WALPOLE, N.H. – The Cheshire County Conservation District is partnering with Long View Forest of Westminster, Vt. to build a new skidder bridge that will be available for use by the public in the Monadnock region. The use of a skidder bridge during a timber harvest is a best management practice that protects stream and brook banks, minimizes soil erosion, and protects water quality and wildlife habitat.
The CCCD began building skidder bridges in 2012 as part of their Skidder Bridge Initiative, which aims to minimize the negative impacts on streams during forest management activities. These skidder bridges have historically been made available to loggers, foresters, and other landowners and managers through a CCCD rental program in partnership with UNH Cooperative Extension.
For this new skidder bridge build, the CCCD will purchase all of the materials and Long View Forest will generously donate the time of their staff to construct the three panels that will make up the skidder bridge. Long View is a company that offers a complete range of services that focus on forest management, woodland services, and contracting to forest owners interested in an active approach to caring for their land. Much like the CCCD, Long View is a company that values good stewardship and management of natural resources.
Of this unique partnership with the CCCD, Logan Sears, division manager and shareholder at Long View Forest said, “Long View tries to give back to the forest product industry that we work in through New Hampshire and Vermont. We work hard to protect water quality, and we saw this as an opportunity to help make skidder bridges more widely available for woodlot management and for others to protect water quality.”
Long View currently supports the state of Vermont’s Skidder Bridge rental program by hosting the panels at their property and thus sees this partnership with the CCCD as a way to expand this support into New Hampshire.
Upon completion, the CCCD will consider whether to rent out use of the newly constructed skidder bridge or auction the bridge off as part of a fundraiser. To gauge public interest, the CCCD asks for anyone interested in either a rental program or an auction of this skidder bridge, to please reach out to amanda@cheshireconservation.org or call 603-756-2988 ext. 4.