Page 2 

Cover Page

Volume 3 Issue 8

CMC Website

Members Only

Newsletter Library

Back

Forward

     On November 20^th, 2003 I attended the Forest Plan Revision Meeting at Plymouth Town Hall accompanied by my reluctant husband, The Honorable Bob Barker.

     The room-full audience listened as Barbara Levesque told us, with the help of impressive poster pages, that four alternatives were being considered.

Alternative One:

     Lands allocated to Wilderness would remain the same.

     Non-wilderness land allocations that emphasized recreation would remain the same.

     Recreational opportunities would remain the same.

     Summer motorized recreation opportunities would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

     Land allocations where timber harvest may take place for forest products and wildlife habitat would remain the same.

Then Ms. Levesque went on to Alternative Two:

     Lands allocated to Wilderness would moderately be increased. This alternative recommends more Wilderness than Alternatives Two and Four and less than Alternative One.

     She proceeded through the poster pages in a similar vein: This one would be more than that one and this other one is less than that one, and on and on for about an hour. At the end of that time, when she had turned over the last page, she paused. Her audience (those that hadn’t fallen asleep) sat there absolutely stunned. After a long minute one brave soul attempted to make some sense out of what we had just heard: "But how much more is Alternative Four than Alternative Three and how much more are they from One?" She smiled cheerily and assured us that she couldn’t tell. It hadn’t been figured out yet.

     Many of the audience walked out at that point while others gathered in the back of the room in groups of Audubon, Foresters, loggers, snowmobile groups, and three State Reps. to comment amongst themselves about the wasted evening. Annoyed, I got up and pointed out that although this was supposed to be the "Land of Many Uses," there seemed to be no provision for mineral collecting. In fact two weeks previously two of our NH mineral club members were photographed and one of them ticketed for cutting a root in the Moat Mountains.

     Ms. Levesque assured me that mineral collectors were being considered. None of the ten or so USFS employees present seemed to know anything about the Moat incident, but they promised to get back to me in two or three days. Then it was Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then January and February. Obviously no one was going to deal with an irate "little old lady in tennis shoes."

     Finally on February 24^th Bob and I journeyed over to The Forest Service Building on North Main Street. At the counter we asked for Mr.Wagner, the Forest Supervisor. We were gratified when he came to the door, greeted us cordially, and ushered us into his office. I expressed my exasperation that no one had got back to me in two or three days, or for three months. Mr. Wagner did remember my comments at the meeting in November, and he had heard about the incident at Moat Mountain. I told him that I had been at that collecting area three weeks before Gordon and Mike, and I had certainly cut a root or two. I pointed out to him that two more gentlemanly men than Gordon and Mike, I did not know. Threatening them with fines and seizure of collecting tools was outside of enough.

     Mr. Wagner protested that Gordon only received a warning. But, I retorted that he certainly thought he was being fined while he and Mike were filling in the hole and while they were accompanied back to their vehicle.

     Mr. Wagner went on to say that Park Ranger Bob Smith had complained that several people were mining commercially. I gave him the names of the two people that I had heard mentioned, and he agreed that it was unfortunate that so many had to suffer for two people.

     Another problem that Mr. Wagner has is the fear that we rockhounds are going to get hurt digging our deep holes. I said that I was not aware that any mineral collectors had ever been killed in the National Forest.

Continued on page 3