section of the river” noted Luke O’Brien, the NorthWoods Trail Director, “it was simply a matter of improving the existing, informal access and making it more sustainable and accessible to the public.”
The new access was installed under the leadership of the Vermont River Conservancy and includes a new sidehill path, framed stairs, and a stone landing area. NorthWoods Stewardship Center is part of the Connecticut River Paddlers Trail ‘Working Group’ coordinated by the Vermont River Conservancy and has assisted with the development of numerous river access, portage, and camping sites on the Connecticut River in northern Vermont and New Hampshire.
Each year, NorthWoods employs over 60 young people (ages 15-20) to participate in the NorthWoods Conservation Corps. The program offers paid employment, training, and environmental education to local youth during a six-week summer work season.
Other pending projects in New Hampshire’s North Country include the installation of timber bridges on Deer Mountain and trail adjustments on Sanguinary Mountain in Dixville, both of which are scheduled for this fall.