Preparations for a massive, commercial gravel operation are underway at Milford’s town-owned land purchased from Brox Industries in 2000. A state Alteration of Terrain permit was issued on Sept. 18.

This land is home to the state-endangered Eastern Hognose Snake and is characterized as an “ecological gem” by the expert who conducted the Natural Resources Inventory of the property.

The first phase of the excavation project is to level 24 acres of forested hills that are key habitat of the Hognose Snake. In 2016, the town destroyed a rare shrub and grass field inhabited by the Hognose Snake to build five acres of recreational fields under the decision of the Board of Selectmen.

As explained in the NH Wildlife Action Plan, conversion of habitat and mining pose serious threats to the survival of the Hognose Snake species.

The AoT permit, along with the approved plans and agreements made with New Hampshire Fish and Game’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program require numerous steps and conditions that the town and its excavation contractor must utilize to avoid harm to the Hognose Snake.

Several of these actions are being done improperly or not being done at all, putting the Hognose Snake at grave risk

1. There’s a Sept. 15 to May 10 period when the Hognose Snake is in the process of hibernation during which period of time no work is to be done unless the Hognose Snake has been fully protected, which it was not and still is not.

Ignoring the Sept. 15 deadline, the town’s logging contractor began operations of the first 10 acres on Oct. 4.

On Oct. 5 at the request of abutters, a Superior Court judge ordered a temporary restraining order that continued for 18 days before being lifted. The judge first wants the appeal the abutters filed with the state’s Water Council to take its course.

Loggers resumed timber operations on Oct. 30 without the protections in place to assure no harm to the Hognose Snake.

2. A wildlife expert is supposed to conduct searches for wildlife immediately prior to the logging. The purpose is to relocate the Hognose Snake and other wildlife away from the danger zone. In other words, to assure that no Hognose Snakes are on site in the way of danger.

However, even during the snake’s active period, individuals are hard to find as they are cryptic and expert at evading detection.

During the current hibernation period, we can be certain that the snakes won’t be found, and will either die during the logging operation with its multi-ton machinery, or die later when the ground is being excavated following logging and cleanup on the ground.

3. Or the Hognose Snake will die from lack of food in spring/summer 2018 due to mistreatment of the vernal pool that the Wetlands Bureau of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services says must be protected.

Even more importantly F&G/Nongame has informed the contractor that this vernal pool must remain connected to others, but instead the excavation contractor has completely isolated the vernal pool by placing silt fence around it. This pool normally produces American toads as the main food of the Hognose Snake, but the silt fence will stop amphibians from reaching the pool to reproduce and prevent the snake from getting to the food. This is most adverse to the Hognose Snake population.

Due to recent heavy rain, the vernal pool filled up again and another problem became obvious – large portions of the silt fence are now sitting in the water of the vernal pool, not outside of it. We point to a faulty wetland delineation as well as the contractor for not respecting the full extent of the vernal pool.

4. According to F&G/Nongame, the silt fence that is supposed to keep the Hognose Snake out of the danger zone, was actually installed the wrong way – backward. As one of the Nongame biologists stated it, “the silt fence posts (must be) installed on the inside … to allow snakes to climb out. …”

Installed backward as it is, the snakes can climb into the danger zone, but not out, posing a very grave danger to the Hognose Snake.

The Supervisor of F&G/Nongame informed the town and its contractor that the silt fence needed to be re-installed, but this was ignored. The silt fence remains installed backward.

Approval of the Alteration of Terrain permit was possible because of NHDES that is in charge of permitting, with conditions placed on the work by F&G/Nongame. Both agencies are legally required under NH’s Endangered Species Act (RSA 212-A) not to support actions that have adverse impact to threatened and endangered species.

As stated above, the fact is that numerous conditions intended to protect the Hognose Snake are not being implemented, which raises the question as to why the Hognose Snake is in danger in Milford now.

The answer, in part, is that Milford’s top town officials are motivated by money and the prospect of future development at this property that’s yet unapproved by voters. They have resisted all attempts by state agencies to mount a serious conservation plan to protect the Hognose Snake, as well as the endangered Blanding’s Turtle and threatened Spotted Turtle that also share this habitat. The town is providing the bare minimum protections and only when forced to comply.

To date, NHDES has not enforced the Sept. 15 to May 10 Hognose Snake hibernation protection period, and F&G/Nongame is not demanding that all their protective measures be enforced.

F&G/Nongame is turning to DES for enforcement of all conditions that so far are not being monitored for enforcement.

Brox Environmental Citizens, a grassroots group formed in 2012 to help bring good conservation to this property, has been alerting both NHDES and F&G/Nongame about the present dangers to the Hognose Snake posed by the town and its contractor’s failure to follow even the basic requirements, such as installing the silt fence correctly.

On Oct. 31, B.E.C.’s coordinator, Suzanne Fournier, made a direct appeal to the supervisor of F&G/Nongame for the agency to do its job to protect the Hognose Snake from local extirpation – before it is too late.

B.E.C’s coordinator stated, “It is unacceptable that the New Hampshire state agency charged with protection of threatened and endangered species would not aggressively work to fully protect the endangered Hognose Snake at this ecologically-rich gem in Milford. Further endangering the species must not be allowed under the New Hampshire Endangered Species Act.”

B.E.C. urges both F&G/Nongame and NHDES to do their jobs as required under the New Hampshire Endangered Species Act and prevent adverse impacts from happening to the Hognose Snake and to do it without further delay.