News

This is a Summary of the years of good work by our volunteers and the investment in the watershed.
Systematic data is now in place to drive future decisions and work, but we need to continue the
processes to monitor for any changes driven by development or change in environmental patterns that
threaten the watershed. Next steps: Monitoring by Town Conservation Committees, Support to
culvert processes to enhance connectivity,2025 Warner River Watershed project update 4-4-25and Understanding of the changes to fish population.
Additional needs for volunteer actions beginning this spring. Leadership from Fish and Game and the
Basil Woods TU will continue. (One new face. Greg Swick has replaced George Embley who has taken
a step back from active participation.) Heads up for direct contact.

From: Ben Nugent, Fish and Game Biologist

Hello everyone! We hope this note providing an update for the Warner River Watershed Conservation
Project finds our dedicated volunteers and friends well. We’re looking forward to resuming stream
monitoring again this field season and there will be opportunities to provide assistance for a variety of
reasons. This will mark the 14th year of this volunteer dependent effort in the watershed. Over the
course of this project, we have amassed a list for the contact emails from a great number of volunteers.
In order to ensure we maintain a list of volunteers who are still interested in receiving these updates
and/or to sign up for field sampling days, please send an email to Greg Swick (justswick@gmail.com) to
confirm you are still interested. Greg will likely send this same request when we announce our first
volunteer day in mid-April. Thank you.

Friday the 13th of September was lucky for the chapter and brook trout in a tributary of the Warner River.

The Basil Woods chapter supported NH Fish and Game as they characterize Ballard Brook, part of the Warner River watershed.   The action was to count and catalog the wild brook trout population prior to the removal of an impassable culvert.

The culvert, shown in this picture, represents a risk to Red Brick Road and a barrier to wild trout movement.  The culvert will be replaced to improve resilience to high water events but will also allow fish passage and wildlife resilience.

Over 50 wild trout were captured and returned to Ballard Brook and the volunteers had a fun day on a wild brook trout stream.

The Basil W. Woods Jr. Chapter of Trout Unlimited recently donated 10K to the Newbury Conservation Commision (NCC) for their project to conserve land in the town of Newbury. The purchase helps protect the upland buffer for 2,000 feet of a coldwater perennial brook that flows into the Warner River; a state designated river. This unnamed stream segment links the upper headwaters of the Warner River to the outwash terraces below and provides coldwater habitat for a strong native population of brook trout that is in excellent condition and has not been Impacted by development or recent forestry.

For more information please email concordtu@gmail.com