Progress Reports from the Field

Two weeks of hiking, digging, and planting by the SCA’s Manchester CLC have produced three new tent pads and have rehabilitated damaged areas around the Blue Brook Shelter and Campground in the Wild River Wilderness of the White Mountain National Forest. The Wild River Wilderness is the Nation’s youngest congressionally mandated Wilderness area and six CLC members, with leaders Marni Goodman and Scott Shepard, had the pleasure of beginning the process of mending the first of a series of human impacts upon the area.

The forecast called for showers and intermittent thunder storms with the possibility of a few sunspots throughout the week. A group of six SCA NHCC members armed with rock bars, shovels, buckets, hazel hoes and lots of rain gear, loaded up a very full van and headed north to the Stinson Mountain area of the White Mountains.

Here at Bear Brook State Park the New Hampshire Conservation Corps is very fortunate to live in an old camp facility built in the earlier part of the last century.  There is a great big lodge with a kitchen and modern shower and bathhouse.  There’s an office building and many cabins.  In the winter time the AmeriCorps members, literally, bunk-up in larger wood heated cabins.  When the weather warms up a bit everyone can enjoy a little more “elbow room” by spreading out into the smaller rustic cabins.  Unfortunately, these cabins have not had regular upkeep in many years.  This year, with help of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and State Park support, we have been able to start giving these little cabins some much needed TLC.

A crew of SCA’s Manchester CLC members trekked into the backcountry of White Mountain National Forest for two weeks on August 1^st to replace three rotted and worn tent platforms at Sawyer Pond campground.

On Friday, May 29^th, volunteers from City Year New Hampshire visited Bear Brook State Park for a great day of service with the NHCC.