Conservation Commission
The Plainfield Conservation Commission is established for "...the proper utilization and protection of the natural resources and for the protection of watershed resources..." of the Town of Plainfield (New Hampshire Administrative Rules, Chapter 36-A:2).
The Plainfield Conservation Commission provides many services to the Town and community.
- Assisting landowners with habitat development and invasive species control.
- Overseeing volunteer monitors of conservation easements to be sure that the easement requirements are met.
- Assisting the Town in monitoring wetland zoning ordinances.
- Assisting landowners with wetland permitting.
- Assisting landowners seeking conservation grants.
Conservation Grant Sources
Land trusts operate in regions. If you are looking for a land trust to assist you in conserving your property, look for the land trust that operates in your region. This does not mean that you must use that land trust, but it may be easier on you and them. All land trusts, once the property is conserved, will tour (on foot) your property annually to insure that the tenets set down in the conservation easement language are being honored. That tour is most often done by a volunteer for the land trust and travel and time are not reimbursed.
Here are some of the land trusts (and their regions) in the Upper Valley area:
- Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust
- New London, NH, Sutton, NH, etc.
- Monadnock Conservancy
- Peterborough, NH, Dublin, NH, etc.
- The Nature Conservancy
- National (usually conserves hundreds of acres at a time)
- Society for the Protection of NH Forests
- New Hampshire (primarily forested land)
- The Upper Valley Land Trust
- Connecticut River from Bath, NH/Newbury, VT to Charlestown, NH/Springfield, VT
- Vermont Land Trust
- Woodstock, VT area
Habitat Development
- New Hampshire Fish and Game Department - Wildlife Action Plan
This Wildlife Action Plan Habitat Map shows the different types of habitat in Plainfield. Click on the map above for a larger, printable image.
This Wildlife Action Plan map identifies habitat of State-wide or Town-wide importance. Click on the map above for a larger, printable image.
- NH Audubon Society
- NH Audubon provides workshops and resources for habitat development.
- NH Natural Heritage Bureau
- The NH Natural Heritage Bureau finds, tracks, and facilitates the protection of New Hampshire's rare plants and exemplary natural communities (types of forests, wetlands, grasslands, etc.).
- See information about rare animals, plants and natural communties.
- The Native Plant Study Group
- The Native Plant Study Group is an Upper Valley organization dedicated to encouraging the use of native plants in landscaping and habitat development.
Invasive Species Control
Invasive species have been characterized as a “catastrophic wildfire in slow motion.” Thousands of non-native invasive plants, insects, fish, mollusks, crustaceans, pathogens, mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians have infested hundreds of millions of acres of land and water across the Nation, causing massive disruptions in ecosystem function, reducing biodiversity, and degrading ecosystem health in our Nation’s forests, prairies, mountains, wetlands, rivers, and oceans. Invasive organisms affect the health of not only the Nation’s forests and rangelands but also of wildlife, livestock, fish, and humans.
A species is considered invasive if it meets these two criteria:
- It is nonnative to the ecosystem under consideration, and
- Its introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.
This definition is derived from Executive Order 13112 issued on February 3, 1999.
- UNH Cooperative Extension
- UNH Cooperative Extension provides many resources including help with invasive species identification and suggestions for landscaping alternatives for invasive plants.
- The US Forest Service
- The US Forest Service is an excellent source of information about invasive species including Species Profiles of insects, diseases, and plants which are invasive. The Forest Service also conducts research and provides strategies for pest specific control and management of invasives.
- Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
- The University of Georgia provides a clearing house for information about invasive species.
Permitting
- Town of Plainfield Zoning Regulations
- In 2007, the Town of Plainfield established a requirement in new development for a 50' buffer around ponds and wetlands greater than one-half acre and perennial streams
- NH Department of Environmental Services
- DES is the primary source of information about permitting.
- NH DES Wetlands Bureau
- NH DES Wetlands Bureau issues and regulates wetland permits which are required for any disturbance of a wetland area.
Pollinators
The Plainfield Conservation Commission is joining with other local groups to raise awareness of the role of insects and other creatures in pollinating the plants we depend on for food and many other things. Honey bees are non-native pollinators in decline from colony collapse disorder and other dangers. Our native pollinators are also in jeopardy. More information about native New Hampshire pollinators can be found at: http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/pubs/documents/samples/wild-pollinators.pdf