A new angler access trail has opened at the Forest Society’sAmmonoosuc River Forest in Bethlehem, NH. The trail provides access for fishing on the Ammonoosuc via a “sustainable” path that limits environmental impact.

Funding for the project included contributions from the NH Land & Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), the NH Fish & Game Department’s Fisheries Habitat Account, the NH Charitable Foundation’s Upper Connecticut River Mitigation & Enhancement Fund, and “Moose Plate” funds provided by the NH State Conservation Committee. Trout Unlimited and its members also played a key role by providing more than $60,000 in direct funding.

The Forest Society acquired the 273-acre Ammonoosuc River Forest property in 2020 from previous owners Dick and Nancy Gould, who generously sold the land along 1.8 miles of the Ammonoosuc at a price well below market value. The Ammonoosuc is one of the largest rivers in the northern White Mountains, originating in Lakes of the Clouds on Mt. Washington’s western slope and flowing westward to meet the Connecticut River in Woodsville. Featuring scenic vistas and cold-water fisheries in its upper reaches, the Ammonoosuc River is home to wild brook trout, as well as rainbows and browns.

Haystack Brook, which flows northerly through the property and into the Ammonoosuc River, provides high-quality habitat for eastern brook trout, both as a refuge from high mainstem temperatures in the summer and as spawning ground in the fall.