Did you know there is a large bat house in Cornish? It’s located right behind the Cornish Town Offices and was built in the 1990’s, specifically as an alternative home space for the maternal colony of Little Brown Bats which were living in the attic space of the old building destined to become the new town offices. Not every building, attic, out building, or barn can boast of a maternal colony, and hundreds of female bats and their pups were thriving in this previously unused (and perfect) location!

Don Snowden standing next to the bat house behind the Town Offices.

Town officials, including the Conservation Commission knew that it was unlikely for people and such a large colony of bats to share living space for long. According to interviews with Don Snowden and Brian Meyette (both members of the Cornish Conservation Commission at the time), a large volume of bat guano was removed from the attic by Brian and Peg Meyette and Mariet Jaarsma, and efforts were made to minimize unwanted people and bat interactions. Eventually, and with professional guidance, entrances and exits were strategically reduced and the new bat house was built in the hope that the colony would move en masse to the new space created for them in the backyard. Sadly, human efforts did not convince the bats, and the maternal colony dispersed.

Today there are a few bats using panels in the Bat House, but it is certainly not a maternal colony. All NE bats have had a difficult intervening 30 years with habitat losses and especially White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) found in NH in 2009 resulting in a 99% population decline for some species. Bats can live ~ 20 years, and females only have one pup a year (born in June) and pups are unable to fly for a month and need the safety and warmth of the colony. As with many young animal and bird species, many do not make it to adulthood. Bats require suitable foraging habitat, roost sites, and hibernacula (for winter hibernation), all of which can be impacted by development, loss of forested habitat and human activity, and even insect declines. All 8 of the bat species that occur in NH are listed as Endangered, Threatened or as a Species of Special Concern.

Inside the bat house.

Bats are huge consumers of insects, including agricultural and forest pests, and mosquitoes. Truly a help to humans. They can eat 50% of their own body weight every night (think 3,000 bugs a night), and more if they are females with pups! Generally they are nocturnal, sleeping in the day, and flying at dusk to forage, and again in the hours before dawn, they drink only on the wing, swooping across puddles and streams and ponds. Little and Big Brown Bats and 3 other species of NH bats hibernate in caves and mines in the winter. Three of our northeastern species migrate south.

You can help bats by letting them use your barn (a favored environment for centuries), installing a bat house, by using a licensed wildlife control operator to rid them from your attic, avoiding disturbance to maternity roost trees or other roost locations mid-May through mid-August, and conducting timber harvests when bats are hibernating (October 31-April 1). Stay out of caves or mines in winter, they are very sensitive to disturbance, and will easily come out of hibernation (potentially lethal for them).

Bats like other mammals can be infected with rabies, but the large majority are not infected. If a bat is easily approached it is likely sick, and humans should avoid contact, do not handle a bat with bare hands and avoid being bitten. Seek medical help if you are bitten.

A recent article in the Valley News (Oct. 24, 2022) featured our Eastern Red Bat, which is currently migrating south for the winter. An excellent description of their feeding techniques offered the following, “like all northeastern bats, they use echolocation, emitting extremely high-pitched “barks” normally inaudible to humans. The sound of a bat’s bark reflects off nearby obstacles and flying insects, allowing the bat to “see” through its ears”. The barks become faster as the bat gets closer to its prey, to the point of a brilliant vibrato- a feeding buzz, and when successful, the insect is snatched out of the air, or the bat reaches out a wing to flick the morsel into its mouth! One less mosquito bite for us!!!

Let’s celebrate and enjoy our native bat species, and consider what YOU can do to help your bat neighbors thrive once again!

For more info on NH bats, visit:
www.wildlife.state.nh.us/nongame/bats-nh.html

Volunteer to help collect data on NH bats at:
www.nhaudubon.org/new-hampshire-bat-survey

And learn more about bat conservation on a global scale, visit:
www.batcon.org

This year, 2021, is the 50th celebration year of the Cornish Conservation Commission. Our education mission this year focused on sharing more than 20 articles in Connect Cornish and on the Commission web page. With topics ranging from the town’s geology, ecology, and best conservation practices to learning about invasive plants, the resources of the Cornish Recreation and Education Area (CREA), Town Forest and Saint Gaudens, as well as fun things to do in any season!

As this year ends, we say THANK YOU to all the volunteer commission members who have served the town since 1971, and also to our town leaders, townspeople, and neighbors who supported conservation efforts (big and small) over the last 50 years, and who have contributed so significantly to keeping the Cornish landscape open and undeveloped.

To those of you considering land conservation now or in the future, the Commission and local and state land trusts can help you assess your land’s special features or resources and learn how to preserve or protect what you love about your land for future generations. See links below for helpful resources.

And finally, please click here to learn more about the 37 individuals and or entities in town who demonstrated exceptional conservation practices and received the Commission’s Annual Conservation Award, starting in 1983 with The Cornish Fair and concluding this year with Caroline Storrs.

Well done Cornish!!

Much of the original land in the Cornish Town Forest was farmed. According to the book, “Reading the Forested Landscape” and historical documents, it appears that it was cleared in the early 1800’s but then later abandoned (as was much farmland in the Northeast) until the end of the century. Of course, during that time the forest regenerated, only to be logged again at least two more times. The parcel was locally known as Wellman’s Hill.
In 1972, then current owner Davis Forest Industries, conceived a different use for the property and surveyed it for an 18 lot housing subdivision. For whatever reason, that plan lay idle for the next 23 years.

Eventually Davis Industries sold the land to Stanley Olsen, a developer from Crystal River, Florida in 1995. An access road from the south, through Claremont was needed to realize the housing development plan, but the city of Claremont refused to upgrade Root Hill Road (the access road) and Stanley Olsen’s dream to complete the housing development plan was dead.

The aging Olsen had over 3,000 acres of land in NH, and at the urging of his son, he sold all his land holdings, including Wellman’s Hill to SPNHF in 1997.

The Cornish Conservation Commission had been trying for some time to identify an appropriate property for a town forest, and Mike Yatsevitch, a longtime member of Cornish Conservation Commission (CCC), learned of SPNHF’s plan to resell Wellman’s Hill/Forest. The word was that SPNHF had a buyer who was interested in the property for its timber liquidation value (assessed to be $100k).

The CCC resolved to negotiate for this parcel and offered its entire accumulated conservation fund ($70K) in 1998. Fortunately for Cornish, SPNHF accepted the lesser offer, on the condition that they retain the conservation easement for the property. A most agreeable arrangement, allowing both parties to meet their primary goals, removing the possibility of a liquidation forest clear cutting, eliminating the continued threat of development, and the preservation of undeveloped land. And that is the story of how Cornish got its Town Forest!

A committee formed, and a Town Forest Management Plan was created in December of 2002. An excerpt from the management plan describes the forest’s assets and allowed uses (also found on the town webpage):

“The purpose of the town forest is to preserve undeveloped land for the benefit and enjoyment of the residents of Cornish. Benefits include preservation of aesthetic, accessible, natural lands; maintenance (or restoration) of forest, shrub and grass ecosystems; hunting access; development and maintenance of trails for hiking, skiing and mountain biking as well as suitable access for horses and motorized vehicles; access for disabled individuals; opportunities for education about forest and wildlife management, and the ecology, geology and history of the area; preservation of the Connecticut River Valley “scenic corridor”; preservation of water quality; community involvement and management for sustainable forest products.

Specific management priorities include ensuring that residents have access to natural, healthy lands; protection and preservation of unique natural habitats such as vernal pools, mesic forests, wetlands and near “old growth” woods; recognition and protection of the existing and potential natural systems of flora and fauna; access and education programs to foster appreciation of these natural resources; and minimum impact sustainable forest harvests in selected areas for improved forest health as well as cash income to finance town forest projects.

In order of importance, timber harvest is last and should be performed only when forest health will not be harmed. It must be done in strict accordance with current best management practices and with meticulous attention to minimizing aesthetic impact.

There are trails for hiking, mountain biking, skiing and snowshoeing. Motorized vehicles and horses are permitted on Root Hill Rd, the loop road and powerline right of way when the ground is dry. The entire forest is open to licensed hunters in season. 20 acres in the south and west portion of the forest are designated for commercial timber management.
The town forest is managed by a committee of 3 residents plus a representative from the select board and one from the conservation commission. The committee holds work days/meetings at least 3 times a year. For more information, and or to get involved, contact any committee member.”

Ginny Prince, Chair virginiatprince@gmail.com
Jim Fitch fitchfarm@gmail.com
Ed Woodbury edwoodbury@hotmail.com
Conservation Commission Liaison – Reyer Jaarsma reyer@myfairpoint.net
Selectboard Liaison – Frank Parks flparksfam@gmail.com

Do you use the Cornish Recycling Center? Do you ever wonder why it’s located where it is, or how it got started? Learning about the Recycling Center history will assure you that Cornish was, and continues to be a VOLUNTEER town. Neighbors help neighbors, and town residents work together, again and again on big and small projects to make things happen!!

Today’s busy recycling center was once the site of the Cornish Town dump. In 1975 when NH State law required the closing of town dumps and ended the regular burning of deposited trash and garbage (thankfully), Cornish had decisions to make about its dump site. For starters, residents’ garbage and trash had to be redirected to managed landfills. At the March 1975 Town Meeting, resident Susan Van Rensellaer suggested the Town elect a committee from the floor for resource recovery of the town dump. She was chosen to head the committee, and Bill Gallagher, Jill Edson, and Alvan Barrus were also selected. The resulting vote was in the affirmative and the recycling task force was underway.

The Cornish Recycling Center officially opened in spring of 1977, with Select Board member Myron Quimby cutting the ribbon! An all-volunteer group (including long-standing, early members Nancy and Rev Wightman), worked long and hard to learn what to recycle, and how to move it responsibly out of Cornish. Volunteers also worked tirelessly to clear and organize/reclaim the space, acquiring and arranging many 55 gallon drums and signage to direct patrons to deposit their newspaper, glass, tin, and aluminum cans for recycling. The primary income came from recycled paper and those dollars were used to cover the transportation expenses to have all materials trucked away. (Note, no PLASTIC recycling was offered in the early years!! Now plastic is a large component of our recyclables, and trash.)

The Cornish Recycling Center operated with an all-volunteer staff (those who used the center signed up to work at the center). And as volume and use increased, a building was needed and built with donated lumber (thanks to Jim Fitch and Harold Morse), and repurposed windows and doors, and as always, lots of volunteer labor to create a much needed indoor storage space. Used car oil was collected to treat lumber, and a stained glass window was created and donated by Sherri Hahn. In 1994 the Center expanded again, and volunteers (led by Richard Thompson) created the large sheds you see today. Of course, repurposed telephone poles and metal roofing were used, and recycled crushed glass served as a foundation, covered with rebar and a cement finish.

In 2000, after 23 years of all-volunteer operation, the Town took over management and staffing of the recycling center, ensuring it as a mainstay of the town’s waste management services for all residents. Many thanks for all of the early volunteer efforts, and also for the continuing organized, and courteous service of our Town staff. They do a great job for all of us!!

Build it and they will come! And folks have kept coming for over 44 years and counting! Cornish residents have appreciated creating and utilizing a “resource recovery” center to bring their recyclables, keeping trash off our roads and out of our water sources, and participating in making the environment cleaner for all of us.

Visit the Cornish Recycling Center on Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm. A waste collector is on-site to haul bagged trash for a fee. And don’t forget you can visit the Swap Shop and even recycle toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, and personal care product packaging by utilizing the Beyond the Bin container.