The April meeting of the Hudson Conservation Commission focused heavily on spring trail maintenance and long-term land preservation efforts, with members outlining new work at the Musquash Conservation Area and discussing potential acquisitions of state-owned land.
Vice-Chair Ken Dickinson said the improving weather provides an opportunity to continue trail-blazing work near the Pelham border.
“We’ll have an opportunity to schedule a follow-up Work Day to work on the blazing of our trails and finish any clearing with the trails we’ve been working on at the Musquash property near the Pelham town border,” Dickinson said. “We need that blazing so it’s really clear where that trail is. Although it’s passable, it doesn’t look like much to someone that’s never been out there.”
Commissioner John Walter has been walking several Conservation-managed properties to identify future maintenance needs.
“I made a trip out to where we once talked about crossing a swamp in Musquash to find out it’s submerged, it’s full of water,” Walter said. He suggested revisiting the issue once the current Musquash trail work is completed.
The next Trail Work Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, at 9 a.m., meeting at the Heinz Lane parking lot in Pelham’s Gumpas Pond Conservation Area.
The Commission also reaffirmed its interest in acquiring portions of state-owned land originally reserved for the now-cancelled Circumferential Highway. The state is expected to begin the process of disposing of those parcels within the next year.
“I put our Conservation Commission on record stating that we’re interested in at least some of the parcels,” Dickinson said. “It seems like there’ll be adequate time, at least a year, probably more—to talk to the Land Trust and do whatever we need to do to identify whichever parcels we could be interested in purchasing, if any.”
He noted that land near Kimbell Hill would be particularly valuable for preservation as open space and said he plans to continue discussions with state officials.
Commissioner Chris Cameron added that the NH Land Trust has expressed interest in the area following his attendance at the Saving Special Places conference on April 10.
“They’re very interested in walking some of that property,” Cameron said. “I don’t know if they mean all of it, or some focused sections.”
Dickinson said the Commission hopes to pursue state and federal grants to support any future purchases.
“We know we have limited money; we can’t buy everything,” he said. “We need to be able to rank it, we need to work with the Land Trust. We have a little bit of time.”
State officials estimate it will take at least a year to formally dispose of the highway-related parcels, giving Hudson time to evaluate which properties may be worth acquiring.
The Commission currently has approximately $825,000 in its Conservation Fund earmarked for land acquisitions. That balance will decrease by just over $90 in the coming weeks due to a recent land deed filing. The Conservation Fund is separate from the Commission’s general operating budget and is used primarily for preserving open space.
“That could change due to anything else related to the Land Use Change Tax,” Dickinson noted.
The Hudson Conservation Commission is scheduled to meet again on Monday, May 11, at 7 p.m. in the Buxton Room at Town Hall.