The Conservation License Plate program (www.mooseplate.com) promotes, protects, and invests in New Hampshire's natural, cultural, and historic resources. Through funding received from this program, the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau has produced a variety of products designed to educate the public about the state's biodiversity. In addition to our new book, The Nature of New Hampshire: Natural Communities of the Granite State, the Natural Heritage Bureau offers the Visiting NH’s Biodiversity series of interpretive trail guides and site descriptions. At these selected sites, visitors can see and experience good examples of the special biodiversity elements that we keep track of, including natural features such as the state’s old forests, rare or unusual plants, exemplary natural communities and ecosystems, and remarkable wetlands. The list is divided into Guides (sites that have full brochures) and Profiles (sites currently only described online).

Guides

These 2-page brochures can be viewed with Adobe Reader, and printed out either single or double-sided. Currently guides have been created for the following twenty sites. Clicking on the name takes you to a copy of the guide, clicking on the "images" link takes you to photos of the site:

Bellamy River Wildlife Sanctuary Marshes (Dover) -- see also: site description and images 

Dahl Sanctuary Riparian Communities (Conway) -- see also: site description and images

Fox Forest Black Gum Swamp (Hillsborough) -- see also: site description and images

Franconia Notch Old Forest (Franconia) -- see also: site description and images 

Franconia Ridge Alpine Zone (Franconia) -- see also: site description and images 

Great Bay Discovery Center Salt Marsh (Stratham) -- see also: site description and images

Hurlbert Swamp (Stewartstown) -- see also: site description and images 

Ice Gulch (Randolph) -- see also: site description and images 

Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve (Manchester) -- see also: site description and images

Merrimack River Conservation Area Floodplain Forest (Concord) -- see also: site description and images 

Mt. Cardigan Subalpine Summit and Rocky Ridge (Alexandria/Orange) -- see also: site description and images 

North Mountain (Pawtuckaway State Park) (Nottingham) -- see also: site description and images

Ossipee Lake Natural Area (Ossipee) -- see also: site description and images 

Philbrick-Cricenti Bog (New London) -- see also: site description and images 

Pisgah State Park (Chesterfield/Hinsdale) -- see also: site description and images

Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge (Jefferson) -- see also: site description and images

Ponemah Bog (Amherst) -- see also: site description and images

Rhododendron State Park (Fitzwilliam) -- see also: site description and images 

West Branch Pine Barrens Preserve (Madison) -- see also: site description and images 

West Rattlesnake Mtn. Rocky Woods and Outcrops (Holderness) -- see also: site description and images

Profiles

NH Heritage Brochures are not yet available for the following sites, but each has one or more features tracked in the NH Natural Heritage Bureau’s database of exemplary natural communities and systems, rare plants, and endangered wildlife species. Click on each site name to link to a web page with a brief site overview, directions, website links, and images. See the map below for site locations. These sites are all possible candidates for future guides. List updated 5/16/11.

Alpine Garden (Mt. Washington) – Alpine Zone

Big Pines Natural Area (Tamworth) – Old White Pine Trees

Black Mountain (Haverhill / Benton) – Subalpine Zone & Red Pine Forest

The Bowl (Waterville Valley, near Sandwich) – Old-Growth Forest

Bradford Bog (Bradford) – Atlantic White Cedar Swamp

College Woods (Durham) – Old-Growth Forest

Cornish Town Forest (Cornish) – Rich Mesic Forest

Devils Hopyard (Stark) – Talus Ravine

Forsaith Forest (Chester) – Atlantic White Cedar Swamp

Fourth CT Lake (Pittsburg) – Peatland

Fox Forest, Mud Pond Bog (Hillsborough) – Peatland

Green Hills Preserve (Conway) – Rocky Ridge

Heath Pond Bog (Ossipee) – Peatland 

Hobbs Fern Sanctuary (Lyman) – Rich Mesic Forest 

King Ravine (near Gorham) – Montane Acidic Talus System & Rock Glacier 

Lamprey River (Epping) – Red Maple Floodplain Forest

Loverens Mill Preserve (Antrim) – Atlantic White Cedar Swamp

Madame Sherri Forest (Chesterfield) – Exemplary Forest Communities

Moose Brook State Park (Gorham) – Rich Mesic Forest

Mt. Eisenhower (Chandlers Purchase) – Diapensia Shrubland & Alpine Tundra System

Mt. Monadnock (Jaffrey) – Subalpine Rocky Bald System

Nancy Brook (near Bartlett) – Old-Growth Spruce - Fir Forest

Odiorne Point State Park (Rye) – Coastal Rocky Shoreline / Salt Pond Marsh 

Pawtuckaway State Park (Nottingham) – Variety of Ecological Features

Plainfield Sanctuary (Plainfield) – Wide Variety of Wildflower Species

Snyder Brook (Randolph) – Old Forest & Waterfalls

Tuckerman Ravine (near Pinkham Notch) – Alpine Ravine System

Umbagog Lake (Errol) – Lake / Peatland / Wildlife

Urban Forestry Center (Portsmouth) – Forests & Salt Marsh

Velvet Rocks Ravine (Hanover) – Rich Mesic Forest

Weeks State Park (Lancaster) – Variety of Ecological Features

Welch-Dickey Mtns. (Thornton / Waterville Valley) – Jack Pine Community & Subalpine Peak

White Lake State Park (Tamworth) – Pitch Pine & Peatland Kettles

Statewide Map of NH's Visiting Biodiversity Sites 

Click and drag or use the scroll wheel to move around on the map.
Click on a dot to see links to brochures and photo pages.


View Larger Map

Guides and Profiles list sorted by NH Division of Travel & Tourism's Regions

site brochures: