Prospect Hill, a place few in the Upper Valley have visited or even knew existed. I didn’t, until I arrived at this spectacular spot with the Hanover Conservancy last Saturday. It is a place that is protected and off-limits without special permission.
If you CLICK the photo above you will be taken to a page where you can zoom into this image and explore the scene in great detail. Try it.
Foresters John O’Brien (below right) and Jeff Smith told us about the land, it’s history, and their plans to care for it with the prime objective of protecting Hanover’s water supply. Two current problems they face are glossy buckthorn, an invasive plant, and deer. Since hunting has been forbidden for many years and since the land is prime wildlife habitat, there are more deer than the land can comfortably support. On the left is a photo of buckthorn, the yellow clump in front. The bare earth around it was buckhorn until John attacked with an earth moving machine. We didn’t see any deer during our too-brief afternoon visit.
The photo below shows John pointing out a old ??? to Alcott Smith and Dr. William Boyle. Anyone know what it is? Perhaps a log debarker? It was found near the site of a former sawmill.
Jeff took us to a remote spot on the property that is one of four “Reserve” areas where nature will be left alone to run its course. It had a number of old-growth-like characteristics including a beautiful beech, estimated at around 120 years old, that had no sign of beech bark disease.
Below is a slide show of photos taken during our visit to the Trescott Company lands. This company, and hence the area, is jointly owned by Hanover and Dartmouth. Following the slide show is a photo you can click to get to a page where you can zoom into this image and explore it in great detail.
