Pisgah State Park Management Plan Technical Team” for the Invitation and Opportunity to Write This Section of the Management Plan Document
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STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN for PISGAH STATE PARK Chesterfield, Hinsdale and Winchester, New Hampshire JUNE 2011 C1I.I *-%+>-. .-'*- .- F NEW HAMPSHIRE &,&" --. ;+ I. *. $1; ., -- 4. ,; CESandECONOMICDEV%tbh~;TA$;' T OFFICE of the COMMISSIONER an, '.I 172 Pembroke Road P.O. Box 1856 Concord, New Hampshire 0330- 182, GEORGE M.BGLD Commissioner * I 1 < .a id- MANAGEMENT PLAN for PISGAH STATE PARK Chesterfield, Hinsdale and Winchester, New Hampshire June 16, 2011 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 172 Pembroke Road PO Box 1856 Concord, NH 03302-1856 Division of Forests and Lands Division of Parks and Recreation TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................................................................1 Pisgah State Park and Its Managers ..............................................................................................................1 Division of Parks and Recreation..............................................................................................................1 Division of Forests and Lands ..................................................................................................................2 Pisgah State Park Background and History ..................................................................................................2 Planning Teams.............................................................................................................................................3 Steering Committee ..................................................................................................................................3 Vision....................................................................................................................................................3 Technical Team.........................................................................................................................................5 chapter 2: natural and cultural resources.......................................................................................................6 Landscape Analysis of Pisgah State Park .....................................................................................................6 The Landscape Around Pisgah State Park ................................................................................................7 Landcover .............................................................................................................................................7 Forest Blocks ........................................................................................................................................7 Protected Open Space .........................................................................................................................10 Recreational Trails..............................................................................................................................10 Recent Population and Land Cover Changes......................................................................................13 Projected Population and Land Cover Changes..................................................................................13 Biological Threats from the Surrounding Land ..................................................................................16 Regional Conservation and Land-Use Planning Groups ....................................................................16 Key Findings...........................................................................................................................................16 Recommendations...................................................................................................................................17 References...............................................................................................................................................17 Bedrock Geology ........................................................................................................................................19 Rocks ......................................................................................................................................................19 Tectonic Processes..................................................................................................................................20 The Tectonic Events that Have Shaped the Monadnock Region............................................................22 On Top of the Bedrock: The Ice Age and Its Effects on the Monadnock Region ..................................24 The Bedrock Geology of Pisgah State Park............................................................................................26 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................................27 Management Recommendations and Objectives ....................................................................................27 Key Finding and Key Recommendation.................................................................................................28 References...............................................................................................................................................28 Water Resources .........................................................................................................................................29 Watersheds and Water Quality ...............................................................................................................29 Groundwater resources ...........................................................................................................................32 Surface water ..........................................................................................................................................34 Floodplains and Flood Control ...............................................................................................................34 Floodplains of Pisgah State Park ............................................................................................................38 Wetlands .................................................................................................................................................41 Key Findings...........................................................................................................................................44 Recommendations...................................................................................................................................45 References...............................................................................................................................................45 Natural Communities..................................................................................................................................47 Vegetation...............................................................................................................................................49 Exemplary Natural Community Systems................................................................................................51 Hemlock - hardwood - pine forest system.......................................................................................51 Emergent marsh - shrub swamp system..................................................................................................54 Rare Plant Species...................................................................................................................................55 Carex cumulata (piled-up sedge) ........................................................................................................55 Panax quinquefolius (ginseng)............................................................................................................56 Features of Local Significance................................................................................................................57 Red maple - black ash - swamp saxifrage swamp...............................................................................57 Black gum - red maple basin swamp ..................................................................................................58 Key Findings...........................................................................................................................................59 Recommendations...................................................................................................................................59 References...............................................................................................................................................60 Invasive Plants in Pisgah State Park ...........................................................................................................61 Current Conditions..................................................................................................................................62 Invasive species occurrences ..............................................................................................................62 Key Findings...........................................................................................................................................67 Recommendations...................................................................................................................................67