Hooksett Conservation Commission Meeting — January 12, 2026

The Hooksett Conservation Commission met on Jan. 12, 2026, to approve routine business, hear Moosewood Ecological's draft stewardship report on the Quimby Mountain Conservation Easement, and plan next steps for conservation projects. Commission members were joined by Moosewood ecologists Jeff Littleton and Stephen Lamont, and Town Council representative Alex Walsing.

Consent Calendar

• The commission approved the minutes of the Dec. 8, 2025 meeting.
• The commission approved a consent agenda covering New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) notices: Marman Aerospace's facility expansion permit; a dredge-and-fill wetlands permit for converting a former car dealership into a car wash; groundwater management permit renewals at 264 Londonderry Turnpike; a transmission line structure replacement project; and a Brock Industries DES notification. During discussion, one member asked whether Brock Industries' blasting affected the applications or groundwater; the documents showed no blasting permit and no such impact.
• Invoices approved: Stantec Consulting invoice for $6,014.25 for the Heads Pond Access for All project; a $100 Bear-Paw annual fee; and a $100 Greenway invoice.

Quimby Mountain Conservation Easement — Moosewood Ecological Report

• Jeff Littleton and Stephen Lamont presented Moosewood's draft report, based on eight field days from April through September. They found nine distinct natural communities, three plant species of conservation concern (two sedges and yellow screw stem), and about 60 bird species, including more than a dozen of conservation concern such as scarlet tanager, black-throated blue warbler, and wood thrush.
• Wildlife observations included black bear, bobcat, coyote, porcupine dens, and an approximately 600-year-old black gum tree, one of the oldest known in the Merrimack River Valley. The property also contains a vernal pool with spotted salamander egg masses and wood frogs; no rare reptiles or amphibians were found.
• Invasives and forest health: beech leaf disease, Oriental bittersweet, Japanese barberry, and multiflora rose were present; hemlock woolly adelgid was sparse; ash trees were dead or dying. Moosewood recommended management to build resilience and diversity.
• Landscape context: the property lies within a high-priority wildlife connectivity zone identified in The Nature Conservancy's 2016 resilient and connected networks assessment, the only such zone south of Concord down to the Massachusetts line. The future wildlife hospital on an abutting parcel was expected to cause edge effects but not disconnect the property.
• Recommendations included bird-friendly silviculture, vernal pool buffers (maintain more than 75% canopy within 100 feet and more than 50% canopy from 100 to 400 feet), no-cut wetland buffers, management zones (sense of place, recreation, habitat, working forest), a proposed trail and parking area consistent with the conservation easement's 1,000-foot and 5,000-square-foot limits, and possible timber income to help fund trail, parking, and road improvements.

Clay Pond Stewardship Plan

• Moosewood outlined the next project: a similar inventory and stewardship plan update for the 70-acre Clay Pond Headwaters Conservation Area parcel adjacent to Candia. Work will begin with existing-data review in March, ecological inventory from April through October, a draft plan in November, and finalization in early 2027. A draft contract was under review.

Other Discussion Items

• Stantec presented revised design C101 for the Heads Pond Access for All project, including a parking area closer to the road, paved accessible spaces, revised trail slope, and drainage improvements. The design is intended to meet U.S. Forest Service accessible guidelines rather than full ADA compliance.
• A trail counter report from the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission confirmed extensive use of Heads Pond and Riverwalk Trail.
• The commission penciled in the annual Earth Day cleanup for Riverwalk Trail on April 18, 2026.
• Members discussed the Hackett Hill site walk, scheduled for Jan. 17, and a property owner's nonconforming structure and wetland alterations. Commissioner Philip Fitonitas raised questions about original permits, past violations, culvert maintenance, mitigation fees, clear-cutting, and driveway permits, and said he would send those questions to the ZBA.
• Regarding the North Candia Road gate, the commission voted to advise the Town Council to keep and repair the gate to protect conservation land; Alex Walsing said he would carry that position to the Jan. 14 council meeting.

Key Outcomes

• Approved minutes, consent agenda, and invoices as described above.
• Scheduled the Quimby Mountain public hearing for Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, at the library, with promotion through the commission's website and social media.
• Approved a motion to obtain survey estimates, including from McClure and at least one other surveyor, to determine the boundary around the scenic rock/viewpoint and the proposed trail corridor on Quimby Mountain.
• Approved Stantec design C101 for the Heads Pond Access for All project.
• Approved a conditional motion allowing Stantec to solicit construction bids, subject to clarification from the town finance director.
• Approved sending the Town Council a recommendation to keep and repair the North Candia Road gate.
• Adjourned.