Perkins Pond WMA, Weare

Perkins Pond WMA, Weare

Weare, New Hampshire 03281

Official Website
Perkins Pond Wildlife Management Area map

About this Location

Fifty-five acres were purchased from a private landowner in 1958 for a dam site and flowage rights. Additional acreage was obtained between 1960 and 1971.

Perkins Pond and its marshes are the most dominant natural features comprising 75 acres of the area. A dam controls the water level of Perkins Pond. The pond consists of emergent and shrub-scrub wetland habitats. The upland area totals 167 acres along the western edge of the marsh and rises some 400 feet in elevation to the top of Mount Misery. The forest consists primarily of oak, beech, birch, maple, white pine, and Eastern hemlock.

Wildlife includes white-tailed deer, snowshoe hare, ruffed grouse, moose, and black bear. Wetland species include a variety of fur-bearing animals, such as beaver and muskrat, and waterfowl, such as mallards, hooded mergansers, black ducks, Canada geese, and wood ducks. You may also see great blue herons, green herons, and American bitterns wading in the pond, looking for fish. The pond contains smallmouth bass, pickerel, and horned pout, and is stocked annually with brook trout.

The water-control structure was completely refurbished in 1993. There is a small parking area located at the dam with a site from which visitors can launch canoes and small boats. Duck boxes are maintained on the marsh. Perkins Pond Marsh was designated a “prime wetland” in 1985 by the Weare Conservation Commission. A wildlife habitat improvement project and timber harvest were conducted during 2003 and 2004. This project included cuts adjacent to the marsh to improve waterfowl habitat and management in the uplands to regenerate aspen and red oak and to release hemlock regeneration.

From South Weare, at the junction of NH-149 and NH-77, take NH-149 west towards Hillsborough 1.7 miles. The marsh lies on the south side of the road. Parking is available for several cars at the dam.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

Content from Official Website

Last updated October 22, 2023