Samuel E. Paul War Memorial Recreation Area Natural Resource Inventory Created By: Timothy Rosadini Keene State College Environmental Studies
Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge the following people for their support and knowledge that helped in the creation of this document. The members of the Sand Dam Commission for providing me with the opportunity to participate in this ongoing project. Chairman of the Sand Dam Commission Valerie Britton, Jim Dicey and Dennis Pratt for providing me with a guided tour and information of the Samuel E. Paul War Memorial Recreation Area. Jocelyn Degler from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Wetlands Bureau for her help in determining the appropriate permit required for the proposed work at Sand Dam Park. I would also like to thank Dr. William Fleeger for his help in the process of completing this document because without him this would not have been possible. 2 of 11
INTRODUCTION The Samuel E. Paul War Memorial Recreation Area, more commonly known as Sand Dam, is located off of South Street in Troy, NH (42.8 N, 72.1 W). After World War II ended, the citizens of Troy wanted to honor their veterans with a special memorial instead of the typical monument. They decided to create a living memorial for the children of Troy to teach them how to swim because of the countless men who lost their lives in WWII due to lack of swimming skills. In 1949, Troy Blanket Mills granted permission to the Town of Troy for the use of the land and water to develop summer programs for children who wanted to learn how to swim. The park was named after Samuel E. Paul because he was the town s physician from 1940-1969 and was also the head of the War Memorial Committee during the acquisition of the property (Town of Troy, 2012). The purpose of this document is to provide the Sand Dam Commission with a basic inventory of the natural resources and issues associated with the management of natural resources within the park. This document will also help in the application process for a permit that would facilitate improvements to the park including the swimming area by draining the pond and extracting accumulated organic material located along the beachfront. RECREATIONAL RESOURCES The park has a variety of resources to offer for recreational use. There are two little league baseball fields that have fences and dugouts. There is a new playground that was just recently put in, complete with slides and swings. There is a skate park located right next to a full sized basketball court. There is a plan to 3 of 11
relocate the basketball court within the park to allow space for the proposed welcome center the town wants to locate in the park (Personal Communication, Dicey, 2012). There is approximately 100 ft of sandy beach along the pond s edge with a couple of picnic benches. A swimming area is roped off approximately 50 ft away from the shore and the average depth of the swimming area is about 2 ft. The beach area is located in the northeast corner of the pond just east of the dam (NH DES, 2006). There also is a pavilion that can be rented out by the public for functions and gatherings. Figure 1.0 The pavilion adjacent to the beach There is a short walking trail that goes behind the baseball fields and then along the beach, over the dam and leads up to an abandoned railway system that is now converted to a rail-trail. 4 of 11
AQUATIC RESOURCES Sand Dam Park is located within the Southern Upland watershed of the greater Connecticut River basin and more specifically within that hydrologic unit, the Middle Ashuelot River basin (Littleton, 2010). The drainage area of the Sand Dam Pond is approximately 2,456 acres in size and includes the headwaters of Rockwood Brook, a stream that runs through Sand Dam Pond, as well as Rockwood Pond that is located approximately 1.5 miles upstream in Fitzwilliam (NH DES, 2006). The Sand Dam Pond itself is approximately 17.3 acres in size with a sandy beach area located next to the dam on the northern end of the pond. Over the last few years there has been the development of a beaver dam where the stream flows into Sand Dam, which has slowed down the flow of water. The water flows through Sand Dam downstream to Village Pond that has an area of 8.1 acres (Littleton, 2010). Sand Dam Park is categorized as protected public land under the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act (RSA 483-B). The Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act is a state statute to protect water quality for designated public waters. The Act establishes minimum standards for various setbacks from the reference line based on land use within the designated 250-foot buffer. For most new construction, as well as land excavating and filling, a state permit is required (certain exemptions apply). As such, all great ponds (waterbodies > 10 acres), fourth order streams or higher, and state designated rivers have been identified by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services as those waterbodies and watercourses that are subject to the Act (Littleton, 2010). This 5 of 11
means that the town will need to apply for a permit in order to perform maintenance on the pond. In 2006, the New Hampshire DES conducted E. coli monitoring because of increased bacteria levels found at the beach. The results of E. coli monitoring report showed that: The bacteria levels at the beach violate the bacteria criteria established for primary contact recreation on numerous occasions. Consequently, in accordance with the state s assessment and listing methodology, Sand Dam was listed as impaired for primary contact recreation on the 2006-303(d) list of impaired or threatened waters that require a TMDL (pg. 16). The report went on to recommend that the town attempt to reduce E. coli concentrations by at least 79%. The DES report determined that stormwater runoff and direct discharges of non-human fecal matter to the beach swimming area or tributary surface waters are believed to be the primary sources of bacteria to the beach. The results of the ribotyping study performed in the report indicated that geese are responsible for the majority (52%) of bacteria at the beach followed by livestock (16% sheep or cow) and dogs (8%) while the other 24% sources of bacteria samples could not be identified (New Hampshire DES, 2006). The DES report offered recommendations for the town to implement in and around the parks to both raise awareness of the bacteria and to lower the levels of bacteria present in the pond. The first recommendation was to post signage about the bacteria and close the beach when it rains. This is because the results from the report showed that bacterial levels were higher the day of and the day after rain. The second recommendation was to manage geese droppings that are located around the beach area. In the past the town managed geese fecal matter by raking it 6 of 11
into a designated corner of the beach near the woods. This proved to be an ineffective way of managing the droppings because runoff transported bacteria to the pond. The report also recommended collecting the droppings for off-site disposal (NH DES, 2006). Other recommendations to manage additional sources of bacteria included performing investigations to determine the source of the livestock bacteria. Restricting the animals from direct access to surface waters, managing manure to minimize contact with stormwater runoff and maintaining vegetated buffers to help filter runoff and reduce bacteria loads. In order to reduce bacteria contributed from pet waste, the report recommended the town implement rules for pet owners to collect the pet waste and dispose of it properly. The final recommendation was to perform additional investigations to identify human sources of bacteria from failed septic systems (NH DES, 2006). PERMIT PROCESS According to the New Hampshire DES, in order to drain the pond and use machinery to excavate accumulated material a Standard Dredge and Fill permit from the New Hampshire DES Wetlands Bureau would be needed. This type of permit can only be issued to property owners or with full property owner permission. Information that needs to be given for the permit is: the owner of the dam, the flowage rights (and the elevations of those rights), who the owner of the pond bed is (dam owner or adjacent property owners). Since the pond is greater than 10 acres in size; permission needs to be granted from all stakeholders of the dam, flowage, and bed along with justifying the need to impact the resources for the 7 of 11
permit to be considered. If the permit is granted, testing needs to be done for contaminates prior to sediment removal (Personal communication, Degler, 2012). SOILS & VEGETATION The soils located within Sand Dam Park are mainly outwash sands and gravels. These soils are favorable for the growth of softwood trees such as pines, spruce, and hemlock. According to the Troy NRI, there are no rare plant communities located in Sand Dam Park (Littleton, 2010). There is a gravel parking lot located at the entrance of the park. The grass that is in the park is maintained by the town and mowed seasonally. There are Red Pine trees and Eastern White Pine trees located in the park. There are small shrubs and vegetation located along the edge of the water and the edge of the forest. Figure 1.1 Red Pine and Eastern White Pine trees that separate the upper recreational area from the beach. 8 of 11
Behind the baseball field located more south, further away from the parking lot, there is an area of woods with little understory, which allows for people to walk around and explore. On the side of the dam opposite the beach there is a large population of Japanese Knotweed that has been cut down but not completely removed. Figure 1.2 Japanese Knotweed located along the dam. WILDLIFE Sand Dam Park connects the town to larger sections of unfragmented forest, which is important for maintaining habitats and corridors for many species. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Wildlife Action Plan (WAP) generated a map of the park showed that the area had habitat co-occurrence values between 9-11 and as high as 15. The Troy NRI describes co-occurrence values as, The co-occurrence model demonstrates low, medium, and high levels of co-occurring resources to assist in the identification of hotspots for conservation (pg. 64). There is no rare wildlife communities located in the area and no exemplary natural communities are 9 of 11
found in the park (Littleton, 2010). Sand Dam Park is located near woods and a few houses in the area, so there is not a large amount of human interference with wildlife of the area. CONCLUSION The Samuel E. Paul War Memorial Recreation Area in Troy, New Hampshire has many outdoor recreational activities to offer to the public such as: a beach front area, basketball court, skate park, playground, baseball fields, and hiking trails. The park supports a variety of native vegetation but there are no rare plants or exemplary natural communities located in the park (Littleton, 2010). While the park is a developed area, its location adjacent to larger tracts of unfragmented lands and water bodies increase the value it provides for wildlife in the area. With ongoing maintenance and planned improvements the Sand Dam Recreation Area can continue to be an important natural and recreational resource for the residents of Troy. 10 of 11
References Littleton, J. N. (2010). Town Of Troy Natural Resource Inventory. Chesterfield, NH: Moose Wood Ecological. New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NH DES) (2006). Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Study for Bacteria in Sand Dam Village Pond Town Beach, Troy, New Hampshire. Town of Troy. 1949 - The First Year of the Troy Living War Memorial. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2012, from Samuel E. Paul War Memorial Recreation Area: http://troypaulsanddam.com/content/1949-the-first-year-troy-livingwar-memorial 11 of 11