Protecting Wildlife and Significant Habitat in Coastal New Hampshire

The Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership (“Partnership”) consists of organizations and agencies that are committed to protecting the important habitats of the Great Bay area. The Nature Conservancy has contracted with Dea Brickner-Wood of Blue Sky Associates to serve as the Coordinator of the Great Bay Partnership. The Great Bay Coordinator provided services to the overall operations of the Partnership, as outlined in this report

Assessment of Road Crossings for Improving Migratory Fish Passage in the Winnicut River Watershed

This report summarizes the results of a river continuity assessment focused on roadstream crossings. The Winnicut River is the site of a restoration project that removed a head-of-tide dam and resulted in the only free-flowing major tributary to the Great Bay Estuary. The river system currently supports a small annual run of river herring, and with the removal of the dam and ladder system, migratory fish will now have access to a total of 37 miles of potential upstream habitat. In anticipation of improved access, The Nature Conservancy conducted a fish passage assessment for all stream crossings above the head-of-tide dam. We used an assessment methodology based on the Massachusetts Riverways Program, with adjustments following a similar crossing study in the Ashuelot River system (NH). We assessed a total of 42 road crossings in the Winnicut watershed, and classified them as severe, moderate, minor, or passable for fish passage. One crossing was identified as severe, thirty-five were moderate, six were minor, and no crossings were determined to be fully passable for all fish. To develop a priority list of crossings for improvements, we focused on culverts with moderate or severe barrier rankings and screened out crossings associated with major highway infrastructure. We then used GIS analysis to determine the habitat potential upstream of each crossing, and prioritized crossings with greater than 0.5 miles of upstream habitat. We ordered priority crossings from nearest to furthest from the dam site at the river mouth. Our analysis produced a final list of 11 crossings that, if all were improved, would reestablish 19.5 miles of unfragmented habitat for migratory fish. We are sharing results of this study with local and state officials in hopes of securing funds and making structural enhancements to priority road crossings. Going forward, we hope that this information will lead to increases in migratory fish populations in the Winnicut River and throughout the entire Great Bay Estuary

Author insights 2015 survey

The annual Author Insights Survey, run by Nature Publishing Group (NPG) and sister company Palgrave Macmillan forms part of a wider research programme which aims to understand general author attitudes and behaviours around publishing, to track any changes over time. The survey is conducted for internal purposes each year to provide longitudinal data and track changes in attitudes and behaviours. This year’s survey included questions on topics as diverse as factors that contribute to a journal’s reputation, the value of services offered by publishers and authors’ ideal audiences for their research. Demographic questions were also included in the survey to enable analysis by fields such as region and discipline

Asia (Mongolia)

Mongolia is a country of vast landscapes and a small population. This article explains Mongolia’s grasslands, and the way of life of the nomadic peoples who sustain them, are threatened by mining, energy, and infrastructure development

Australia (Northern Territory)

Covering more than 247 million acres, an area larger than California, Colorado, and New Mexico combined, Northern Australia is one of the few remaining largescale natural areas left on Earth

Africa (Kenya and Tanzinia)

An introduction to African grasslands and the importance to the people living there. Eastern and southern Africa’s grasslands and savannas have been shaped over millions of years by volcanoes, seasonal droughts and fires, millions of grazing animals, and human activities

Designing Collaborations Between Community Based Organizations and Schools to Produce Curriculum Models for Service- Learning Programs (Richardson Nature Center)

Richardson Nature Center, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, is part of the Hennepin Parks System. Richardson Nature Center is working in collaboration with local fourth and fifth grade classrooms to teach environmental education in a variety of ways. Students in these classrooms learn about the environment through classroom lessons and experiences at Richardson. Teachers and Richardson naturalists team teach the lessons. The main goal of this program is to impart knowledge, awareness and positive values about the environment to students. Another goal is to familiarize students with Richardson Nature Center, in hopes that they will visit the center after having an academic connection with the place

South America (Patagonia [Argentina and Chile])

An introduction to the Patagoninan Grasslands in South America. Stretching from the foothills of the Andes in Chile to the Atlantic coast of Argentina, the Patagonian grasslands are a reminder of untamed wilderness and wide-open plains. The region is home to the legendary gauchos, Argentine cowboys known for their skill with horses and their penchant for mate, a brew of stimulating South American herbs served in hollowed-out gourds

York County Nature Museum Records - Accession 237

The Children’s Nature Museum of Rock Hill, South Carolina (now called the Museum of York County) opened in 1950 as a result of a community effort led by the Junior Welfare League, to create a cultural opportunity for area children. The York County Nature Museum Records consist of bylaws, correspondence, legal and financial records, promotional materials, awards, and publications relating to the development of the museum in Rock Hill. These early organizational and developmental records were collected by Josephine B. Snypps during her tenure as chairman of the Children’s Nature Museum Committee of the Rock Hill Junior Welfare League, secretary of the Nature Museum’s (then named Rock Hill Children’s Nature Museum) Board of Directors, and treasurer of the Nature Museum.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/manuscriptcollection_findingaids/1137/thumbnail.jp