Pitch pine trees growing here grew thick insulating bark that can withstand the heat of fire. Suppressing fires too often and not allowing them to be part of pitch pine's life cycle have reduced the number of trees drastically. Now the only remaining pine barrens along the Merrimack River are located in Concord. In the Ossipee watershed there are only 2000 acres of pitch pine and scrub oak. These pine barrens don't just sustain trees.
Many wildlife species call the dense canopy and understory of scrub oak and blueberry bushes home.
One consequence of wildfire suppression in these areas is that several wildlife species have become endangered. Some of these species are globally rare, five occur only in the state on this site, and the pine pinyon moth is listed as endangered species in New Hampshire. The Karner Blue butterfly, a federally-listed endangered species, exists near the Concord airport near the Merrimack River on the pine barrens. This butterfly is now restricted to remnant populations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, New York, Illinois and New Hampshire. Long term prospect in New Hampshire are poor due to small numbers and fragmented habitat.