______________________________________________________
CONTENTS
(click on the topics below to
get more information)
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NHEP
ACTIVITIES
10/1/03
– NHEP Presentation at Great Bay Coast Watch
Jennifer
Hunter presented information about the NHEP and the upcoming State of the
Estuaries Report to Great Bay Coast Watch (GBCW) volunteers at their monthly
meeting. The NHEP supports several activities undertaken by the GBCW
and Jennifer talked about how those activities fit into the NHEP Management
Plan and its priority actions.
10/1/03
– Local Grants Request for Proposals Issued
Dave
Kellam issued this annual request for project proposals that “will result
in achievement or significant progress toward achievement of one or more
Action Plans described in the NHEP Management
Plan.” Deadline for proposal
submissions is November 26, 2003. For
details contact Dave Kellam.
10/2/03
– Shoreland Protection Proposals Reviewed
Matt
Craig, Jennifer Hunter, and other Land Use Team members participated in the
Shoreland Protection proposal review on October 2.
Five proposals were selected to receive funding.
Grant recipients include one proposal each from the Kensington and
Brentwood Conservation Commissions to protect two 25+ acre parcels along the
Exeter River; a proposal by the Hampton Conservation Commission to conduct a
prime wetland assessment along the Taylor River; a proposal for the
Rockingham Planning Commission to begin implementation of the Dearborn Brook
Watershed Plan; and a proposal to continue the Center for Land Conservation
Assistance’s Land Protection Transaction Assistance Fund.
Questions on the projects can be directed to Matt
Craig.
10/7/03
– Site Planning Round Table Community Invitation
The
NHEP initiated plans to implement a Site Planning Roundtable project, which addresses
Action Item LND-02 and is based on a model created by the Center
for Watershed Protection (CWP). Interested communities within
the coastal watershed were invited to participate in a pilot Site Planning
Roundtable. One community will be selected to take part in this intensive
process whereby a broad range of municipal stakeholders review ordinances,
codes, covenants, and other regulations with the goal of improving
water quality protection and watershed health. Prior to the Roundtable, local
planning and environmental professionals will be trained by the CWP on how to
facilitate the process. The application deadline for communities is
November 12. For details contact Matt
Craig.
Jennifer
Hunter, Matt Craig, Phil Trowbridge and Dave Kellam were on hand during this
unique public event that helped folks understand how estuaries relate to
their lives. Dave emceed the
featured presentation “Seafood for Thought” that illustrated how
estuaries provide vital energy flow to all of our local seafood resources.
The first guests were Dyanna Smith and Neil Savage, from the
Aquaculture Education and Research Center (AERC), who described the
different shellfish species in the region and discussed some of the AERC
research projects. Next, wild
foods expert Marilyn Gilmore identified different wild marine foods, showed
the crowd how to prepare Irish moss pudding and was put on the spot as the
audience challenged her to tell how she would eat local plants. Julie Reed
Dunfey was up next to discuss the Dos and Don’ts of entertaining with
seafood (don’t overcook). Mike
and Justin Herbert of Seaport Fish then did a spectacular fish cleaning
demonstration using local fish donated by the Portsmouth Fisherman’s Co-Op
and Seaport Fish. Fish that were filleted were goosefish, lumpfish,
bluefish, mackerel, skate, haddock, tautog, winter flounder, Atlantic
salmon, and a spectacular 25lb cod! The
session ended with Evan Hennessey, the executive Chef of the Portsmouth
restaurant 43 Degrees North. He
prepared seared bluefish over a spring roll with a lobster infused
vinaigrette (really good). In
addition to the “Seafood for Thought” session Steve Miller (GBNERR) and
Brian Smith (NH F&G/GBNERR) led salt marsh tours and Phil Trowbridge
discussed the 2003 State of the
Estuaries report with attendees.
A variety of local non-profit organizations set up displays including
the Blue Ocean Society, Great Bay Coast Watch, UNH Marine Docents, AERC,
Ducks Unlimited, and the Strafford Rivers Conservancy.
About 50 people attended and everyone had a great educational
experience.
10/20
– 10/21/03 – State of the Estuaries Conference
Two
hundred and one (201) people registered for the State of the Estuaries
Conference and they represented a variety of organizations - - state
agencies (24%), universities (21%), non-governmental organizations (18%),
citizens (14%, mostly UNH marine docents), municipalities (12%), private
companies (5%), federal agencies (4%).
According to the 63 conference evaluations submitted, the overall
conference rating was 4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5.
Most evaluation responders liked the diversity of the presentations
and the opportunity to meet people from a variety of different organizations
working on coastal watershed issues.
A CD-ROM containing the conference proceedings will be distributed to
all conference attendees. If
you weren't at the conference but are interested in receiving the
proceedings, contact Dave Kellam.
10/23/03
– Coastal Coordination Committee Meeting
Jennifer
Hunter attended the Coastal Coordination Committee Meeting as part of the
Coastal States Organization's national meeting at the Wentworth Hotel in New
Castle. Coastal managers from across the country attended the meeting.
Most of the meeting time was spent discussing the development of regional
monitoring programs as part of a NOAA's Coastal Observation Technology
System program.
10/23/03
– Regional Outfall Study Commission
Jennifer
Hunter attended the fourth meeting of the Regional Outfall Study
Commission in Hampton. The
Commission finalized the RFP for services to evaluate options for wastewater
treatment and disposal in the Seacoast area. The RFP was distributed
by NHDES, on behalf of the Commission, on November 3 to pre-qualified
consultants.
10/28/03
– NHEP Office is Wired for High Speed E-Communications
The
efficiency of the NHEP office has been greatly enhanced with the
installation of a high-speed internet connection and incorporation of staff
computers into the state system. NHEP
staff
in the Portsmouth office now have new email addresses (Jennifer.Hunter@nh.gov,
Dave.Kellam@nh.gov, Mary.Power@nh.gov
and Matt.Craig@nh.gov).
Thanks to all of the folks at the Office of State Planning and Energy
Programs (OSPE) and the Office of Information Technology Management (OITM)
who made this upgrade possible.
10/30/03
– Coastal Program Manager Dave Hartman Retires
Dave
Hartman shared part of his final day as a state employee with the NHEP staff and
other colleagues to reminisce about his 27 years of service to the
Seacoast region. During that
time, in addition to his duties as Coastal Program Manager, Dave
was instrumental during the establishment of the Great Bay National
Estuarine Research Reserve, served as the liaison to the Gulf of Maine
Council, and of course, was a key player who brought the National Estuary
Program to New Hampshire. Dave
will be missed, however, we wish him well and know he'll enjoy
having more time to devote to his beekeeping hobby at home in Warner,
NH.
NEW
PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS
–
go to the publications
page of the NHEP website to view past reports
10/2/03
– Revised Inventory of Coastal Programs
Phil
Trowbridge submitted a revised inventory of coastal programs for the NHEP
website. There are only slight changes to the inventory from last year. Phil
consolidated some of the National Coastal Assessment programs and dropped
some of the programs that were subjective (e.g., volunteer logbook records
for certain fish species)that the NHEP does not use for indicators. Contact Dave
Kellam for full report.
10/14/03
– 2003 State of the Estuaries Report
The
32-page report examines 12 environmental indicators of estuarine health,
such as bacteria levels, nitrogen concentrations, toxic contaminant levels,
abundance of shellfish and land use in the coastal watershed.
By examining long-term data sets complied by a variety of
organizations, the report clearly describes the current status of NH’s
estuaries and suggests trends for the future.
The report is designed to provide readers an accurate understanding
of environmental trends for New Hampshire’s estuarine resources so that
they may make wise land use and resource management decisions.
Read
the Report (.pdf/686KB).
10/14/03
– Shellfish Indicators Report - Revised
Phil
Trowbridge incorporated reviewers’ comments on his 9-30-03 draft of the
Shellfish Indicators report. This
updated document now is consistent with reported data in the 2003
State of the Estuaries Report and information on the soon-to-be-released
NHEP website. Contact Dave
Kellam for full report.
10/28/03
– Bear-Paw Regional Greenways Natural Resources Inventory Mapping &
Land Protection Assistance
This
report describes the completion of a series of Natural Resource Inventory
maps that were produced using current statewide natural resource digital
data. Bear-Paw Regional
Greenways worked with a consultant from the Society for the Protection of
New Hampshire Forests to produce a total of 40 different large format maps
using geographic information systems. The maps included aerial photos, water
resource maps, significant wildlife habitat maps, natural resource
co-occurrence maps, and tax map overlays. In addition to providing the towns
with large scale laminated map series and electronic versions on CD,
Bear-Paw provided direct technical and transactional assistance to towns and
landowners to complete land protection projects in the region.
Contact Dave Kellam for full
report.
NHEP
UPCOMING EVENTS & MEETINGS
–
go to the Events
page of the NHEP website for complete listing
Public
Outreach and Education Team Meeting (POET) – November 25, 10:00am,
Location TBA
This
is the first meeting of communication professionals in the Seacoast to begin
the development of the NHEP Strategic Communication Plan.
For details contact Dave Kellam.
Site
Planning Roundtable Training – December 15, Newington
This
“Train the Trainers” workshop is by invitation only and is being
conducted by the Center for Watershed Protection. For details contact Matt
Craig.
Annual
Meeting of National Estuary Programs – March 7-11, 2004, Washington DC
The
annual meeting of all National Estuary Programs will address administrative
issues and highlight programmatic successes and challenges.
