The Loon Center and Markus Wildlife Sanctuary

(Moultonborough)

Center Activities

About the Center

The Loon Center is the headquarters and visitor center of the Loon Preservation Committee, a wholly owned subsidiary of New Hampshire Audubon, and is located on the Frederick and Paula Anna Markus Wildlife Sanctuary in Moultonborough, New Hampshire. The Sanctuary is composed of 200 acres of upland forest, marshes and clear streams including over 5,000 feet of pristine shoreline on Lake Winnipesaukee, one of the largest remaining areas of natural shoreline on the lake.

In addition to staff offices, public meeting rooms and a research laboratory, The Loon Center houses exhibits, displays and the Loon's Feather Gift Shop, selling "all things loon" and with all proceeds benefitting LPC's Loon Recovery Program. Our interpretive exhibits, presentations, and nature trails give people from across the state an introduction to the natural environment of New Hampshire and promote a greater understanding of the natural world.

The Loon Preservation Committee

The Loon Preservation Committee exists to restore and maintain a healthy population of loons throughout New Hampshire; to monitor the health and productivity of loon populations as sentinels of environmental quality; and to promote a greater understanding of loons and the natural world. In 2007, we celebrated a milestone in the relationship between the Loon Preservation Committee and N.H. Audubon: the creation of a governing Board of Trustees for LPC and its reorganization as a separate 501(c)(3) organization. LPC is now a "constituent organization" of N.H. Audubon. The LPC Board supervises the LPC executive director and takes responsibility for the governance of LPC.

For over 25 years, the Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) has worked to preserve loons and their habitats in New Hampshire through research, management and educational activities. The support of our members and volunteers allows us to:

• Monitor the abundance and breeding success of loons to record trends in loon populations and assess the effectiveness of our efforts;
• Build and float nesting rafts and protect nest sites;
• Band loons to determine their life history and the health of New Hampshire lakes;
• Recover dead loons and inviable loon eggs to determine contaminant levels and causes of death;
• Digitally map loon nesting and nursery sites to ensure protective buffers around development and public access points;
• Educate the public about loons through presentations, signs, fact sheets, and a web site (www.loon.org);
• Publish findings of our research in the LPC Newsletter and science journals; and,
• Create a large grass-roots network of members and volunteers who help build awareness and appreciation for loons.

Anyone who delights in the calls of loons or simply values protecting the loon's place in New Hampshire's ecosystems should belong to the Loon Preservation Committee as well as New Hampshire Audubon, because membership in one group does not convey member status in the other.

Directions

From North or South on Interstate I-93

Take Exit 23 in New Hampton and take Route 104 East to Meredith for approximately 10 miles. At the intersection of Rt. 104 and Rt. 3, turn left at the light. At the bottom of the hill, bear right onto Rt. 25 to Center Harbor. Continue through Center Harbor towards Moultonborough for approximately 5 miles. At the Moultonborough Central School, turn right onto Blake Rd. Continue to the end of Blake Rd and turn Right onto Lee’s Mills Rd. The Loon Center is a short distance on the left (183 Lee’s Mills Rd., Moultonborough, NH).

From North or South on Rt. 16

At West Ossipee, turn west onto Route 25. Continue on Rt. 25 for approximately 11 miles through Moultonborough. Turn left onto Blake Rd. at the Moultonborough Central School. Continue to the end of Blake Rd. and turn Right onto Lee’s Mills Rd. The Loon Center is a short distance on the left (183 Lee’s Mills Rd., Moultonborough, NH).