New Hampshire
‘Overrun by rodents’: N.H. shelter begins adoptions after receiving over 800 mice and rats – The Boston Globe
Now, it’s up to staff at the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Stratham to figure out how to care for the critters and what happens to them next. And no one expects that to happen overnight.
“It’s going to be a very long haul,” said Sheila Ryan, director of development and marketing at the NHSPCA,where shelter staff already have converted at least two rooms into rodent quarters, moving other animals to different wings to make room for the newcomers.
More mice were still en route to the shelter as of Monday, Ryan said, adding that shelter staff were making extra trips back to the man’s house to collect more of them.
“We do get cases sometimes where people have, you know, 40 cats or 60 dogs,” Ryan said. They also take in mice “on a regular basis.” But the sheer numbers in this instance are different than anything the Stratham shelter has seen before.
“My understanding is that they started off with a group of same-sex mice, and then added mice [of the opposite sex] to the mix, and breeding began,” said Ryan. The mice in the home were cohabitating and breeding in an uncontrolled way, she said.
Once mice start breeding, they can reproduce at a very fast pace, experts said.
In fact, even allowing just a few pet mice to reproduce, it would only take around seven months to end up with 800, according to Matthew MacManes, a professor of genome enabled biology at the University of New Hampshire, whose research includes mice.
MacManes said he had never heard of anything like this happening before. “Usually people would understand and stop this far before,” he said.
Mice can reproduce from the time they’re about 6 weeks old, and pregnancy lasts around 20 days, so it would only take about eight or nine weeks to create a new generation, given litter sizes ranging from six to eight pups and no mortality, according to MacManes.
He said without predators, their growth can quickly become exponential.
“I assume that this is a man or a family that just loved these animals, and whatever happened, this just sort of got out of control,” he said. “Maybe they didn’t realize the speed with which these animals could reproduce.”
Ryan Calsbeek, a professor of biological sciences at Dartmouth College, agreed: In the wild, predators keep rodents in check and can restore balance even if a population swells in a particular year.
But when mice are allowed to reproduce freely in the safety of captivity, “Your world can be overrun by rodents in very little time,” he said.
“I don’t know what this guy’s backstory is, if he was an enthusiast, or if he just accidentally had a breeding pair together and then didn’t know what to do with them, and things got out of hand,” said Calsbeek. “But either of those scenarios, if left unchecked, you can be overwhelmed readily.”
By Tuesday afternoon, Ryan estimated they had received at least 650 mice, and shelter staff had discovered a second species, taking in an additional 185 smooth-haired rats, which are only slightly larger than the fancy mice surrendered.Fancy mice — which come in a variety of colors — are a domesticated form of the house mouse that are sometimes raised to compete in shows.
She said given the right conditions, mice can make great, low-maintenance pets.
“They’re really entertaining to have in your home, and they’re adorable,” she said.
Some of the rodents already have found new homes. As of Monday, about 18 had been adopted, 50 had been placed on pregnancy watch in foster homes, and around 100 had been transferred to other animal shelters around the region from Connecticut, to Maine, and around New Hampshire, according to Ryan, who noted that more than 10 mice had to be euthanized because they were sick.
She said the community has responded with an outpouring of donations: tanks, food, treats, and wheels on which the rodents to play.
Still, Ryan said the process of adopting the rodents could take several months.
“It’s a niche market,” Ryan said. “Not everybody sees the joy in mice.”
Some of the rodents are up for adoption by the NHSPCA. The organization also publishes a wish list online of needed items, and they accept donations to an SOS Fund for neglected animals.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
New Hampshire
N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe
One proposal (Senate Bill 627) would generate more than $53 million per year in estimated revenue for turnpike projects by essentially doubling what certain cars pay on the state’s toll roads.
The cash fare for Hampton’s main toll booth on Interstate 95, for example, would jump from $2 to $4 for cars and pickup trucks. The toll wouldn’t increase at all for motorists who use New Hampshire’s E-ZPass transponders.
“Surrounding states already have the same in-state discount structure in place,” Democratic Representative Martin Jack of Nashua wrote on behalf of a House committee that unanimously recommended the bill.
A potential hitch: Governor Kelly Ayotte. She’s expressed opposition to the whole toll-hiking idea, and proven she’s not afraid to use her veto pen.
Modifying civil rights standard
Another proposal (Senate Bill 464) would add a few words to the state’s Civil Rights Act. Instead of addressing conduct that is merely “motivated by” a legally protected characteristic, the proposed revision would address conduct that is “substantially motivated by hostility towards the victim’s” protected characteristic (such as their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability).
The prime sponsor, Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, an attorney, testified the change was small and aligned with the law’s intent. But the attorney who oversees the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Sean Locke, testified in opposition, saying the proposal could reduce protections, especially since the meaning of “substantially” is somewhat vague.
The House is also weighing a proposed amendment that would add a few more words than Abbas’s version, potentially narrowing the Civil Rights Act’s applicability a bit further.
Open enrollment for K-12 schools
A third proposal up for a vote on Thursday (Senate Bill 101) would make every K-12 public school in New Hampshire an “open enrollment” school. That way, students could freely choose to transfer to a district other than the one where they live.
The proposed policy is controversial, partly because of how schools are funded. Districts rely mostly on local property taxes to cover their costs, as the state government chips in relatively little, and property tax rates vary widely from one community to the next. That generates concern about who will foot the bill when a student transfers.
In light of those concerns, Republicans are offering a compromise amendment to SB 101 that would require the state to provide more money per pupil that a district receives via open enrollment, as the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. Democrats are offering their own amendment to establish a study commission on this topic, rather than adopt the proposed policy now.
Lawmakers have until May 14 to take action on the bills that came from the other chamber, though they have until June 4 to iron out any discrepancies.
Amanda Gokee of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
Boston MedFlight often touches down at the scene of some of the worst tragedies in New England – where minutes can mean life or death for a victim. The critical care transport operation is now expanding with a new base in New Hampshire.
The organization is hosting an open house at the new Manchester location on Thursday.
Boston MedFlight flies a critical care transport paramedic and nurse on every flight. Jaik Hanley-McCarthy says their helicopters and ground vehicles are equipped to handle just about any emergency medical procedure.
“Anything that can be done in the ICU,” explained Hanley-McCarthy. “We have a mobile lab so we can draw blood and run labs in real time.”
Boston MedFlight now has five bases across the region.
“Having a base in Manchester just expands this Boston-level care even further north to the more remote areas of the state,” said Hanley-McCarthy.
Boston MedFlight operates as a network of bases and some of the locations are staffed 24 hours.
Chief Executive Officer Maura Hughes says the nonprofit operation survives on public and private donations.
“We provide about $7 million in free care every year to patients,” said Hughes. “Not every hospital can be everything to every patient. We’re really the glue that keeps the health care system together.”
Heather Young says her daughter, Teighan, is still alive because she was flown for a critical assessment and procedure after falling off a truck and hitting her head.
“She should not be driving and walking and talking and all the things she’s doing as quickly as she is,” said Young.
Teighan just turned 18 and plans to go to college to study the medical field.
“I want to be a nurse and help other people,” she said.
It’s stories like this that keep the men and women who work Boston MedFlight focused on their mission.
“I think we just go call by call and try to do the best we can,” said Hanley-McCarthy. “I think when we stop and truly think about it, I think that weight is pretty heavy.”
Boston MedFlight also has a yearly reunion where patients and the team get together here in Bedford to meet and check in on their progress. It really shows you how connected they are to the people they help.
New Hampshire
Hiker who set out in warm spring weather found dead after snowstorm in New Hampshire mountains
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A Massachusetts hiker who set out in warm spring weather was found dead deep in New Hampshire’s White Mountains after a snowstorm dumped several inches of snow in the area, authorities said.
Kent Wood, 61, of West Roxbury, was discovered Tuesday evening on a remote section of the Kinsman Pond Trail in Franconia Notch, about 5.5 miles from his vehicle, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Wood had driven to Franconia Notch on April 17 for a weekend camping and hiking trip, and set out on a hike the next morning in warm, clear weather, officials said. Family and friends last heard from him Saturday afternoon.
When he failed to return or make contact for two days, officials said relatives reported him missing Tuesday morning, prompting a large-scale search.
HIKER IDENTIFIED, POPULAR TRAIL CLOSED AFTER DEADLY FALL A UTAH’S ZION NATIONAL PARK
An aerial view of Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire, where a hiker was found dead on Tuesday. (Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group, File)
Rescuers quickly learned Wood had packed for mild conditions, not the three to five inches of snow that fell in the area between Sunday and Monday.
Fog hovers over a narrow road through Franconia Notch in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire on Dec. 27, 2021. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis)
Search teams from Fish and Game, PEMI Valley Search and Rescue, and the Army National Guard launched a coordinated effort, focusing on the Lonesome Lake and Kinsman Pond areas.
FAMILY’S SPRING BREAK HIKE TURNS INTO LIFE-OR-DEATH RESCUE AFTER PARENT FALLS 70 FEET OFF UTAH CLIFF
Conservation officers located Wood’s body around 7:41 p.m. Tuesday. Crews carried him out overnight, reaching the trailhead shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.
Franconia Notch and the Appalachian Trail are seen in New Hampshire on Sept. 21. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
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Since Friday, six hikers from Massachusetts have been rescued in the White Mountains, Fish and Game said.
Officials are reminding hikers that winter conditions still grip the mountains, with snow, freezing temperatures and rapidly changing weather.
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