Madison Poe, left, leads a line of her National Forest Service colleagues, including, from left, Deanna Eastman, Helon Hoffer, Roland Manbeck, and James Vittetau, as they set fire to a 30 acre parcel of the Hudson Farm, a section of Appalachian Trail corridor land that is part of the White Mountain National Forest in Etna, N.H. on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The burn is the first of the season in New Hampshire and was planned to preserve habitat for bobolinks, songbirds that nest on bare ground in fields of at least 10 acres. Controled burning is also used to reduce excess fuel in fields and forests to prevent wildfires. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Valley News — James M. Patterson