Merrimack Conservation Commission

Horse Hill Nature Preserve Sub-Committee

of the 

Merrimack Conservation Commission

Announcements:

Hello Friends of Horse Hill!

Based on your feedback, we have created a new trail map. We've flipped the property upside down, with the Amherst Rd parking lot on the bottom. That puts North at the bottom, but most visitors tell us that they feel more comfortable following the trail starting from the bottom of the map.

Hope you like the new map, which you can find here.

Eagle Scout Matthew Linford created an orienteering course on HHNP!

You can find the map and directions here.

Many thanks to Matthew. Enjoy!

Update: The next meeting of the HHNP Sub-Committee will be on Monday, July 26th at 7:00 in the Town Hall Conference Room. If you have any comments or anything you'd like us to discuss, feel free to drop into the meeting (we're very informal) or send e-mail to admin@hhnp.org.

On Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, the Merrimack Conservation Commission hosted a "Walk About in Merrimack's Open Spaces" with a stop at Horse Hill. About 40 participants enjoyed a stroll up Blodgett Hill while learning about wildlife habitat from Jeff Littleton, Conservation Ecologist from Moosewood Ecological, Dan Cyr, certified forester with Bay State Forestry, and Laura Demming, biologist with the Audubon Society. Check out a few pictures here.

We've made a few improvements to the Loop trail recently to bypass several wet areas. Bit by bit, the trail system is improving.

We hope to create a new version of the trail map soon to respond to those who tell us they would rather the map be flipped upside down. It made sense to us to print it with North on top, but that puts the main trail entrance on top, and for many of you that's just illogical. We're told this could be causing people to get lost. Watch for the new version of the map sometime in the winter of 2010.

3C Race Productions hosted a wonderfully successful snowshoe race at Horse Hill on February 14, 2009, with over 50 participants! Check out the pictures here.

Each season we're seeing a steady increase in the number of visitors to HHNP. Unfortunately, a few visitors have gotten lost on the trails. We're doing a few things to assist those who are not familiar with the trail system:

• The brochure now lists the post numbers that begin and end each trail. Get the newest version here.
• We've put up a new notice at each kiosk advising visitors to use the trail map brochure.
• Most importantly, we are in the process of installing additional signs and arrows to better point the way back to the Amherst Rd parking lot.

For those who haven't visited the Preserve in a while, you might not know that each trail intersection is now identified with a SIGN POST! This was a huge effort, and we thank our Chairman Newton Coryell for his tireless digging through NH hardpan to get these in.

The entire Loop trail is now blazed with white. Some of the connectors are blazed with blue but we ran out of time before the cold weather set in so not all blue blazes are in place.

We enjoyed hosting Sunday Walks throughout 2007. You can see where we walked on Sunday (1/7/2007) by seeing the aerial and topo maps of our walk.

You can see where we worked on our Work Day (1/28/07) on HHNP by viewing the aerial or topo views.

Description of the Horse Hill Nature Preserve

The 563± acres of the Horse Hill Nature Preserve consist of gently rolling to fairly steep terrain and two hills of approximately 400' elevation.  The land was cleared for pasture in previous centuries, has been logged several times, and now consists primarily of a mixed hardwood forest with trees between 20 and 60 years of age.  The property includes a series of streams, ponds, swamps, and numerous wetlands totaling approximately 60 acres.  A power line easement traverses the property, creating a shrubland undergrowth area.  A small sandpit was created by previous owners, but sand has not been removed for several years.

Logging roads formed the basis of what is today a trail network used by hikers, bikers, hunters, snowmobilers, horse back riders, etc.  This trail network does cover the majority of the property, however, leaving large areas without defined access.

The varied terrain, habitat, and large areas of undisturbed open space have encouraged a wide variety of wildlife to thrive on the property.

Due to its size, quantity of wetlands, and impact on wildlife and water resources, this property was listed as the top priority for conservation in the 2002 Town of Merrimack Master Plan.

A Topographical map of Southern Merrimack showing its location and can be found here.  There are other very detailed maps including topography, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and base map all developed by the Nashua Regional Planning Commission available on the maps page.

The SubCommittee was created by the Merrimack Conservation Commission in September of 2006.  There are 7 members and 3 alternates (we have 2 vacancies for alternates).

The agenda for the next meeting is here.  Minutes of past meetings are here.  The SubCommittee generally meets once per quarter on the third Monday of the month at 7:o0pm in the Town Hall Courtroom. 

The SubCommittee can be reached by either contacting the Town of Merrimack Community Development Department and leaving a message at (603) 424-3531.  You can also send email to Chair of the SubCommittee.

Town Activities with the HHNP

In April of 2002, the Town of Merrimack voted to purchase the property now known as the Horse Hill Nature Preserve.  The purchase was completed in July 2002.  The Board of Selectmen (BOS) decided to create a Master Plan Committee to write a Master Plan for the property.  The Master Plan Committee's work was completed in August of 2003.  Except for section 9.1, the recommendations of the Master Plan were accepted by the Board of Selectmen.  

In October of 2003, the BOS created the Horse Hill Nature Preserve Ad-Hoc Committee.  In 2004, this Committee was asked to create 6 sub-committees that encompass the areas of: Athletic Facilities, Cleanup and Trash, Funding, Historical Aspects, Parking and Access, and Trails.  In 2005, the Committee added the Wildlife Inventory sub-committee.  

In late 2005, the HHNP Ad-Hoc was transformed by Town Staff request to become the Consensus Building Group in support of the work of the Nashua Regional Planning Commission (NRPC).  The NRPC was contracted by the Town to facilitate the development and write the HHNP Definitive Plan.  This Definitive Plan was requested by the BOS in October of 2003 and this was seen as the way to get the plan done.  For more details on the Definitive Plan, follow this link.

Send e mail to admin@hhnp.org with questions or comments about this web site.