The Hudson Conservation Commission received an update from the Nashua Regional Planning Commission (NRPC) on new mapping resources for the town’s Tiger Road conservation property, a project that has become a priority as officials work to make the land more accessible for recreational use.
At its September meeting, the commission heard a presentation from Ryan Friedman of the NRPC, who introduced a draft map for the Tiger Road property. Conservation Commission Chair Karl Huber has made development of the property a priority throughout 2026, with the goal of preparing it for future recreational use.
“I was here last in 2023 with the conclusion of our trail mapping contracting to show you all of our things we made for you and the things you can do with it. In my recent walking of the Tiger Road land with Karl, we both agreed that it would be a good idea to come back. There have been lots of new faces and lots of new people in town,” Friedman said. “I want to both remind you all of the mapping products that are available to you both from that project and from beyond, and a couple other general things the NRPC plays in the role of data and conserving trails.”
Friedman described the Tiger Road maps as a “step up” from previous versions, featuring details such as trails, trail lengths, parking areas, benches, and other points of interest.
“For the points of interest, how does that get communicated?” asked Conservation Alternate Makaela Murray.
Friedman explained that the NRPC adopted a model that includes a catalog of commonly identified features. The organization also conducts periodic site visits to ensure important amenities and landmarks are not overlooked.
“We’ve been talking about making new kiosks. Does NRPC assist with that?” asked Conservation Commissioner Chris Cameron.
According to Friedman, the NRPC assists with mapping services but generally does not help develop kiosks beyond providing printable and customizable maps.
Friedman noted that New Hampshire does not have a centralized, state-operated geographic information systems (GIS) program, making regional organizations such as the NRPC important providers of mapping and data services.
“We’ve specifically tried to stay on top of current data and availability of data in those areas. Just walking you through a couple of ways one can find conservation lands and trails, we’ve got a brand-new website that just came online a month ago,” Friedman said. “As far as static maps go, you can go on the home page, go to the GIS section, and click on community map posters. We maintain, on a rolling basis, a street map with the town index like you’d see on an old atlas, a conservation and recreation map that has little inserts for aquifers, watersheds, and wildlife habitats from Fish & Game, a land-use map based on parcel-based land use, and a zoning map.”
He also highlighted the MapGeo parcel-viewing program as a valuable tool for researching land records and acknowledged that the application used to create custom maps has not always been user friendly, something the NRPC is working to improve.
“We should keep you apprised of even small changes,” offered Conservation Vice Chair Ken Dickinson, citing a recent trail extension at the Musquash Conservation Area as an example. “I can keep you updated.”
Dickinson suggested reviewing the GIS application in greater detail during a future meeting.
