October 2005, #30

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

September ACTIVITIES  

9/8/05 - Seacoast Stormwater Coalition Meeting
Jennifer Hunter and Dave Kellam attended a meeting of the Seacoast Stormwater Coalition, which is a group of DPW officials from the Phase II towns in the Seacoast. Several opportunities for municipalities to receive assistance implementing Phase II requirements were presented, specifically, the Illicit Detection and Discharge Elimination and Storm Sewer Mapping Grants, the Community Technical Assistance Program, and Local Grants Program. Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

9/9/05 - Proposals Received for Finance Plan Development
The NHEP received three proposals in response to its Request for Qualifications to develop a financing plan for the NHEP. Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

9/13/05 - NHEP Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
Ru Morrison provided an update on the new Great Bay water quality buoy. The buoy is located next to the CICEET/GBNERR buoy in Great Bay to perform intercalibration tests of different sensors. In addition physicochemical parameters, the buoy has sensors for chlorophyll-a and nutrients (among others). Data will be streamed to a web site in real time and reported in context of historical measurements. Contact Ru Morrison (Ru.Morrison@unh.edu) for more information. Findings from Shellfish Indicators Report and a timeline for the 2006 State of the Estuaries report were presented. The group then approved the 2006 NHEP monitoring workplan which included an increase for nutrient monitoring to reflect the extra effort that UNH was already putting into the program. The group decided to allocate left over funds to the NHF&G Oyster Disease Monitoring Program in light of the concern about Dermo prevalence. Contact Phil Trowbridge for more information.

9/16/05 - Coastal Watershed Land Conservation Plan Meeting
The Nature Conservancy, Society for Protection of NH Forests, Rockingham Planning Commission, and Strafford Planning Commission have begun working on a new project, funded in part by NHEP, to develop and distribute a comprehensive, science-based land conservation plan. The meeting provided an update on data collected to date, data to be collected, and outreach. A public meeting about the plan is set for Monday, October, 17, 2005 at 7pm at Newington Town Hall. Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

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9/20/05 - NROC Quarterly Meeting
NROC program updates were discussed including presenters for 2006 towns, the Plymouth State University evaluation of NROC, and updates to the NROC web site. The NROC 2006 application was sent out in August and three towns requested introductory presentations, the draft of NROC’s accomplishment book were handed out, and a draft water resources presentation was reviewed and discussed. Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

9/21/05 - V.I.P. Tour of the Great Bay Estuary
The 3-hour tour included 30 participants, with nine communities represented. Presenters included Fay Rubin discussing the upcoming Buffer Characterization study, Brian Smith talking about the datasondes located in Great Bay and Phil Trowbridge speaking about the NHEP monitoring program and the 2006 State of the Estuaries report. We had 38 people on the waitlist for this tour and they were placed on an early notification list for future tours. Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

9/22/05 - Portsmouth Meeting or Buffer Characterization Meeting
Dr. Fay Rubin of the Complex Systems Research Center (CSRC) at the University of New Hampshire is conducting a buffer characterization study. The study will entail the characterization of 2nd order and higher streams within the Great Bay Watershed of coastal New Hampshire. The Advisory Committee discussed the data that will be used in the characterization and how the data will be presented. Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

9/27/05 - 2006 State of the Estuaries Report Focus Group
Dave Kellam interviewed members of the Exeter River Local Advisory Committee in a focus group format regarding the 2006 State of the Estuaries report. The group was asked to provide suggestions on how to improve the report for planning boards and conservation commissions. Feedback from this group will be used to design supplemental outreach materials to show the relevance of the 2006 report to local planning decisions. Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

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9/28/05 - NHEP Public Outreach and Education Team Meeting
The meeting began with a presentation by Dave Kellam on the UNH Survey Center’s findings from the attitudinal study of Planning Board Members and Conservation Commissioners in coastal watershed communities. In summary, the study suggests that the NHEP is close to its communication goals, except the percent of respondents familiar with the NHEP Management Plan was significantly below the goal. The implications of the study include shaping of NHEP outreach efforts to favor communication to planning board members and Zone B groups, and incorporation of Management Plan references in NHEP publications. The group then discussed the need for a complete email list for coastal decision makers. Kellam continued with the agenda and discussed the NHEP septic system outreach efforts which include a workshop for Seacoast Board of Realtors on October 7 and the Septic Scenes Video Variety Show intended for broadcast on Community Access television. Jodi Castallo gave a presentation about the 2006 Buffer Outreach Plan and the group discussed the variety of issues that result in damaged buffers. Next, the 2006 Shellfish Outreach Plan was handed out and calls for a brochure sent to all clam and oyster license holders in November 2005. Finally, Kellam reported that the “Eye On Our Estuaries” series in the Portsmouth Herald is being published sporadically and he shared feedback from the editor. Kellam will attempt to place the articles for the next two months, and then possibly seek different publications to run the series. Next meeting was set for Wednesday, December 7, 9-11am in Sandy Point’s new barn. Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

9/29/05 - NHEP Management Committee Meeting
This meeting began with the Executive Committee nominations and approval of at-large members: Ted Diers (NH Coastal Program), Wendy Lull (Seacoast Science Center), and Dave Funk (Great Bay Stewards). Management Committee members also approved several minor revisions to the bylaws. Jennifer Hunter then gave a brief presentation that included updates on the Management Committee membership recruitment effort, the hiring of consultant Maggie Ford to assist in the development of an NHEP funding strategy, and the production schedule for the 2006 State of the Estuaries report and conference. The majority of the meeting was spent discussing a draft House Bill to secure sustainable funding for the DES Shellfish Program. A variety of options were presented and discussed. The Management Committee will continue discussions on shellfish program funding options at a subsequent meeting. Reuben Hull of Civil Design Engineering Consultants presented results from an NHEP-funding project, “Drainage Analysis and Stormwater Calculations for a Priority Subwatershed in Hampton Harbor.” Finally, Phil Trowbridge presented the 2006 Monitoring Program budget, a proposal to fund another year of the clam study by Dr. Brian Beal in the Hampton/Seabrook Harbor, and a proposal to support a coastal invasive species control project being managed by the Rockingham County Conservation District, all of which were approved by the Management Committee. For more information about the meeting, contact Jennifer Hunter.

9/30/05 - Nutrient Criteria Meeting
The NHEP coordinated the first meeting of a workgroup to develop nutrient criteria for NH's estuaries. The meeting was held on September 30, 2005 at the DES Coastal Office with representation from NHDES, EPA, NHF&G, GBNERR, Normandeau Associates, the Forest Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, UNH, Conservation Law Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy. Matt Liebman from USEPA Region I presented the federal mandate for nutrient criteria. Paul Stacey from Connecticut DEP provided an overview of the nutrient criteria process in Long Island Sound. Phil Trowbridge presented information about nutrient status and trends in Great Bay. Following this introduction, the group brainstormed about the process for developing nutrient criteria in NH's estuaries. The NHEP will organize additional meetings on this topic in the future. Contact Phil Trowbridge for more information.

9/30/05 - Nine Local Grants Proposals Received
The NHEP received nine proposals totaling $80,124.00 of requests. Review of the proposals will occur later this month. Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

9/30/05 - Community Technical Assistance Program
In September, NHEP received and accepted one community application for the technical assistance program. Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

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NEW NHEP PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS  

9/22/05 - Survey of Planning Board Members and Conservation Commissioners
The Survey Center at UNH completed an attitudinal survey of the Planning Board members and Conservation Commissioners in coastal watershed communities that provided baseline data to evaluate the NHEP Strategic Communication Plan. The study suggested that overall, there is moderate familiarity and awareness of the NHEP, with 57% of respondents expressing some level of familiarity with the NHEP. Respondents who live in Zone A seem to be much more likely to be familiar with the NHEP (13% are very familiar; 49% are somewhat familiar). Members of Conservation Commissions are also more likely to be aware of the NHEP (19% are very familiar and 45% are somewhat familiar). Awareness of the NHEP Management Plan is fairly low with 31% of respondents expressing some level of familiarity with the Plan. A majority of respondents have not seen the various materials sent to the planning boards and conservation commissions. Fifty-seven percent said they did not see the 2003 State of the Estuaries report and 61% did not see the impervious surface outreach package. Overall, 64% of respondents reported some degree of confidence (37% very confident, 27% somewhat confident) in the NHEP’s reporting of the status of NH's estuaries. Out of the 622 board members or commissioners in coastal watersheds (323 on planning boards and 299 on conservation commissions), 152 returned the survey, a response rate of 24%. Surveys were received from 41 communities, Rollinsford was not represented. Read Report (.pdf 145KB) For more information contact Dave Kellam.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Septic Scenes: Video Contest

The NHEP is conducting a video contest to find the best original 2-5 minute videos that educate people about their septic systems. The winning videos and several honorable mentions will be edited together in a 30-minute septic system “variety show” that will air on Community Access TV in the 42 communities of New Hampshire’s coastal watershed. Deadline for the entries is 4:00pm, October 28, 2005. Read More. Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

10/12 - 10/14/05 - Association of National Estuary Programs - Fall Meeting, Rhode Island
Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

10/17/05 - Coastal Watershed Land Conservation Plan, 7pm, Newington Town Hall, Newington
Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

10/28/05 - Deadline for Septic Scenes Video Entries
Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

11/3/05 - Land Use Team Meeting, 2-5pm, NH DES, Coastal Office (Pease), Conference Room A, Portsmouth
Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

12/6/05 - NROC Quarterly Meeting, 9:30-noon, Kingman Farm, Madbury
Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

12/7/05 - POET Meeting, 9-11am, Sandy Point Barn, Stratham
Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

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