BIP.guru

Big Island Pond — an independent record of construction on the lake

About this site

A great deal of construction is taking place on our lake. This site lets residents follow that progress and monitor compliance with the governing rules and regulations.

It serves a different purpose than the lake's official Facebook page: we focus on visual evidence that keeps residents informed. We do not take images down because the conditions they show may be considered controversial. The goal is simply to empower residents with useful information.

Everything posted here is documented in good faith from observable, dated imagery. This site is run by residents and is not affiliated with the lake association or its official page.

The problem

Protecting New Hampshire's lakes takes a level of accountability and transparency that simply doesn't exist today. This case is a textbook example of how it breaks down: contractors subcontract the work to one another, and when something goes wrong, every party claims to know nothing. Rules, regulations, and deed restrictions meant to protect the shoreline get flagrantly violated. And when concerned neighbors raise questions, the organizations that should be holding people accountable — lake associations and the like — receive donations, and the issues everyone once agreed mattered quietly fade away.

Before & after

The satellite imagery still shows these lots as full forest canopy — it predates the cutting. The drone shows the same ground today: clearcut.

Before and after: satellite forest canopy versus drone clearcut — Left: satellite (pre-clearing) — forested shoreline, with the cove at upper right. Right: drone, 2026 — the same lots clearcut. Side-by-side for comparison; not a pixel-aligned overlay.

Construction map

Each orange marker is a construction site. Click it to zoom in and see what's happening. Use the Map / Satellite toggle (top-right) to switch to aerial view.

The wetlands (Lots 17 & 19)

The wetland was cleared and driven through with heavy equipment. It sits along the 17/19 property line, impacting both properties. Click the 📷 badges for ground photos. Lot lines are from Derry GIS and are being verified against the recorded deed.

Wetland (approx.) Lot lines (Derry GIS) Shoreline

Aerial of the 17/19/25 corner where the property line forks three ways — The **17/19/25 corner** (marker 3). The property line is a three-way Y here: the 17/19 line runs down to marker 4, and two lines fork off toward Lot 25. The cleared wetland — black standing water — sits in close proximity to the 17/19 line. Located from four GPS-marked ground points (orange); angles approximate.

High aerial with all four marker points and water spreading east — Higher view with all four GPS markers; the cleared wetland and standing water spread east toward the cove.

Aerial showing the swamp continuing north onto Lot 25 — The swamp continues north onto Lot 25 — hard to see here, covered by vegetation.

Aerial showing the full extent of the clearing across both lots — The overall clearing — log piles, equipment, and the churned ground spanning Lots 17 and 19.

Aerial of the logging operation looking north — skidder, stacked logs, and equipment — The scale of the operation — a skidder, stacked logs, trucks, and standing water in the churned ground.

The 100 ft no-cut zone (Lot 19)

A deed restriction prohibits cutting trees within 100 feet of the shoreline. They cut to roughly 35 ft from the water — encroaching about 65 ft into the protected zone.

Before and after: the 100 ft no-cut zone, forested in pre-clearing satellite imagery versus clearcut in the 2026 drone shot — **Before & after, same ground.** Left: pre-clearing satellite — the red band is the protected 100 ft no-cut zone, fully forested. Right: the 2026 drone shot — that same band clearcut to the water (red = clearing inside 100 ft).

Drone close-up of the cove: the shoreline, the 100 ft no-cut line, and the clearcut inside it shaded red — Close-up at the cove: the smoothed **shoreline** (blue), the **100 ft no-cut line** (yellow), and the **clearcut inside the 100 ft zone** (red). The 100 ft line is calibrated to the GPS ground markers; the cut reaches to roughly 35 ft from the water.

Documentation log

June 2026 drone view of the 17/19 line: skidder parked in the cleared wetland on Lot 19, standing water in the ruts — June 2026 — skidder parked in the wetland on Lot 19

September 2026

Wetlands on Lot 19 being filled

The image on the left shows the wetlands with a Skidder parked in the middle of the wetlands on lot 19. The image on the right shows the wetlands now. In the last week the wetlands were roughly half filled in with fresh fill brought in in the last week. Approximately 36 more cubic yards were brought in today after the picture on the right was taken. The fill is being brought in by Lannan. Lot 19 is reportedly owned by Maison.

When the drone pilot arrived to take photos of the wetlands filling on Lot 19, Lannan was there and was extremely hostile and threatening, including threatening to damage the drone for flying over his property. The drone only flew over Lot 19, Maison's property. The drone pilot has never (in all his life) experienced such threatening and hostile behavior.

Contractors

Contractors documented working on the construction in this area:

Steve Lannan, Derry
John Maison, Atkinson
Burl Land Clearing & Stump Grinding, Manchester — clearing both lots. Says he was subcontracted by Lannan.

Comments

Comments are welcome — keep them factual and civil, and stick to what you've observed. Posts are reviewed before they appear; spam and defamatory content won't be published.

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