The Wilton Conservation Commission presents:
Wilderness Survival
Presented by Chick Wetherbee
at the Wilton Collaborative Space
NHACC Photo Contest Deadline Is Friday, September 8
You still have time to get outside and take photos.
If you like to capture nature’s beauty, please share your amazing photos with NHACC as part of our Water, Wetlands, and Wildlife in the Natural World photo contest. We are looking for photographs that inspire the preservation of our natural environment. Winners in each category will receive $250, and Honorable Mentions will receive $50. You are encouraged to take photographs on conserved lands near your town, but they also may be made in other places like your own backyard. A complete list of rules can be found on the NHACC website.
How to Enter:
We will be using an on-line platform called ArtCall; login here to host entries into the contest. The entry form will be open until the end of the day on September 8. Contestants will be
able to edit or change their entry any time before midnight on
September 8. Enter your photos now!
See the contest flyer to learn how to enter.
Help NHACC Spread the Word
We encourage our member commissions to spread the word and invite community members to participate in the contest. Local Conservation Commissions are challenged to encourage their residents to submit photos, and be the town with the most entries. Please share this poster announcement in your community. The NH town with the most submissions will receive a free ticket to the NHACC conference to invite anyone they wish, plus have the ability to use the visual content in their own social media and on town websites.
Local Groundwater Zoning and Other Source
Protection Actions
Pierce Rigrod, NHDES, presentation to Regional Open Space Team conservation commissioners. The presentation contains excellent information for planning boards, water commissions, zoning boards and conservation commissions.
Open the live stream and adjust the audio to your preference. It will open in a new tab or window. Then come back to this window and open the slides, which will likewise open a new tab or window.
This way you can hear Mr. Rigrod's presentation and view the slides as you choose.
The audio (live stream, "ROST, August 24" - video of the presentation but the slides are not visible. The presentaion begins at 1m 38sec).
The slides (PDF document.)
NH Dept. of Safety Denies Petition to Ban Petroleum-Fueled Watercraft on Sand Hill Reservoir.
On June 28, 2023, the NH Department of Safety held a public hearing in the Town Hall courtroom. The subject was a petition to ban petroleum-fueled watercraft from the Sand Hill Reservoir (SHR). Speakers speaking in favor of the ban cited the inappropriateness of water-ski or pontoon boats on the SHR; the entire shoreline being green-space; it's small size and popular use for swimming and floating.
On August 7, 20023, the town received the department's conclusion: the petition was denied "due to the lack of any existing problems to be remedied" and claimed that the public "will not benefit from establishing a ban on all vessels using gasoline powered motors".
Read the full report of the Department of Safety's hearing and its conclusion.
Wilton Senior Citizen Science Program
We received an AARP grant to build a gazebo on the Riverwalk downtown and that will be one of your observation platforms starting in Sept. Watch for the eagles, the great blue heron catching fish, the otters, the muskrats, and birds. But you can do all this from your own backyards or any place in Wilton you wander. Help us save the engendered and protect wildlife corridors and habitats.
We’ll show you how to capture data of time, date, place and critter on paper or using the iNaturalist app on your phone. It’s wicked easy.
This year we’re updating our Natural Resource Inventory that documents all the natural resources in town. It will accompany the Master Plan Chapter of the same title.
And we’ll thank you formally at a celebration at the town hall in November for all of the volunteers who participate.
Here’s the kick-off information:
- Tell your friends. Bring them on the 13th.
- We already have volunteers signed up.
- Anyone may participate - you do not have to be a Wilton resident!
The Ten Commandments of Hiking
A lighthearted reminder about hiking safely and respecting the land, its creatures, and your fellow hikers; by Nikki Andrews.
Can You Find Both Herons?
Photo credit: Scott Hogan
- with our thanks for his permission to display it.
Your Wilton Conservation Commission (WCC) is responsible
for protecting the farms, forests, wetlands, scenic vistas and historic
resources that are such an important part of the overall character of our community.
Part of our charter is to educate our citizens about conservation issues
and to provide access to public lands for recreation. Placing 
land in
conservation doesn’t mean it’s "off limits". On the contrary, conserved
lands are available to the public for their use and enjoyment. In
Wilton, 69% of our town is in Current Use or designated as conservation
land. That protection keeps us a small rural community with beautiful
open spaces, clean water and abundant wildlife.
NH RSA-36-A:2 outlines what conservation commissions do for their towns and the state. In Wilton, the Conservation Commission (WCC) consists of 7 appointed residents, nominated by the commission, approved by the select board, and after taking a sworn oath, serving for a 3 year term.
In Wilton, your commission’s charter is centered around five activities: Advice, Coordination, Education, Protection and Stewardship.
The Wilton Conservation Commission is a member of the New Hampshire Association of Conservation Commissions (NHACC), "a nonprofit conservation organization that provides education and assistance to New Hampshire's local conservation commissions."
The commissioners are all volunteers. We depend on townspeople to work on projects and expand our capabilities. We need people to work on trails, monitor wildlife habits and native flora 
in the face of climate change. We need people to help raise funds for projects, work events, do presentations, pick up trash on roadways, or count cottontail rabbits and become citizen scientists. Would you consider volunteering with the Conservation Commission? Attending meetings is not required and we'd appreciate as much or as little time as you're willing to offer.
The Wilton Conservation Commission is only seven people; conservation takes a village.
Do you have a suggestion, question, or comment? Contact the Conservation Commission.