WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST, NEW HAMPSHIRE - AUGUST 12: Landscape views of the White Mountain National Forest, August 12, 2024, in New Hampshire. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Lyme disease is a dangerous yet alarmingly common phenomenon infecting nearly half a million Americans each year. These infections are particularly prevalent in New England and New Hampshire specifically. The Granite State has experienced the third-highest increase in Lyme disease cases nationally, behind Maine and Vermont.
A major factor contributing to this increase in cases is deforestation. Most Americans encounter ticks in a natural setting known as “postage stamp forests,” which are small forests surrounding homes in suburban or exurban areas. These forests are remnants of larger forests that have since been cut up by anthropogenic activity. According to the USDA, 12,160 acres of forest are converted to non-forested land every year in New Hampshire. The direct result is a less biologically diverse animal population consisting of more generalist species.
The white-footed mouse is one of these ecological generalists that thrive in the postage stamp forests, no longer dominated by competition. Unfortunately for us humans, particularly New Englanders, the white-footed mouse is exceptionally inept at grooming ticks off of themselves, thus infecting a massive portion of ticks with Lyme disease. This makes them excellent reservoirs for the disease. In New Hampshire, the white-footed mouse is one of the most abundant mice species in the state’s shrinking forests, contributing to rising cases of Lyme disease.
To compound the issue, opossums are one of the first species to be lost upon the creation of a postage stamp forest. Opossums are often endearingly referred to as “the vacuums of the forest” as they are talented groomers and perfectly equipped to reduce the habitats’ tick population.
Unfortunately, due to the loss of opossums and similar decoy species that don’t transmit the disease, decreased biodiversity dramatically increases Lyme transmission.
New Hampshire residents can reduce the prevalence of Lyme in their state by supporting the conservation initiatives that preserve the Granite State’s forests and wildlife.
The New Hampshire Forest Action Plan, revised every decade, outlines steps to maintain the health of NH forests through land conservation. The most recent Forest Action Plan, published in 2020, proposes avenues to preserve “large, contiguous forest blocks across the state.” Through securing funds and providing incentives for preservation, the 2020 Forest Action Plan outlines how the state can sustain and expand its 1.775 million acres of conserved forest. The Action Plan’s emphasis on preserving continuous stretches of forest is especially important for combatting Lyme disease, as conserving forest fragments will not reduce the white-footed mice population. New Hampshire residents should advocate for the continued implementation of the New Hampshire Forest Action Plan to expand protected, continuous forests in their region.
Additionally, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is currently revising its Wildlife Action Plan for 2025. This Action Plan aspires to preserve biodiversity by protecting threatened habitats and the species that inhabit them. Supporting this endeavor of restoring biodiversity will limit the prevalence of Lyme disease by reducing the dominance of white-footed mice and protecting species like opossums that clear forests of ticks. With rising species variety, white-footed mice will have to compete for resources with other animals, causing their numbers to decline and Lyme disease to become less prevalent in New Hampshire forests.
When in combination, the Forest Action Plan and Wildlife Action Plan will ensure that New Hampshire’s forests are more extensive and more diverse, resulting in both a healthier environment and healthier state residents.
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