April 2005, #24

CONTENTS (click on the topics below to get more information)

NHEP ACTIVITIES  

 3/1/05-  Executive Committee Conference Call

The NHEP Executive Committee held a conference call to discuss membership and officers for the Management Committee.  The Executive Committee will make recommendations on new members at the June Management Committee meeting.  Contact Jennifer Hunter for details about the meeting.

 3/6/05 - 3/10/05  - Association of National Estuary Programs Annual Meeting

Jennifer Hunter and Dave Kellam attended this yearly meeting of the National Estuary Program (NEP) in Washington, D.C. Funding discussions dominated this year’s meeting. The President’s budget request for FY06 is significantly lower than NEP appropriations levels for the last five years. In addition, the EPA budget is now reviewed by a new appropriations subcommittee, due to a consolidation of committees. The EPA budget was moved from VA/HUD appropriations subcommittee to the Department of Interior appropriations subcommittee. Since the legislators on the Interior subcommittee have no history with the NEP and most are from western states, it is likely to be difficult to maintain past NEP funding levels. Contact Jennifer Hunter for details about the meeting.

3/16/05 - NHEP POET Meeting

Most of the meeting was devoted to the planning of a 30 minute septic system maintenance program to air on Community Access TV in coastal watershed towns.  Jay Baas of NH DES Subsurface attended the meeting and provided valuable information about septic systems in the Seacoast. This effort addresses WQ-13 of the NHEP Management Plan.   Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

3/22/05 - NROC Meeting

Topics at this quarterly meeting of the Natural Resources Outreach Coalition (NROC) included program evaluation, status of current NROC projects, and planning for the 2005 communities:  New Durham, Deerfield and Wakefield.  Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

3/23/05 - RFQ:  Technical Assistance Providers

A Request for Qualifications was issued for Technical Assistance Providers to work with communities on a wide range of regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to natural resources protection.  Applications are due by 4:00 p.m., May 5, 2005.   Read the RFQ (.pdf/322KB).  Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

3/24/05 - Management Committee Meeting 

The meeting began with an update on the transition to UNH, the Year 10 Work Plan, and the Technical Assistance Provider RFQ (.pdf/322KB).  The Committee voted to approve changes to the Management Plan, including addition of two new Action Plans.  Lindsay Anderson of the NH Coastal Program gave a presentation entitled Availability of Groundwater Resources in Southeastern New Hampshire which is temporarily available on the NHEP website (.pdf/4.5MB).  Mark Zankel of The Nature Conservancy gave a presentation on the recently completed Ecological Inventory of the Cocheco River and Follet's Brook Watershed (available on the NHEP Reports web page).  The report was a joint effort by the Nature Conservancy, The NH Natural Heritage Bureau and NH Audubon.  The meeting concluded with a recognition ceremony for Mary Power, to thank her for the years of NHEP administrative support.   Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

3/25/05 - GBNERR Coastal Training Program (CTP) Advisory Committee Meeting

Agenda items included discussion of the GBNERR CTP planning documents (Needs Assessment, Market Analysis, Marketing Plan, and Strategic Plan) and implementation of the CTP.  Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

3/29/05 - Great Bog Management Plan Kick-off 

This was the first meeting led by the Seacoast Land Trust, to begin development of a Great Bog Management Plan.  A subcommittee was formed to delineate management units in the Bog, using topographical features such as road crossings and uplands.   Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

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NHEP New Publications and Reports  All publications at the NHEP website

3/9/05 - Testing of Great Bay Oysters for Two Protozoan Pathogens

In the fall of 2004, the Marine Fisheries Division of New Hampshire Fish and Game Department assessed the presence and intensity of two protozoan pathogens, Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) and Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) in oysters from the major beds in the Great Bay Estuary.  Oysters were collected from Oyster River, Adams Point, Nannie Island and from an experimental oyster reef at the mouth of Crommet Creek.  Collected oysters were cleaned and shipped to Rutgers University, Haskins Shellfish Research Laboratory, for testing.  Tests indicated that MSX still exists in the Great Bay system and that Dermo was present at all sampled sites. The report cites nine years of data to comment on MSX and Dermo trends in the Great Bay Estuary.  Also, the reports notes that the imported oyster stock on the experimental bed showed much higher prevalence of infection and that large ciliate xenomas were observed in the gills of the tissue cross sections, especially notable at the Nannie Island site.  It was recommended that the effect of ciliate xenomas should be further studied. Read the Report (.pdf/332KB). Contact Phil Trowbridge for more information. 

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NHEP Projects Starting  

Aquatic Nuisance Species Indicator Development 

UNH Zoology Department staff will develop a marine invasive species indicator program and resultant response plan.  Specifically, by monitoring larval inputs within the Great Bay Estuary, the project will begin to develop a spatially sensitive indicator program that alerts managers to incipient marine invasions within New Hampshire’s estuaries.  Contact Phil Trowbridge for more information.

2005 NHEP Monitoring Program 

Staff at the UNH Jackson Estuarine Laboratory will conduct activities describe in the NHEP core monitoring program, such as eelgrass mapping , placement and monitoring of data sondes, and nutrient analysis in estuarine waters.  Contact Phil Trowbridge for more information.

Support for the DES Shellfish Program 

The University of New Hampshire's Great Bay Coast Watch will support the DES Shellfish Program in 2005 by recruiting, scheduling, and training volunteers to collect and transport clam tissue samples to Concord to be tested for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

2005 Alewife Festival 

The Exeter River Local Advisory Committee will promote the Exeter 5th Annual Alewife Festival by purchasing posters, brochures, palm cards, banners, and newspaper advertisements.   The Alewife Festival will be held on Saturday, June 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., along the Swazey Parkway in Exeter.  The raid date for the event is Sunday, June 5. Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

Low Impact Storm Water Management Projects at UNH 

The University of New Hampshire will embark on a project to reduce the discharge of storm water runoff from UNH-Durham Campus through the use of Low Impact Development (LID) integrated management practices. The University will construct demonstration-level BMP’s at selected study sites, create self-guided descriptions of innovative storm water management BMP’s, develop and initiate an outreach and education program, and estimate pollutant load reduction of BMP’s.  Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

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NHEP UPCOMING EVENTS  

4/14/05 - NHEP Water Quality Team Meeting, 2-4pm, Kingman Farm
Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

4/19/05 - NHEP Technical Advisory Committee Meeting, 1-3pm, NH DES Coastal Office
Contact Phil Trowbridge for more information.

5/4/05 - NHEP POET Meeting,  9 - 11am, Location TBD
  Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

6/4/05 - 5th Annual Alewife Festival,  10am - 2pm, Swazey Parkway, Exeter
  Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

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