Featured Projects for Environmental Assessment & Site Monitoring
Crotched Mountain Ski Area
Bennington and Francistown, New Hampshire
As part of a compensatory mitigation plan for a proposed ski development, DSM was hired by Peak Resorts, Inc. to conduct a habitat assessment on 250 acres. This included a site assessment combined with a landscape analysis to understand the conservation value of the property as it pertains to the maintenance of biodiversity and ecological integrity on a regional scale. This effort is part of a long-range goal of developing a regional natural reserve system that includes protecting the greater Crotched Mountain landscape, providing a permanent wildlife corridor stretching over 25 miles. The concepts of landscape ecology and conservation biology were employed in combination with the powerful aid of a geographic information system (GIS) to provide evidence of the significant conservation value of the ski area, as it plays an integral role in the development of the wildlife corridor.
As a result of this study, the project was granted permits from the State of New Hampshire to develop the ski area. Consequently, most of the 250 acres was put into a conservation easement, providing protection of the property in perpetuity. This project is a prime example of combining ecological principles with the social and economic structure of our society, one of the underlying concepts of conservation biology.
Lyme Timber
Hanover, New Hampshire
DSM has worked with the Lyme Timber Company for over ten years to conduct numerous Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) of large tracks of upland forestry lands throughout upstate New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont. In many cases conservation easements were transferred to environmental organizations pending completion of the ESAs.
Trust for Public Land
Massachusetts, Vermont, & New Hampshire
Phase I Environmental Site Assessments
DSM has worked for a period of over ten years performing Phase I Environmental Site Assessments on a dozen large tracts of land slated for conservation for purposes of identifying any recognized environmental conditions that warranted soil and water sampling.