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The Pondicherry National Wildlife
Refuge Refuge History The 5,500 acre Pondicherry National Wildlife Refuge is located in Jefferson and Whitefield. It was created on December 22nd, 2000 when 670 acres of wetlands and lowland spruce fir forest were acquired from the Hancock Timber Resource Group by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This tract of land was added to an existing 310 acre Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge owned jointly by New Hampshire Audubon and NH Fish and Game.
The Friends of Pondicherry, Randolph Mountain Club and other organizations have also supported recent acquisitions by the White Mountain National Forest of land near Pondicherry. These included a 1,700 acre acquisition of Hardwood Ridge in Jefferson in 2005, and a 450 acre acquisition in 2006 on Cherry Mountain. The exact early origin of the name Pondicherry for this region is not known. The name appeared on several early maps including the Map of New Hampshire by Jeremy Belknap in 1797. There is a former French colony in India called Pondicherry that was ceded to the British in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris. This region of New Hampshire was on a political fault line between the warring British and the French forces, starting in 1753, and it may have been named during that time. Cherry Mountain was formerly called Pondicherry Mountain and was later shortened to just Cherry Mountain. Tudor Richards, of New Hampshire Audubon, named the refuge Pondicherry in 1963 based on the previous history of the region. Pondicherry is a popular spot for birders in the spring, summer and fall. The refuge was the first designated Important Bird Area in New Hampshire and is also on the Connecticut River Birding Trail. The refuge bird checklist includes 131 species that breed in the refuge and 236 species that have been seen since the start of record keeping in 1890. Pondicherry was designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1972 because of the diversity of bird life and variety of wetland communities. Pondicherry is also well-known for its other forms of wildlife, especially biting insects! This is one of the reasons why so many birds migrate from the tropics to breed and feast on protein-rich insects. The refuge Odonata checklist contains 50 species of dragonflies and damselflies. Over 60 butterflies, 40 mammals, 8 fish and 21 reptiles and amphibians have also been recorded. Refuge Trails The 8th edition of Randolph Paths has a detailed list of Pondicherry Trails. The Pondicherry Rail Trail and the Little Cherry Pond Trails are the two most popular trails in the refuge and are used year round.
The Little Cherry Pond Trail starts about 800 feet north of Waumbek Junction and heads west through beautiful softwood forests to 20 acre Little Cherry Pond. The trail includes over 700 feet of bog bridges and turnpike to a bench and viewing platform on the shore of beautiful Little Cherry Pond. This trail has been nominated to become a National Recreation Trail. The Little Cherry Pond Trail starts about 800 feet north of Waumbek Junction and heads west through beautiful softwood forests to 20 acre Little Cherry Pond. The trail includes over 700 feet of bog bridges and turnpike to a bench and viewing platform on the shore of beautiful Little Cherry Pond. This trail has been nominated to become a National Recreation Trail. Other trails at Pondicherry include the Rampart Path that follows an ice push rampart for a quarter of a mile along the scenic north edge of Cherry Pond. The Cohos Trail enters the refuge on Route 115, across from the Owlshead Trail. This section of the Cohos Trail is called the Slide Brook Trail and will be relocated due to beaver activity in 2006. The Slide Brook Trail meets the Presidential Rail Trail near a trestle over Slide Brook. The Cohos Trail then follows this rail trail west to Waumbek Junction and then north to the Rampart path and finally northeast through young forest to Whipple Road in Jefferson. This last section of trail is rough and will be improved by trail crews this summer. Mud Pond Trail
A Bright Future for Pondicherry Pondicherry will play an increasingly important role for migratory and resident birds and wildlife. The eventual size of Pondicherry will be close to 6,000 acres. This substantial area of low elevation boreal forest habitat will connect to the 800,000 acre WMNF and contribute to a protected north-south travel corridor for wide ranging wildlife. Habitat at Pondicherry is excellent for such mammals as beaver, muskrat, otter, fisher, marten, black bear, moose, and, hopefully someday, Canada lynx. Visitors to Pondicherry in the next ten years will benefit from an improved trail system that will allow recreational usage while protecting wildlife, cultural and scenic resources. A Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) will be developed in the next two years and will seek input from the public on resource issues. Employment and volunteer opportunities will increase for people to work on the refuge. Research opportunities will also increase in the future for scientists and students. Research is currently underway on methyl mercury in fish, habitat needs of the Canada warbler, and a demonstration project will begin this summer to eradicate invasive Japanese knotweed from roadsides and purple loosestrife from nearby wetlands. The Friends of Pondicherry sponsor a variety of walks and trips at the refuge. Several birding trips will occur in May to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day. Work trips are conducted several times a year to maintain trails or monitor wildlife. Plans are under way to conduct winter trips to learn wildlife tracking skills. David Govatski
is the President of the Friends of Pondicherry and lives in Jefferson.
He retired from the US Forest Service where he worked as a Fire
and Aviation Management Officer and Silviculturist.
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Subsequent
additions included a 3,040 acre tract acquired from Hancock in
2003, followed by three medium sized additions of 650 acres,
400 acres and 500 acres in 2004 and 2005. The refuge is nearing
completion with plans to acquire several additional wetland tracts
in the coming years. The money for acquiring these lands came
from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Migratory Bird
Conservation Act, commonly known as Duck Stamps. Management is
a partnership between the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NH Audubon
and NH Fish and Game. The Friends of Pondicherry is a volunteer
organization that works on trails and other projects in the refuge.
The
Pondicherry Rail Trail starts at a trailhead and kiosk on Airport
Road near the Biomass Power Plant. The Maine Central railroad
used this route from Quebec Junction to Waumbek Junction at Cherry
Pond. From 1892 until 1932 there was a railroad station, freight
house, station master’s house and red ball signal at Waumbek
Junction. This is where the Boston and Maine met the Maine Central
and passengers could switch. The rail trail today is flat and
usually dry for the one and a half miles to Waumbek Junction.
Future plans call for modifying this rail trail to become wheel
chair accessible.
The
US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Friends of Pondicherry are
developing a new trail from Route 116 to Mud Pond Bog and then
south to Little Cherry Pond. This 1.8 mile trail will be for
foot or ski travel only. A new trailhead on Route 116 has already
been built and the trail location is being finalized this spring.
The trail will not be completed until 2007.