CONSERVATION and OPEN SPACE PLAN UPDATE June 2017
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CONCORD CONSERVATION COMMISSION CONSERVATION and OPEN SPACE PLAN UPDATE June 2017 CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE Moosewood Ecological LLC PO Box 9 Chesterfield, NH 03443 (603) 831-1980 [email protected] CONCORD CONSERVATION COMMISSION CONSERVATION and OPEN SPACE PLAN UPDATE CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE Jeffry N. Littleton, M.S. Principal Ecologist Project Manager Moosewood Ecological LLC Chris Kane, M.S. Principal Ecologist Associate Project Manager Kane Conservation Anne Deeley, M.S. GIS Specialist Neatline Associates Carol Ogilvie, M.A. Land Use Planning Consultant Moosewood Ecological LLC Innovative Conservation Solutions for New England PO Box 9 Chesterfield, NH 03443-0009 (603) 831-1980 [email protected] www.moosewoodecological.com June 2017 Cover photograph – The Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) is both a federally and state-endangered species that occurs in the pine barrens of Concord. Photo by Ben Kimball Preface The City of Concord’s Conservation Commission is pleased to present its Conservation and Open Space Plan. The creation of such a plan is part of the original mandate to the Conservation Commission when the Commission was created by the Concord City Council in 1971. The Commission’s first such plan, and the many updates that have followed, have guided and informed the Commission’s efforts in meeting the goals established for it by the City Council. This updated Conservation and Open Space Plan is intended to serve as an addendum to the Conservation and Open Space section of the City’s Master Plan 2030, which was adopted in 2008. That section of the Master Plan is intended to guide the protection of the City’s natural resources and the environment while promoting the appropriate and efficient use of land and water within the City in a manner consistent with the economic, physical, and social needs and desires of the citizens of Concord. However, since 2008, a significant amount of new natural resources data has been developed by the City, the State of New Hampshire and other sources. Much of this updated plan is devoted to incorporating this new data so that it is available to the Commission and can be used to guide decisions about the management of existing conservation lands and recommendations for future conservation projects in a manner that is consistent with the current Master Plan but also informed by new data. In addition to the text of the plan, important data is presented visually through the creation of GIS-based maps depicting the City’s water resources, wildlife resources and habitat, agricultural soils and forestry soils. Additional maps have been prepared that show existing conservation land within the City, updated to reflect the work of the Commission over the past decade, and conservation focus areas for the future. These GIS map layers can be used individually and collectively to examine the natural resource values of particular properties to ensure that decisions and recommendations of the Commission are informed by the best data available. Finally, Chapter 9 of the Commission’s updated plan restates the Conservation and Open Space Policies and Recommendations from the Conservation and Open Space section of Master Plan 2030. These policies continue to guide the Commission’s work, and we are pleased that many of the goals and recommendations have been addressed in the decade since those policies and recommendations were adopted. In this same chapter, the Commission has included some new recommendations (in italics) for future consideration. The Conservation Commission wishes to thank both Moosewood Ecological LLC and its consultants for their work on the preparation of this updated Conservation and Open Space Plan, and Assistant City Planner Beth Fenstermacher for her tireless efforts on behalf of and in support of the Commission and its work. The City of Concord Conservation Commission Kristine Tardiff, Chair Mark Coen, Council Representative Stefan Mattlage, Alternate James Owers, Vice Chair Katherine Healy Jan McClure, Alternate Tracey Boisvert Christopher Kane, Secretary Frederick Chormann Jeffrey Lewis TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1 - INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 2 - PURPOSE AND GOALS ..................................................................................................... 2 3 - STAKEHOLDER INPUT AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH ....................................... 3 4 - METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 3 4.1 - Compilation and Synthesis of Existing Data ............................................................. 3 4.1a - Rationale for Update ......................................................................................... 3 4.1b - GIS Data ........................................................................................................... 4 4.1c - NH Natural Heritage Bureau Data .................................................................... 4 4.1d - Active Agriculture Data .................................................................................... 4 4.1e - Conservation Lands .......................................................................................... 4 4.1f - NH Fish and Game Department ......................................................................... 5 4.1g - City of Concord Consulting Forester ................................................................ 5 5 - CONCORD’S NATURAL RESOURCES .......................................................................... 5 5.1 - Ecoregions ................................................................................................................. 5 5.2 - Subwatersheds ........................................................................................................... 6 5.3 - Water Resources ........................................................................................................ 8 5.3a - Surface Waters and Wetlands ........................................................................... 8 5.3b - Groundwater ..................................................................................................... 9 5.3c - Floodplains and Floodways .............................................................................. 9 5.3d - Key Under-Protected Resources ...................................................................... 10 5.4 - Ecological Resources ............................................................................................... 12 5.4a - Wildlife and Plant Resources .......................................................................... 12 5.4b - Unfragmented Landscape ............................................................................... 15 5.4c - Key Under-Protected Resources .................................................................... 16 5.5 - Working Lands Resources ....................................................................................... 16 5.5a - Agricultural Resources ................................................................................... 17 ii 5.5b - Forest Resources ............................................................................................. 20 5.5c - Key Under-Protected Resources ..................................................................... 20 5.6 - Conservation Lands .................................................................................................. 22 5.7 - Recreational Resources ............................................................................................ 23 5.7a - City Trails ....................................................................................................... 23 5.7b - Regional Trail Systems ................................................................................... 24 5.7c - Bicycle and Pedestrian Connections ............................................................... 25 5.7d - Other Recreational Resources ........................................................................ 26 5.7e - Key Under-Protected Resources ..................................................................... 26 5.8 - Built (Human) Environment .................................................................................... 28 5.8a - Urban Growth Boundary ................................................................................ 28 5.8b - Concord Impervious Surfaces ......................................................................... 29 5.8c - Key Recommendations .................................................................................... 30 6 - CLIMATE CHANGE AND RESILIENCY ..................................................................... 30 7 - CONSERVATION OPEN SPACE FOCUS AREAS ...................................................... 32 7.1 - Selection Criteria ..................................................................................................... 32 7.1a - Natural Resources ........................................................................................... 32 7.1b - Landscape Context .......................................................................................... 32 7.1c - Human/Cultural Importance ........................................................................... 33 7.1d - Concurrence .................................................................................................... 33 7.2 - Conservation Focus Areas by Ecoregion