It's Summertime!

And so I wanted to take a moment to get you updated on what’s going on at the Bellamy WMA. You probably noticed I've moved from a plain email format to a MailChimp format. I find that it is easier to manage mail recipients and the emails are more eye appealing. I hope you enjoy this new format. I suspect they'll keep improving as I learn how to use this service.

How Are the Bunnies Doing?

Two dozen rabbits bred at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence have been released over the last couple of years in the northeastern part of the Bellamy WMA. We know they are reproducing and have expanded into the area we clearcut during the winter of 2011, which has grown into thick, young forest - just the habitat that the rabbits need. Jordan Cook recently captured this photo of a likely New England cottontail near her home on Garrison Rd. UNH is working with us to calculate an estimate of just how many rabbits are in this local population based on DNA analysis.

The AP covered the cottontail recovery effort and specifically the captive rearing efforts that are taking place to help make restoration possible. The news article specifically mentions the Bellamy WMA. If you missed it, you can read it by clicking here.

Enhancing Shrubland and Young Forest Habitat

New Plantings Slated for Spring 2017
We weren’t able to plant shrubs in the 2 acres planned for this spring so we are just going to add that to the areas slated for planting next spring – a total of 5 acres (see map below). As in the past, we plan on getting those areas prepped for planting starting in mid-September. The first growing season is an important one for new shrub seedlings. They require optimal growing conditions to get their roots well established. To assist them, we plan on herbiciding the grasses and forbs in these locations prior to planting. I’ll send another email when we get closer to the application date and will be posting a notice at the gate as we’ve been doing.

Former Plantings
The shrub plantings that some of you helped with in 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2015 are coming along.

Top left picture: The plantings from 2012 are doing very well considering dense clay soils, deer browse pressure, and competition with grasses and forbes. Top right: Many are now waste to chest height. Bottom picture: These shrubs were planted in 2006, have filled out nicely, and manner are greater than head height. Shrub seedlings were planted inbetween these rows in spring 2015 to help fill this habitat patch out. We've seen good survival from all 2015 shrub plantings and expect those to grow at a similar rate to those planted in 2012 and 2006, eventually providing good quality shrubland habitat.

Field Mowing

You may recall that we had a number of equipment break downs last year the kept us from mowing the fields. The Bellamy fields are a priority for us this summer so expect to see the Fish and Game mower out there later this July or August.

New Signs

You may have noticed a couple of new signs at Bellamy WMA entrance points. The signs on the right were placed at the entrance to the Bellamy WMA on Tuttle Lane and the end of Spruce Lane Ext so visitors outside of the neighborhood will know when they are entering the WMA. These types of signs were also created for secondary access points to other WMAs across the state.

And given the primary focus of Fish & Game lands is wildlife conservation, we installed the new sign on the left which asks visitors to keep their dogs leashed from March 15-July 15 to help protect nesting wildlife. You may see these signs posted on other WMAs locally or elsewhere in the state which see consistent dog walking.

That's all the updates I have for now. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me at james.oehler@wildlife.nh.gov.

I hope you have an enjoyable 4th of July weekend!

Best Regards,

Jim