Busy weekend for F&G and medical crews

[jhwentworth 307]

Probably just saying what's obvious, but it looks like conditions were marginal at best over the weekend. Lots of bare ground around the Concord area. Chance of some snow Tuesday night and again Wednesday night through Friday morning. Lots of open water. We're getting late in the 4'th quarter with no timeouts.

Three snowmobile accidents made the news, but I'd bet there were a lot of other incidents that were handled without publicity.

 

Salem Man Seriously injured In Snowmobile Crash, Flown By DHART
Thomas Connell II of Salem was operating a snowmobile in Lincoln. New Hampshire Fish and Game say poor trail conditions contributed
Jeffrey Hastings,
Posted Sat, Feb 18, 2023 at 9:41 pm ET
Updated Sat, Feb 18, 2023 at 9:52 pm ET
Thomas Connell II of Salem was operating a snowmobile in Lincoln. New Hampshire Fish and Game say poor trail conditions contributed to the crash
New Hampshire Fish & Game Department was notified of a snowmobile crash that occurred on the Franconia Notch State Park Bike Path, which becomes the Corridor 11 snowmobile trail in the winter.
Conservation Officers say that Thomas Connell II, 53, of Salem, NH, was seriously injured in a single machine crash while operating a snowmobile with a group of family members.
Thomas was transported from the scene by the Lincoln Fire Department and Linwood Ambulance Service. He was taken to Littleton Regional Healthcare in Littleton, NH, and then flown via DHART helicopter to Dartmouth Health in Lebanon, NH for further treatment.
The crash occurred approximately a half-mile north of the Flume Gorge Visitor’s Center Parking Lot. Extremely poor trail conditions are considered to be contributing factors to the crash however the crash remains under investigation.
New Hampshire Fish and Game Conservation Officers caution riders that trail conditions in most of New Hampshire are poor at this time. Many trail systems are closed and ones that are still open should be used with caution. Poor trail conditions can lead to dangerous snowmobile situations very quickly.

Woman Seriously Injured In Rollover Snowmobile Crash In Pittsburg
Courtney Tedeschi from Albany, NY was riding near the First Connecticut Lake in Pittsburg when she lost control and rolled over.
Jeffrey Hastings,
Posted Sat, Feb 18, 2023 at 7:56 pm ET
|Updated Sat, Feb 18, 2023 at 9:50 pm ET
Courtney Tedeschi from  Albany, NY  was riding near the First Connecticut Lake in Pittsburg when she lost control and rolled over.
PITTSBURG, NH - Rescue personnel from 45th Parallel EMS, Pittsburg Fire and Rescue, and with New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, responded to a restaurant near First Connecticut Lake in Pittsburg Colebrook Dispatch received a 911 call Saturday at approximately 3:30 p.m. for a female with an upper-body injury from a snowmobile rollover crash located in the restaurant.
The woman operator involved was identified as Courtney Tedeschi, 27, of Albany, New York. Witness statements and snowmobile damage indicate Tedeschi was traveling across First Connecticut Lake when she lost control of her snowmobile.
Tedeschi was abruptly thrown from her snowmobile causing severe injuries to her upper body. Tedeschi was driven to the nearby restaurant by her fiancée. The 45th Parallel EMS team evaluated Tedeschi before being transported to Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital for her injuries.
NH Fish and Game’s Conservation Officers want to remind snowmobilers that with the ongoing unstable winter, riders need to be cautious of ice conditions, pressure ridges, and snow drifts when operating snowmobiles and OHRVs.

Haverhill Woman Injured In Dixville Snowmobile Crash
Conservation Officers say Dawn Lemieux was thrown from her machine and injured her legs. Poor trail conditions cause issues over the weekend
Jeffrey Hastings,
Posted Sun, Feb 19, 2023 at 8:40 pm ET
DIXVILLE, NH - Colebrook Dispatch received a 911 call for a female who was reportedly injured in a snowmobile rollover crash and was currently at L.L. Cote Store.
Colebrook Dispatch notified members of the 45th Parallel EMS, along with Errol Fire and Rescue, while NH State Police Troop F notified a New Hampshire Fish and Game Conservation officer.
Conservation Officers say that woman operating the snowmobile was Dawn Lemieux, 52, of Haverhill, MA. Witness statements to officers indicate that Lemieux was traveling on Dixville Peaks Trail which is a steep, icy, and challenging trail
Lemieux lost control while going down this trail and was abruptly thrown off the machine at a sharp corner. She suffered unknown injuries to both legs.
The snowmobile was not damaged and Lemieux was able to ride the snowmobile several miles before reaching Errol, where her riding companions called for assistance.
Lemieux was evaluated by the Errol EMS and Rescue team before being transported to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin to be checked out for precautionary reasons.
New Hampshire Fish and Game warns riders to be aware of the current conditions on the trail systems are poor and lack snow.
Conservation Officers responded to two other snowmobile accidents over the weekend, one in Lincoln that injured a Salem Man and one in Pittsburg that injured a woman from Albany, NY

[pathfinder 96]

Makes you wonder if the icy conditions this winter have contributed to the rash of accidents that seem to be covering the state? 

Got to feel bad for Fish and Game when the numbers climb. They always seem to be a good distance to the latest accident scene.

pathfinder

[Saluda 110]

I think so, funny in this tough winter some places report "great" conditions. Granted I'm not there but it makes me wonder. Also wonder if it makes sledders run a bit faster than they should.

F & G IMO is understaffed.

 

Edited February 21 by Saluda

[jhwentworth 307]

Has anybody here ridden Trail 134 (Dixville Peak Trail) over Dixville Peak since the wind turbines were put up? Looks like there's several of them on Dixville Peak Road that travels from Route 26 to the peak.When I read the story about the Haverhill. MA woman who got hurt there I wondered if the trail was the same. Years ago, once you passed the peak and were headed towards Kelsey Notch there was a brutal drop from the peak. I can't imagine that they still use that portion of the trail. I was told that the sleds weren't allowed to come close to the turbines.

If you use Google Earth you can see how those turbines changed what was a pretty remote area.

[Saluda 110]

Been reading about them falling over. (not there)

[pathfinder 96]

20 hours ago, Saluda said:

I think so, funny in this tough winter some places report "great" conditions. Granted I'm not there but it makes me wonder. Also wonder if it makes sledders run a bit faster than they should.

F & G IMO is understaffed.

 

Your observation about understaffing F&G has been talked about for many years, as more and more things appear for them to attend to.  Last I knew  there are about 50 officers to cover the state. Figuring people on vacation, home sick, court appearances, and other distractions, that real number is closer to 40. Knowing our state is a vast area to deal with that number seems totally inadequate to deal with accidents, running radar,  checking fishing licenses, hunting licenses, Four wheelers, dirt bikes...the list goes on and on, and the number of bodies to fill the need remains pretty much the same. Does it seem to be a job that cant be done by such a small number of  officers?

pathfinder

[Saluda 110]

Plus rescues, the State should invest more $$ s in F & G. Due to under staffing bet it's not being done as it should be.

[jhwentworth 307]

1 hour ago, Saluda said:

Plus rescues, the State should invest more $$ s in F & G. Due to under staffing bet it's not being done as it should be.

It would be difficult for the state to contribute less.

It wasn't until around 2011 that the state general fund contributed anything to F&G. By FY2018 the general fund contributed about 3% of F&G budget. In 2018 F&G got a third of their budget from the Feds, and another third from licenses. In FY 2021 the general fund contributed about 5% of the F&G budget. The Feds contributed about 24%. In FY2021 the total F&G budget was $33.8 million. Over half of the funding was spent on 190 fulltime employees and 90 part-time employees.