Shoreline restoration gallery, updates, & Thank yous!
All photos: Debra Marnich, unless otherwise noted.
After several busy weeks, the first and largest piece of CLC’s eastern shoreline restoration project has been completed. This is a multi-phase project assisted by many local contractors, businesses, partners, and community volunteers. You can read about the phases of the project in the excellent Conway Daily Sun article by Rachel Sharples, HERE, view a slideshow of the earthwork, hardscaping, and planting above, and read about and see pictures from earlier phases of the project in our October and November e-news.
The 1000 linear foot shoreline restoration project addresses many resource concerns and plays an essential role in the collective ecosystem of Chocorua Lake. Some of the project highlights include improvement of water quality, soil health, vegetative restoration, wildlife and pollinator habitat enhancement, addressing climate change considerations, the use of biochar in plantings, and the choice of climate adaptive plant species, creating resilient landscapes for the future, and safe and conscientious design for enduring recreational access.
“Throughout the project, many observations, key concepts, and insights were realized. However, reflecting on the process, it’s now apparent that there is more than the physical construction of our project. Through each project phase, I observed the formation of a work of art, painted on a canvas, layer by layer, with conscious design, careful thought, and creativity. The final perspective of the painting reflects a place where natural resource conservation and human use coexist. In this shoreline space, natural balance and harmony are achieved for all, and more importantly, resiliency for generations to come.”
In the spring of 2025 we will complete another phase of the shoreline projects with additional plantings. Some areas will be closed for a period of time to allow plants to become established in restoration areas. Please remember that this is a long-term project and we need your help working with us to ensure this dream and vision is possible for everyone to enjoy.
All of us at CLC are enormously grateful to the 100 member households who supported this project, and to project funders the NH State Conservation Committee Moose Plate Grant Program, The Tamworth Foundation, Davis Conservation Foundation, Madelaine G. von Weber Trust, and Adelard A. and Valeda Lea Roy Foundation.
Thank you to everyone we’ve worked with on the project so far, including Zachary Berger Associates, who developed the Chocorua Lake Shoreline Stabilization & Restoration Master Plan to address erosion control, beach and tree preservation, and revegetation on the eastern shoreline, P.C. Hoag & Co., a local arborist firm, who cared for the existing trees along the shoreline and aerated soil, Piscataqua Landscaping who stabilized the shoreline and planted native trees, shrubs, grasses, and sedges, and Again & Again Farmstead, who supplied biochar. Thanks also to Forest Land Improvement for supplying wood chips, and to the Town of Tamworth and Road Agent Richard Roberts for help along the way. Thank you to the CLC Board of Directors and the Lake and Property Management Committee (LPMC) for their support and efforts, and a special thanks to board member Bruce Larson, Chair of the LPMC, for his work researching and securing the watering infrastructure for the 2025 season. Thank you to our wonderful watering brigade and wood chip spreaders, hooray! And a big thank you to CLC Stewardship Director Debra Marnich for her care for this project through many seasons of planning and implementation.
Banner image: CLC Stewardship Director Debra Marnich & Seasonal Land Steward Galen Kilbride at the job site. Photo: Rachel Sharples, The Conway Daily Sun.