Greater Goose Pond Forest Stewardship Plan

At 1,044 acres, the Greater Goose Pond Forest (GGPF) is Keene’s largest city-owned open space. To ensure this resource is maintained into the future, the City is developing a Stewardship Plan for the Forest that will guide how the land should be managed and cared for over the next decade. To learn more about Goose Pond take a look at this story map that was developed.

Links to the Stewardship Plan are available below:

GREATER GOOSE POND FOREST STEWARDSHIP PLAN
PLAN APPENDICES
FOREST TRAIL ASSESSMENT:
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3
- Part 4
- Part 5

Project Overview

A Stewardship Plan for the Forest provides guidance on how to:

enhance the Forest’s natural communities;
protect threatened plants, animals, cultural features, and unique habitats;
provide for public access, recreation and educational opportunities; and,
increase habitat diversity.

The City contracted with Moosewood Ecological LLC to conduct the field work, data collection, and public outreach necessary to develop the Plan. In partnership with a forestry consultant and trails consultant, Moosewood inventories and assessed ecological, cultural, recreational, and timber resources in the Forest and developed recommendations for how to manage and care for these features. Greater Goose Pond Forest Stewardship Plan Scope of Work

Thank you to those that attended the Community Forum* on April 17 at the Keene Parks and Rec Center. A summary of the feedback received at this forum is available here.

Project Background

Created from a small pond and bog in 1868, Goose Pond served as Keene’s first reservoir and piped water supply, and the land around the pond was restricted from public use to protect water quality. After the Pond was removed from the City water supply system in 1984, the 42-acre pond and surrounding forest was opened to the public for low impact recreational activities. At this time, the City envisioned the property as a forested park where citizens could experience the beauty of a large woodland area. To maintain this vision, the City created a master plan for the forest in 1985. This plan was later revised in 1992 and, in 2006, a Forest Management Plan was developed. In 2009, the City donated a conservation easement to the Society for the Protection of NH Forests to permanently conserve the forest. This easement limited the activities allowed in the Forest and required that a Stewardship Plan be prepared to guide future land management.

The development of a Stewardship Plan for the Greater Goose Pond Forest represents the next step in planning for and managing the forest.