Thanks to Conservation License Plate funding (www.mooseplate.com), the New Hampshire 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 natural features that we keep track of, including 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 sixteen sites (on average, we create about 2-3 new ones in any given year). 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) -- site description and images

Fox State Forest Black Gum Swamp (Hillsborough) -- site description and images

Franconia Ridge Alpine Zone (Franconia) -- site description and images 

Franconia Notch Old Forest (Franconia) -- site description and images

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

Hurlbert Swamp (Stewartstown) -- site description and images

Ice Gulch (Randolph) -- site description and images

Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve (Manchester) -- site description and images

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

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

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

Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge (Jefferson) -- site description and images

Ponemah Bog (Amherst) -- site description and images

Rhododendron State Park (Fitzwilliam) -- site description and images 

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

West Rattlesnake Mtn Rocky Woods and Outcrops (Holderness) -- 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 (pdf file) below for site locations. These sites are all possible candidates for future guides. List updated 6/14/09.

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

Devils Hopyard (Stark) – Talus Ravine

Fourth CT Lake (Pittsburg) – Peatland

Fox State Forest, Mud Pond Bog (Hillsborough) – Peatland

Green Hills Preserve (Conway) – Rocky Ridge

Heath Pond Bog (Ossipee) – Peatland

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

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 

Ossipee Lake Natural Area – Sandy Pond Shore System

Pawtuckaway State Park (Nottingham) – Variety of Ecological Features

Pisgah State Park (Chesterfield/Westmoreland/Hinsdale) – (01/06/10: coming soon)

Plainfield Sanctuary (Plainfield) – Wide Variety of Wildflower Species

Rhododendron State Park (Fitzwilliam) – Wildflowers

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

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

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

Statewide Map 

of places to visit New Hampshire's biodiversity
(map complements the above lists of sites)




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

several images from Visiting NH's Biodiversity sites:

site brochures: