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Additional Online Resources
Located in Sandwich, NH. This 300-acre sanctuary initially came under protection in 1976 through a donation of land by Charles G. Thompson and has since greatly expanded in size.
It contains 80 acres of important wetland habitats, much of which can be viewed from a short boardwalk and trail system that meets accessibility standards. An abundance of wildlife – including over 200 species of birds, numerous turtles, frogs and mammals, and an astounding abundance of invertebrates – can be seen from its trails.
Take advantage of this virtual experience to see what New Hampshire Audubon has to offer!
Located in Sandwich, NH. This 300-acre sanctuary initially came under protection in 1976 through a donation of land by Charles G. Thompson and has since greatly expanded in size.
It contains 80 acres of important wetland habitats, much of which can be viewed from a short boardwalk and trail system that meets accessibility standards. An abundance of wildlife – including over 200 species of birds, numerous turtles, frogs and mammals, and an astounding abundance of invertebrates – can be seen from its trails.
Take advantage of this virtual experience to see what New Hampshire Audubon has to offer!
Accessibility at the Sanctuary
The trailhead kiosk you see upon entering the parking lot was constructed in 2014 by a conservation service crew from the SCA – NH Corps. For three summers (2014-16), NHA partnered with SCA and contracted with these crews consisting of young individuals from around the country to accomplish outstanding stewardship work. NH Audubon and these crews are responsible for the construction of the 0.25 mile-long trail and boardwalk, both of which were carefully created to incorporate many American Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines.
Note that parking here (as with other sanctuaries) is limited, and that winter conditions may limit access. After mud season conditions pass in May, the Wilderness Trail (accessed via Middle Road) is recommended for a longer woodland walk (not accessible). Pick up a trail guide to the Wilderness Loop.
Accessibility at the Sanctuary
The trailhead kiosk you see upon entering the parking lot was constructed in 2014 by a conservation service crew from the SCA – NH Corps. For three summers (2014-16), NHA partnered with SCA and contracted with these crews consisting of young individuals from around the country to accomplish outstanding stewardship work. NH Audubon and these crews are responsible for the construction of the 0.25 mile-long trail and boardwalk, both of which were carefully created to incorporate many American Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines.
Note that parking here (as with other sanctuaries) is limited, and that winter conditions may limit access. After mud season conditions pass in May, the Wilderness Trail (accessed via Middle Road) is recommended for a longer woodland walk (not accessible). Pick up a trail guide to the Wilderness Loop.
Volunteers have long been an important part of how NH Audubon manages and maintains its 39 wildlife sanctuaries. Fred Steele was a local teacher, botanist and conservationist who served as a long-time volunteer for NH Audubon until his passing in 1999. His botanical and educational interests led NH Audubon to dedicate this trail – and, previously, a botanical trail – in his memory.
Since Fred Steele’s time, several other key volunteers have helped steward the Thompson Wildlife Sanctuary. One such individual is sanctuary neighbor David White, who, in 2020 was awarded the H. Meade Cadot Award for Land Conservation by NH Audubon for his contributions to land protection efforts in the vicinity of the sanctuary. David has helped to conserve hundreds of acres of land in over a dozen properties, including several key parcels of the Thompson Wildlife Sanctuary and abutting lands. His vision has helped keep the sanctuary a critical wildlife corridor in the region, one which supports an even greater abundance of resources as development continues to close in on natural areas. In addition, David and his wife, CC, as well as other neighbors have generously provided foot traffic access across their lands to the Wilderness Loop and into the heart of the sanctuary.
In addition to volunteers, numerous local, regional and state partners have helped insure the legacy of this special place through land protection and stewardship of additional hundreds of acres nearby. Landscape-scale conservation actions like these and creating ‘conservation corridors’ are essential to preserve biodiversity including many species of the Greatest Conservation Need in NH.
Some of NH Audubon’s many partners in this landscape have included:
• Alfred Quimby Fund
• Northeast Wilderness Trust
• Town of Sandwich Conservation Commission
• Lakes Region Conservation Trust
Image: David White (left) receiving peaches from Phil Brown in recognition of the H. Meade Cadot Award in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic; Credit - Hope Jordan
This 300-acre wildlife sanctuary is located between the Sandwich Range of the White Mountains to the northwest and the Ossipee Mountains to the southeast.
Until the early 1900’s, much of the area was cleared and utilized as a hay farm, and some pasture existed. Though land use on the sanctuary is similar to much of that in the surrounding landscape, only few stone walls, cut stumps from former logging and an old roadbed point to prior human use of this property. Today much of the sanctuary has reverted to forest and wetlands. Atwood Brook, a tributary of the Bearcamp River, meanders through the middle of the sanctuary. The marsh and meadows that are found along the brook add to the beauty and diversity of the property.
Charles G. Thompson, of S. Tamworth, donated the original 118 acres of the sanctuary to NH Audubon in 1976, along with a stewardship endowment set up for its management. He chose the name of the property in memory of his wife, Alice. In 1979, Frank and Rose Church, of Portsmouth, donated an additional 66 acres.
The Quimby Fund, a private trust set up by Alfred Quimby for the benefit of the Town of Sandwich and its residents, has also supported the sanctuary through additional conservation and stewardship funding, which added 67 more acres in two parcels. In 2014, NH Audubon donated a ‘forever wild’ conservation easement on the entirety of the now 300-acre sanctuary to the Northeast Wilderness Trust, which will insure that the conservation values will be forever protected.
The hard-packed trail you see here was constructed between 2014 and 2016 by a conservation service crew from the SCA – NH Corps. NH Audubon partnered with SCA for three consecutive summers to restore this formerly-flooded trail located on a former roadbed. By 2007, beavers had returned to this wetland system and flooded the roadbed, making foot access impossible for several years due to the resulting high water conditions.
NH Audubon worked with SCA conservation crews, which consisted of young individuals from around the country. Under the leadership of Matt Coughlan, then of SCA, the crews accomplished outstanding stewardship work, restoring access and finding a balance with beavers. NH Audubon and the crews carefully and thoughtfully constructed the 0.25 mile-long trail and boardwalk, both of which were built to incorporate many American Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility features.
Some features you may notice include several ‘bump-outs’ for trail passing, a five-foot wide hard-packed surface, level surfaces, and railings and benches along the boardwalk. Several other features are being planned for future years to accommodate even more user groups. Guided by the ADA guidelines as well as those set out by the Birdability group NH Audubon strives to provide places that are welcoming, inclusive, safe and accessible for all.
As you follow the trail, you will see your first glimpses of the marsh which is the central feature of this trail and the sanctuary. However, the larger sanctuary is primarily forested, comprising both upland and wetland forest types. Looking along the left side of the trail, you will get a sense of these varied forest types. Here, where the conditions are primarily upland, some of the common tree species are White Pine, Eastern Hemlock, American Beech, Paper Birch, and maples.
With a slight drop in elevation further along you will notice more wetland forests dominated by Red Maple and dead White Pines, indicating die-off from beaver flooding over the past two decades. The dead and dying trees (or snags) are essential to ecosystem health and provide an abundant food source and cover for a wide variety of wildlife, from wood-boring invertebrates to woodpeckers to Flying Squirrels, and much more. They are very important for the local wildlife as they create opportunities for nesting and perching and are great places to spot birds such as woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, Brown Creeper, and perching raptors.
A rapid ecological assessment of the sanctuary conducted in 2013 by ecologist, Dr. Rick Van de Poll, yielded the presence of twelve or more natural community types, the most common of these being Hemlock-Beech-Oak-Pine Forest. Other forest types present included Hemlock Forest, Lowland Spruce-Fir Forest, Red Spruce Swamp, Hemlock-Cinnamon Fern Forest, Red Maple-Sphagnum Swamp, and Red Maple-Sensitive Fern Swamp.
While the Fred Steele Trail allows access to some of these forests, the best way to experience the upland forest types is by taking a walk on the Wilderness Loop (trail) located off Middle Road (and across the expansive wetlands). Here, you will see older forests with large Eastern Hemlocks and White Pines, home to many forest-dwelling mammals and birds. Old growth forest conditions have been documented in this part of the sanctuary, where Eastern Hemlocks and Red Spruces have been aged at over 350 years old!
Along three-hundred feet of boardwalk, you will traverse three distinct phases of the access improvement project. These sections were built, in successive summers, by members of the SCA-NH Corps, along an abandoned and flooded roadbed. Each section ends in a bump-out or passing area, which also serves as places where people can gather to enjoy the views. Some have benches to allow for adequate rest areas along this trail.
Construction of the boardwalk occurred atop a flooded roadbed, which presented some challenges. Luckily, however, the roadbed is sturdy and had not been damaged by water flow, so it could be used as a base for installing the boardwalk structure itself. Materials consisted of steel docking hardware, pressure-treated timber and Western Red Cedar, which is naturally rot-resistant. (It also has a pleasing feel and sound under foot!) Railings and galvanized wire mesh were used to provide a safe elevated walkway that is also aesthetically pleasing to many. The boardwalk can be adjusted as necessary over time to provide a level platform for walking or moving along with a mobility device such as a wheelchair.
The sanctuary’s wetlands comprise over 80 acres of ‘scrub-shrub’ habitat, deemed critical wildlife habitat according to the NH Wildlife Action Plan – much of which can be seen from here. These also include a town-designated ‘prime wetland’, Atwood Brook, a tributary of the Bearcamp River – which provides an additional level of local protection. Atwood Brook serves as a water quality reference brook due to the pristine conditions.
Wetland natural community types present here include Alder Alluvial Swamp, Arrowwood-Dogwood-Meadowsweet Shrub Thicket, Tall Graminoid Emergent, and Medium-Depth and Deepwater Marshes. Typical wetland plants along the boardwalk include Rhodora (magenta blooms in May), Leatherleaf (white blooms in May), Meadowsweet, Maleberry, Highbush Blueberry, and a variety of dogwoods and viburnums. Many of these have flowers which benefit native pollinators and fruit which benefits birds and other wildlife. The blooms are best seen in May and June, and fruits are available from July through the fall, depending upon the species.
The presence of Beaver as a ‘keystone species’ relates to the fact that their presence is key to the presence of so many other types of wildlife – invertebrates, birds, reptiles and amphibians, aquatic mammals, and more. Moose, Black Bear, River Otter, Muskrat, and many other mammals make use of the beaver meadows and impoundments.
‘Forever Wild’
As you near the end of the boardwalk, you’ll notice an hexagonal-shaped terminal platform. Though the former trail used to extend along the roadbed across the marsh, the decision was made to reserve this area as a wildlife corridor, keeping it free of human traffic. This, along with the decision to place a ‘forever wild’ conservation easement on the sanctuary, was a step towards prioritizing wilderness in this landscape. From here, you can fully see the two opposing mountain ranges on either side of the expansive wetland. To the southeast lies the Ossipee Mountain Range, NH’s best example of an ancient volcanic ring-dike which dates back to 125 million years ago. It has fascinating geological history and several peaks reach close to 3,000-feet in elevation. To the northwest is the Sandwich Range of the White Mountains, a 30-mile long range that includes three 4,000-foot peaks. It also contains a 35,000-acre wilderness area owned and managed by the US Forest Service, which is the second largest such area with that designation in the state. Wilderness areas like these aid in increasing biodiversity and helping to fight climate change through carbon sequestration.
Birds of the Sanctuary:
The sanctuary has long been recognized as an excellent place to view wildlife including birds. Nearly 200 species of birds – an astounding number for one location – have been recorded here, including a number of rare and vagrant species. Some of the more common wetland bird sightings include Great Blue Heron, American Bittern, Virginia Rail, Marsh Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, and Alder Flycatcher, as well as a large diversity of waterfowl species and migrant shorebirds. Local birders conduct an annual ‘Big Sit’ birding event in October to witness and record bird migration, as well as share it with the visiting public. Over 50 species have been tallied in a single day from this platform during October.
Decades ago, ornithologist, Dr. Beverly Ridgely, author of the first edition of Birds of the Squam Lake Region, began visiting the sanctuary and keeping detailed records of his observations. He passed on this love to his son and world-renowned ornithologist, Dr. Robert Ridgely. He and his wife, Peg, neighbors of the sanctuary, have been a constant presence, providing guidance, vision, and expertise. Thanks to the Ridgely’s – Beverly, Robert and Peg – for helping NH Audubon fulfill the vision for completing the boardwalk. In honor of their contributions to conservation and ornithology, the platform at the end of the boardwalk trail is named for Drs. Beverly and Robert Ridgely.
Sit awhile here, letting the wildlife come to you, and consider all the steps that have led to what defines this special place as a ‘sanctuary’. As you enjoy your observations and the tremendous view, reflect upon the importance of wild places for both wildlife…and people. You are part of this story, too.