North Country

A state trooper chasing a speeder early Saturday morning in the North Country lost control of his cruiser and crashed, allowing the speeder to escape, according to a news release from Troop F.

The release said the chase began about 12:55 am in Franconia when the trooper attempted to stop a gray or silver BMW coupe for a traffic violation.

The vehicle fled on Route 116, a particularly twisty and challenging road, towards Easton.

The Northern Pass electric project is searching for a new, less controversial path through the North Country.

But a small group of landowners is determined to block the utility’s plan even though it means giving up hundreds of thousands of dollars.

NHPR’s Chris Jensen reports.

Sound of piano music.

At 65 years of age Lynne Placey gives piano lessons.

She lives with a cat and a gray-muzzled dog in a small house in Stewartstown.

And she hopes she’s blocking the path of a corporate giant.

The Conservation Law Foundation says the U.S. Department of Energy isn’t providing enough public scrutiny of its environmental impact study on the Northern Pass.

NHPR’s Chris Jensen reports.

The environmental impact statement is an important part of the Department of Energy’s decision whether to approve the 180 mile long hydroelectric transmission project.

That’s why the Conservation Law Foundation is so worried about how the study will be carried out.

Almost 1,100 acres of land in the North Country will be protected against development under a new conservation easement that will benefit loggers, people who enjoy the woods and perhaps most important of all – a devastated bat population. NHPR’s Chris Jensen reports.

The easement will permanently protect more than 1,000 acres of land on Gardner Mountain in Lyman.

It’s an important habitat for wildlife, but especially so for bats.

Emily Brunkhurst, a wildlife biologist with Fish and Game says bats gather in the area to mate.

Three college students were rescued early Tuesday morning after being stranded on a cliff in the Franconia Notch.

Three rock climbers were rescued early Tuesday morning from the Cannon Cliffs in the Franconia Notch, according to a news release from New Hampshire Fish and Game.

The three men were identified as Jonathan Merritt, age 18, of Lander, Wyoming; Jason Reitman, age 18, of Potomac, Maryland; and Alexander MacMillan, age 19, of Boston, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts is expected to announce new rules that will raise the bar on the definition of green energy.

NHPR’s Sam Evans-Brown reports that shift could cost NH electric producers millions of dollars.

Massachusetts is on track to pass new regulations aimed at cutting the amount of greenhouse gasses going into the atmosphere.

The focus is on power from biomass – basically, burning wood to make electricity.

Dwayne Breger of the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources, says there are two good reasons to get the most out of every tree.

The 11 year old girl’s body was pulled from the Connecticut River near her home six days after she went missing.

The AG’s Office has established a reward fund at the Northway Bank in Gorham.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young says even the smallest observation could provide the necessary clue to solve this tragedy.

“We are building a puzzle here. So we need the pieces to be put together to get the big picture, to make the determination, what happened to her.”