College Adopts Policy To Protect Moosilauke

To preserve the summit and higher slopes of Mt. Moosilauke in a natural state, as one of a diminishing number of Alpine areas in the eastern United States still retaining ecological integrity, Dartmouth College has announced a policy of limited use of the 4810-foot mountain.

Under the new policy announced by Charles A. Merrill, director of outdoor affairs, neither overnight camping nor open fires will be permitted on the College-owned summit and southern and western slopes of the mountain, westernmost of the higher New Hampshire peaks of the White Mountains.

Since 1920, Dartmouth has been given or acquired more than 2000 acres in the Mount Moosilauke area, including all the summit above the tree line and a portion of the Jobildunc Ravine, for combined use as a natural laboratory for educational and other purposes and also as part of the College's timberlands. It is being used particularly for Dartmouth's environmental studies program, and this past summer, for the second time, the Dartmouth-Moosilauke Resources Center offered organizations and groups daily programs of field trips focusing on the natural environment.

As part of Dartmouth's timberland holdings, Dartmouth is following the same sustained yield practices at Moosilauke as the College follows at the Dartmouth College Grant in Coos County. However, no cutting whatever will be permitted above the 3000-foot elevation on Mount Moosilauke.

There has been increasing public use of the mountain, along the network of trails up its broad slopes, including the Appalachian Trail which crosses over it, exposing the area to over-use and damage to the mountain's ecological system. Therefore the College is putting into effect a policy designed to protect the fragile mountaintop environment. This policy is similar to that adopted by the White Mountain National Forest which controls the western and northern slopes of the mountain. The Forest Service Policy, which is also intended to protect the environment, prohibits campfires above timberline and discourages people from camping above timber-line.