Meredith Conservation Commission

05/28/2026

📌NOTE: Trails are open but be aware that the Page 2 Fields will be mowed Thursday, 5/28 and Friday, 5/29. 🎇

05/26/2026

Page 2 apple trees were pruned today.

05/24/2026

Please note that due to flooding, a section of the trail at Page Pond leading from the Barnard Ridge Road trailhead is closed. You can access all other trails via the Field Loop Trail.

05/20/2026

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Most people hear a pileated woodpecker for years before they see one. The hammering sounds like someone beating a dead tree with a bat.

Then she lands on a trunk ten feet away — and the reaction is always the same.

She's the size of a crow. Every other woodpecker at the feeder fits in your hand. Your brain builds a template from downies and hairies: woodpecker equals small. The pileated breaks the template.

The rectangular holes in dead trees are hers. No other woodpecker cuts that shape. And the cavity she drills for nesting becomes the most competed-over address in the woods after she leaves — species that can't excavate their own depend on the ones she abandons.

The dead tree she's working on is the most productive thing in the yard 🌿

05/20/2026

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05/19/2026

A dedicated crew refreshed trail blazes and did annual sign maintenance on all the trails at Hamlin except Arbutus Hill. We'll get that trail another day. A beautiful warm day in Meredith!

05/19/2026

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05/11/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DM5uengAt/

Those splotches that look like dried mud on your maple tree aren’t mud. They’re spotted lanternfly egg masses — often containing 30 to 50 eggs — laid last fall and set to hatch in the coming weeks.

Spotted lanternfly is one of the fastest-spreading invasive insects in the eastern US. Heavy infestations can cover trees, grape vines, fences, decks, and even vehicles. They feed on plant sap and leave behind sticky honeydew that attracts mold and other pests.

🌿 Where to look this weekend:
- Bottom 6 feet of any tree trunk, especially maple, walnut, willow, and tree of heaven
- Underside of deck railings, picnic tables, wood piles
- Behind house numbers, on fence posts, under outdoor furniture
- Vehicle wheel wells, undercarriages, trailer hitches — they lay on metal too
- Look for a 1 to 1.5 inch smear that looks like dried gray mud or putty

🌿 What to do if you find one:
- Hold a sealable bag underneath
- Scrape with a credit card, plastic putty knife, or stiff stick
- drop the egg mass into rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer to destroy the eggs, then dispose of it according to local waste guidelines.
- Seal the bag and discard in regular trash
- Report the find to your state agriculture department — many states track sightings
- One mass takes ten seconds. Most infested trees carry between five and twenty.

One credit card. One sealed bag. One weekend. Or thousands of nymphs hatching in May 🌿

05/09/2026

We had a great group of people exploring the world of birds this morning at our guided bird walk at Page Pond. Under the leadership of Dan Mullarkey and Kelly Hansen, we heard or saw 20 different species.

The next few weeks are prime time for bird activity - see what you can find in Meredith's open spaces - or your own back yard!