ROCKINGHAM-A field trip led by members of the Rockingham Conservation Commission (RCC) will discuss invasive plants and restoration management on Saturday, May 11, from 10 a.m. to noon, at 409 Saxtons River Rd.
The Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District worked with the RCC and local volunteers, including Americorps members, in May 2016 to plant several hundred native trees along the Saxtons River in Rockingham.
The site was a FEMA buyout, a 3.4 acre parcel that had three mobile homes on it before it was flooded during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. FEMA wanted to prevent rebuilding on a flood-prone site, so they bought the land from the owners and gave it to the town, with the stipulation that nothing be built there.
Some of the volunteers had lost their houses during Irene. The planting was done to improve wildlife habitat, help stabilize the soil in future flooding of the site, and help discourage the growth of invasive Japanese knotweed. This field trip, led by RCC members who were part of the 2016 effort, will revisit the site to see how the trees and knotweed have changed since the planting, and explain the dynamics of riparian restoration.
The site has poison ivy, a brook, and some dense brush with thorns, so participants should wear long sleeves and pants and tall rubber boots if possible, and tick repellent. Park along Barbers Park Road, which is just east of the field trip site; do not park along Route 121 (Saxtons River Road) because it has no shoulder.
If you have questions, contact RCC member Peter Bergstrom at 802-444-1860 or [email protected].
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.