Conservation Commission

Milford Conservation Commission 4^th Saturday Hike

February 25, 2012

Please join us for the commission’s 4^th Saturday Hike on February 25, 2012 at Mile Slip Town Forest at 9:00.  There is parking available on Mile Slip Road.  There are several trails to hike – we will poll the hikers to determine which one to hike.  The hike will last about 2 hours, but you can leave whenever you need.  Dogs on leashes are welcome.  Prepare for muddy/snowy conditions.

The Mile Slip Town Forest is as close to wilderness as you can get in Milford. This area has many natural resource features in addition to being a great place to recreate. Wildlife, including bears, bobcat and moose, use this part of town. It connects to nearly 7,000 acres of undeveloped land in Brookline, Mason, Wilton and Milford. On March 8, 2005  75% of citizens voting in Milford agreed to purchase this 452 acre parcel. The closing on the property was August 24th of 2005.

Directions to Mile Slip Town Forest: Head west from the Oval and make the immediate left onto Union St., drive 0.6 miles and turn right onto Osgood Rd. Continue 0.7 miles and turn right onto Mason Rd. (Osgood Pond will be on your right). Drive 2.3 miles, turn left onto Mile Slip Rd. The parking lot for this town forest is just over 2 miles on the right. [All trails remain closed to motorized wheeled vehicles indefinitely.]
 

Who We Are
The seven members and several alternates of the conservation commission are volunteer citizens of Milford. We all have a common goal, to educate ourselves and the town's people to understand and appreciate the natural environment. We inventory, oversee and plan for the protection of the town's natural resources. These resources include the river and streams, the wetlands and wildlife, forests, trails and open space. Towns in New Hampshire were given the right by the state to form a conservation commission in 1963. Milford voted in 1968 to establish this commission as advisors to aid the other town boards, developers and landowners in the protection of the natural treasures in our town. 

What We Do
The commission has been instrumental in establishing five town forests and laying out trails open to the public for their enjoyment. We have erected signs, printed trail maps and cleared and blazed the trails. We assist owners of large properties to protect their land for the future with conservation easements. The commission is a nonprofit which accepts gifts of land for wildlife habitat protection or trail corridors. We review requests for wetland disturbances from property owners and developers, giving our recommendations to the applicant and the state Wetlands Bureau for reducing the impacts. We attend workshops and seminars to gain the tools to better do our job. We sponsor programs and events to educate ourselves, the public, town boards and other local commissions. To expand our resource inventory we work with private and state organizations, college students and local town's people. We are honing our skills in wildlife tracking, GIS mapping, identification of plants and soils. One of our major exercises is the development of our Conservation plan. This document is valuable to us and to the town as a planning tool for the future. 

How You Can Help
Do you have an interest in the environment? Do you have any skills that you would like to offer the town? Do you have a little time to share with us? The commission would be happy to meet with you. We need volunteers for one time projects, for ongoing trail work, for writing articles, leading hikes, finding money and writing grants, developing self-guided nature trails or as full members of the commission. The conservation commission holds a public meeting every second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, on the main floor of the Town Hall. If you think you may be interested in joining us or would just like to see what we are all about, please feel free to sit in on a meeting. The agenda for the meeting is posted in the town hall and on our Website the Tuesday before the meeting. If you would like to be on our mailing list for future seminars or events drop us a note via email, US mail or give us a call. There is no obligation. We have maps of our trails available free of charge just inside the door to the Planning and Building Department in the Town Hall.