Events

On Wednesday, April 7 from 6:30-8PM live via Zoom, the public is invited to participate in “Outdoor Recreation Management in the White Mountains: Challenges and Solutions,” a Sense of Place community forum. Click here to register for this free event.

In 2020 public lands and private preserves across the country saw unprecedented numbers of visitors eager to explore the opportunities for recreation available to them in outdoor environments. Instinctively these outdoor spaces promised space to gather and effectively social distance while providing alternative forms of entertainment in a year when many indoor venues were closed completely or were strictly limiting access. As a result, many locations that had been seeing increasing visitation for the past decade were completely overrun, and areas that had previously been considered quiet or under the radar saw increased visitation levels.

As we embark on the start of 2021 spring/summer season land managers and their partners are preparing for another busy year. Join representatives from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Mahoosuc Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, NH State Parks, and White Mountain National Forest Saco Ranger District to learn about the challenges faced in 2020 and anticipated for 2021, how land managers responded to these challenges, and how they are preparing for the coming year. Come ready to learn about the work being done to steward our cherished outdoor spaces, and what you can do to lessen your impact and be a part of the solution.

Moderator: Mike Morin from the Access Fund

“Outdoor Recreation Management” is one of a series of community forums on outdoor recreation and public lands in the Mount Washington Valley, organized through a collaboration of groups that are working to protect ecosystems and to invite humans to be in healthy relationship with the natural world and each other in shared public spaces: Access Fund, Appalachian Mountain Club, Backyard Concept, Chocorua Lake Conservancy, Granite Backcountry Alliance, Granite Outdoor Alliance, Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, REI Co-op, Saco Watershed Collaborative, The Nature Conservancy, Tin Mountain Conservation Center, Upper Saco Valley Land Trust, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, the White Mountain National Forest, and the White Mountain Trail Collective. Sense of Place forums take place on the first Wednesday of the month through May, live via Zoom. Join us next month on Wednesday, May 5, 6:30PM, for “Balancing Sustainable Recreation and Wildlife.”

About the Panelists:

Becky Huncilman is the Backcountry Wilderness Supervisor on White Mountain National Forest Saco District where she enjoys protecting the history and sustainability of backcountry campsites, helping forest visitors enjoy a safe and fun backcountry experience, and being one of many moving parts in a very loved National Forest. Becky has had vast professional experience in various backcountry areas including working as a backcountry caretaker for the Appalachian Mountain Club, a USFS Trail Crew Member and Backcountry Patroller, an expedition raft guide on the Salmon and the Snake Rivers, a guide for the Nantahala Outdoor Center, a biological aid at Craters of the Moon National Monument, and a volunteer at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In her spare time, you can find her Nordic skiing or running with her dog Watson, hitting the slopes on her snowboard, or enjoying a good cup of coffee.

Kirk Siegel, Mahoosuc Land Trust Executive Director, was a co-founder of this NH and Maine organization in 1988 and served as its first president. As a land conservation attorney for two decades he completed projects throughout Maine ranging from 10,000-plus acre timber tracts to Androscoggin River islands. He was instrumental in the launch of the recreational trail movement in the Bethel area that evolved into the current Inland Woods + Trails nonprofit. Kirk holds a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law and a BA from Dartmouth College. He and his wife, Martha, can be found in Albany Township, when they are not in the Whites and Mahoosucs on skis or on foot.

Patrick Hummel is the Park Manager of Mount Washington State Park located at the summit of Mount Washington. Starting employment with the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation in 2001, Hummel served previously as the Park Manager of Monadnock State Park and also managed the Volunteer Program for New Hampshire State Parks and the Division of Forests & Lands. He is an avid year-round hiker, photographer, and traveler.

Myrilla Hartkopf is the Northern AmeriCorps Stewardship and Volunteer Coordinator for The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. Her work involves the stewardship and management of 15 preserves in Northern, NH, with one of the main preserves being Green Hills in North Conway, NH. She also co-runs TNC NH’s Stewardship Volunteer Program. In her free time, you can find her kayaking, running, or exploring the White Mountains with her dog Nola.

Hawk Metheny serves as the Senior Regional Director-Northeast with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and oversees the management and protection of the Appalachian Trail from Pennsylvania to Maine. He has been with the ATC as a staff member since 2010, and before that, he served several consecutive terms on the ATC’s Board of Directors and chaired the Stewardship Council. Prior to his current position, Hawk worked on the A.T. as the Backcountry Management Specialist with the Appalachian Mountain Club on the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. All together he worked with AMC in the Whites for 20 years including as a field coordinator, backcountry caretaker, trail crew member, and worked five memorable winters as the caretaker at Carter Notch Hut. Hawk thru-hiked the A.T. in 1993 and has hiked many other sections of the A.T. since. He has also thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, the John Muir Trail twice, and has section hiked the Long Trail in Vermont. Hawk has a B.S. in Environmental Science/Natural Resource Management from the University of Massachusetts and has more than 30 years of experience in Wilderness, backcountry, and long-distance hiking trail management, Visitor Use Management, and Leave No Trace education.

Photo: Crowds atop Mount Major in Alton, NH by Bob Holdsworth