Indian Leap - Agassiz Basin

Great Swimming Holes in New Hampshire

With the exception of Welton Falls in Alexandria, Indian Leap (aka Agassiz Basin) is more of an adrenaline rush than any leap we've discovered yet.

At about 50 feet, the largest of the cliffs at this Woodstock swimming hole provides a heart thumping opportunity to leap into the abyss.

Also known as Agassiz Basin after the legendary Harvard professor and scientist Louis Agassiz, this is one swimming hole not to be missed.

While there are several cliffs for jumping and diving there are also many nice pools for just plain swimming and wading and from Indian Leap downriver there are more spots to explore. During the hottest part of the summer you'll find a fair number of people enjoying this spot but in early and late summer as well as on days that are a bit less pleasant, it's quite likely you'll have it to yourself.

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Scorecard
Cleanliness 4; Purity 5; Kid Factor 5; Beauty 5

Directions: Rte 112 from Woodstock approximately 3 miles. Watch for three parking areas on the left after passing the Lost River Campground. Indian Leap is adjacent to a seasonal restaurant Giovanni's and parking space is shared with them. Parking in the lot closest to the swimming area is closed after 4pm so you must park down a bit further.

Swimming Both Ways in the Green Stream

Green Alliance Supports Businesses and Consumers in their Efforts to Go Green

Sometimes it’s difficult to reach out to both businesses and consumers in our complex and entrepreneurial business environment. The risk of course is that each feels they are getting less than the other and the buzz from that begins to interfere with your mission.

No so with the Green Alliance.

Why?

Because the participation of both businesses (known as partners in GA parlance) and Coop Members have a synergistic effect on one another. As more businesses join the Green Alliance, offering broader discounts to Coop Members, more consumers are encouraged to join the coop to qualify for those discounts.

According to their website, The Green Alliance was born from a partnership of community environmental advocacy and business ingenuity. Green Alliance founding businesses, Simply Green Biofuels and Purely Organic Lawncare, were trying to break-in to markets dominated by fossil fuels and toxic herbicides and pesticides, when they realized that an alliance might bring more tangible results. Simply Green owner Andrew Kellar and Purely Organic head James Reinertson knew that Seacoast residents using BioHeat/biodiesel were probably interested in organic lawn care and vice versa - Kellar and Reinertson promptly began offering each other's customers mutual discounts and sharing best business practices and marketing techniques.

At the same time, community activist, Sarah Brown was working in Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, Maine on environmental issues - focused on individual energy use and personal environmental impact. As her advocacy work widened to include towns and then business, Brown saw that some businesses were leading the way in sustainability. Believing that “as business goes, so goes the public” Brown gave shape to the Green Alliance. An affiliation of business partners, reaching out to consumers eager to go green.

The formula was simple really. . . though implementation is never simple. Green Businesses become partners of the Alliance and are required to offer discounts to Coop members as a condition of membership. Their benefits include access to the growing number of Coop Members, assistance with marketing and branding, advice on additional ways to green their business, and much more. Most important in many respects is the opportunity for a third party evaluation of their services that helps distinguish them in the marketplace and asserts their green credentials in a credible fashion.

On the other side of the spectrum, consumers may join the Green Alliance as Coop Members for a modest annual fee ($35 at this writing). Membership qualifies them for the discounts offered by the Business Partners.

The Green Alliance’s geographic reach is purposefully modest. They believe strongly that focusing their efforts on the Seacoast region of NH and Maine assures that the quality of their effort will not be diluted by distance-imposed factors.

While the Green Alliance’s reach may be modest, their example can reach to every corner of the globe. The model is replicable, simple and elegant. It’s an idea that might just catch on like wildfire.

The Green Alliance
909 Islington Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
(207) 438-9160
www.greenalliance.biz

Working to Preserve the Beauty of Squam

Protecting Our Resources

The beauty and tranquility of Squam Lakes is the result of years of work by thousands of volunteers and the organizations they have built to preserve the legacy. Each of these organizations has its own unique story to tell and we hope in the future to play a part in telling their story. Their work is a significant part of the ongoing story of Squam. We encourage you contact them to contribute land, financial assistance and to volunteer your time and energy.

Lakes Region Conservation Trust
Since 1979, the Lakes Region Conservation Trust has protected more than 17,000 acres of shore frontage, islands, forests, and mountaintops, including the 5,500-acre Castle in the Clouds property. LRCT needs your help to preserve the unique character of the region and teach the benefits of conservation to our children and grandchildren. We encourage you to learn about the Trust, to visit their protected lands, and to invest in preserving our precious natural heritage.

Lakes Region Conservation Trust
P.O. Box 1097, Meredith, NH 03253
603-279-3246
www.lrct.org
lrct@metrocast.net


Squam Lakes Association
The Squam Lakes Association (SLA) is dedicated to conserving for the public benefit the natural beauty, peaceful character and unique resource values of the lakes and surrounding area. In cooperation with local and state authorities and other conservation organizations, the Association promotes the protection, careful use and shared enjoyment of the lakes, mountains, forests, open spaces and wildlife of the Squam Lakes Region. Since 1904 the Squam Lakes Association has worked to preserve the character of the Squam Lakes.

Squam Lakes Association
P.O. Box 204, Holderness, NH 03245
603-968-7336
www.squamlakes.org
info@squamlakes.org


Squam Lakes Conservation Society
The Squam Lakes Conservation Society's mission is to preserve the unique quality and character of the Squam watershed by protecting lands forpresent and future generations. SLCS was formed in 1960 by long-timeresidents of the area, making it one of the oldest land trusts and theonly one exclusively focused on the Squam watershed. The SLCS, with 57properties in their care, envisions a unique region of islands,shorefront, back lands, and mountains wherein a harmony between thenatural environment and mankind is preserved forever. SLCS achieves the long-term protection of land by seeking, holding, andmonitoring conservation easements and by accepting land ownership. Asland values and property taxes continue to rise, conservation effortsbecome more urgent to counteract the pressure to subdivide, sell ordevelop Squam's special places. SLCS staff can offer advice andassistance to landowners interested in taking conservation action.

Squam Lakes Conservation Society
P.O. Box 696, Holderness, NH 03245
603- 968-7900
www.squamlakes.com
info@squamlakes.com


Loon Preservation Committee
For over 25 years, the Loon Preservation Committee has worked to preserve loons and their habitats in New Hampshire through research, management and education activities.The support of members and volunteers allows LPC to monitor the abundance and breeding successof loons; to record trends in loon populations and assess the effectiveness of conservation efforts; to build and float nesting rafts and protect nesting sites and much more. Their Wildlife Sanctuary and Educational Facility, commonly known as the Loon Center is located in Wolfeboro.

Loon Preservation Committee
183 Liss’s Mills Road, Moultonborough, NH 03254
603-476-5666
www.loon.org
ahodges@loon.org


Squam Lakes Natural Science Center
The Squam Lakes Natural Science Center is a private non-profit organization located in Holderness whose mission is to advance understanding of ecology by exploring New Hampshire's natural world. At the main center visitors will find exciting exhibits including many of the most interesting animal species from the region and educational programs that teach conservation principles to school children and visitors. The Center’s exhibits and trails are open seasonally but the educational mission of Squam Lakes Science Center continues throughout the year with educational programs and conservation work for the community and visitors alike.

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center
PO Box 173 • 23 Science Center Road
Holderness, NH 03245
603-968-7194
www.nhnature.org
info@nhnature.org