Restoring instream wood is a centerpiece of wild brook trout restoration in New Hampshire and elsewhere because it restores natural stream dynamics and habitat. Large wood creates diverse flow patterns, helps retain sediment, creates pools, and provides habitat for steam insects and cover for fish. Properly anchored in place, large woody material provides habitat for fish, insects, amphibians and small mammals.

Join John Magee, Fish Habitat Biologist with N.H. Fish and Game, and Joel DeStasio, New England Restoration Field Manager and Culvert Coordinator with Trout Unlimited, to learn about the benefits of strategically adding wood to streams.

We will meet at Distant Hill Gardens at 507 March Hill Road, Walpole NH, for a short presentation and overview of how and why to use Strategic Wood Additions (SWA) to improve instream aquatic organism habitat. After the presentation, we'll be visiting a half-mile long section of Great Brook, a first-order stream on Distant Hill land, scheduled for restoration in 2023. This section of Great Brook is part of a larger 'Aquatic Organism Restoration Project' planned for a 2-mile section of Great Brook in 2023

We hope to fund the project with an USDA - NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) grant.

Note: There will be a quarter-mile hike over moderately steep and rocky terrain to get to Great Brook. Appropriate footwear is recommended. A $10 suggested donation will be used to help build more accessible trails at Distant Hill.