Conservation Video: Fighting Northern Pass

Conservation Video: The proposed Northern Pass power lines will look similar to these current high-voltage power lines in Haverhill, New Hampshire.

The proposed Northern Pass power lines will look similar to these current high-voltage power lines in Haverhill, New Hampshire.

Northern Pass Hurts New Hampshire Families from Jerry Monkman on Vimeo.

For the past several months I have been working on a series of videos for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests that describe the negative impacts of the proposed Northern Pass electricity transmission line in New Hampshire. Northern Pass is a joint venture between Northeast Utilities, PSNH, and Hydro Quebec to bring power through New Hampshire to southern New England. This will involve the construction of approximately 1100 towers that will carry 180 miles of high-voltage transmission lines. Approximately 40 of these miles will require a new right of way through Coos County towns such as Clarksville, Stewartstown, and Pittsburg. The remaining 140 miles will follow an existing right of way south through the White Mountains and Lakes Region, ending in the central New Hampshire town of Deerfield. The changes to this existing right of way will be significant, adding the new steel high voltage towers (as high as 120 feet) next to the existing low voltage wooden towers that are only about 50 feet in height. This will severely impact the scenic values of the area in addition to creating health concerns for those living near the new towers.

There is a large grassroots effort underway to stop the construction of Northern Pass, which brings little public benefit to New Hampshire, as the state will not use this power, and it is debatable whether or not it is even needed in southern New England, as current projections show future electricity demand in the region will remain flat at least through 2020.

The above video shows how Northern Pass will impact a family who lives near the current right of way in Deerfield, while the below video discusses the impacts of the new towers on the White Mountain National Forest.

Northern Pass Hurts the White Mountains from Jerry Monkman on Vimeo.

To learn more about this issue, visit the Forest Society’s Northern Pass website and http://www.livefreeorfry.org/.

2 thoughts on “Conservation Video: Fighting Northern Pass

  1. as a Realtor in Ann Arbor, Michigan (Go Blue!) for 30 years, I can attest to the damage caused to home values by the installation of overhead power lines.

    I would be happy to make a small contribution ( as a retiree) to the struggle against Japanese knotweed in New Hampshire. Here in Michigan we fight a different invasive — purple loosestrife — but I was stunned to see the knotweed on Gore Road in Lancaster.

    Helen corey

  2. Pingback: Conservation Video: An Opportunity in the Fight Against Northern Pass - EcoPhotography

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