News and Events:

Aug. 24th          Hayfield Management and Restoration
                            Corner Meeting House, Belmont
                            6:30 pm.
Sept. 8th Order Deadline for the 2010 Fall Bulb Sale! Pickup date will be Oct. 7 & 8
Bulb descriptions, flower pictures, Order Form
Oct. 12th New Hampshire Current Use Tax Rules
New Hampton School
Nov. 10th Resources for Landowners
Corner Meeting House, Belmont

Partner Events/Projects of Interest

June 2010: Center Harbor Beach gets a rain garden to help improve water quality!

The town beach in Center Harbor is ready to make the best of all the rain we’ve been getting! The garden, fed by roof gutters and rain barrels at the covered picnic area, will collect rain water and over a 24 hour period allow it to slowly soak into the ground or be used by the garden plants. This is important because heavy rains often travel rapidly down slopes, over short grass and exposed soil. When water moves quickly it has enough force to pick up soil particles and can cause erosion that leads to water pollution. This project was made possible by the Belknap County Conservation District with assistance from the Town of Center Harbor Parks & Recreation Department and funded by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation – Lakes Region. For more information on this project, or rain gardens in general, please contact the Belknap County Conservation District at telephone 527-5880.

For information on rain gardens http://nsgl.gso.uri.edu/lcsg/lcsgh09001.pdf and for information on landscaping near lakes, ponds and streams look for the publication Landscaping At The Water’s Edge: An Ecological Approach at http://extension.unh.edu/resources/

Emma Melvin (left), contractor hired by the Belknap County Conservation
District and Jared McGrath (right), of the Town of Center Harbor Parks &
Recreation Department mulch a newly planted rain garden designed to
capture rain water and prevent soil erosion. Funding for this rain garden
provided by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation – Lakes Region.

Adopt Winni      The Lake Winnipesaukee Watershed Association is seeking individuals,
                          organizations, and businesses to "adopt" the lake. Both financial and
                          volunteer support is needed to monitor the water quality of the lake for both
                          watershed, habitat, and human health. Contact the Lake Winnipesaukee
                          Watershed Association at mail@winnipesaukee.org if you are interested in
                          finding out how you can help.

If you have trouble downloading the pdf documents, you may need to download the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. This can be accessed on the internet free of charge at http://www.adobe.com/products/reader

For more events information, please visit our WEBCALENDAR.

Who We Are

The Belknap County Conservation District is a county and grant supported organization that was formed in 1946 to serve as a grassroots agency acting as a source of conservation information on land, water and related natural resource issues for residents of the county. We are authorized by the Belknap County Commissioners and operate on an annual budget of $95,000. Our staffing includes a Program Coordinator, and two part time project assistants, a bookkeeper, and CSEP staff assistant; we rely heavily on the efforts of dedicated volunteers and donors. The District, in close coordination with, and technical support from the USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), undertakes projects and adult training programs funded by grants from various sources, and provides educator and student programs in natural resources. We are not a regulatory organization, but provide services free or at a low cost.

Our Mission

The Belknap County Conservation District mission is to provide for the wise use, management and development of the county's soil, water and related natural resources. This is accomplished with the cooperation of public agencies, private groups and individuals.