February 2006, #34

JANUARY ACTIVITIES  

1/6/06 - Great Bay Estuary Commission Meeting
Jennifer Hunter attended this meeting of the Great Bay Estuary Commission at which contractor Metcalf & Eddy presented a summary of its Preliminary Findings Report. The report summarizes existing conditions and future assumptions for population, septage, and wastewater treatment plant effluent and permit conditions. The Commission discussed plans for an upcoming charrette at which time the public can review and comment on the implications of various wastewater treatment and disposal options being considered. The charrette is planned for Saturday, March 25 at the Cooperative Middle School in Stratham. The Commission will complete its planning for the charrette at its next meeting which is open to the public: February 24 at the DES Pease Office. For more information on the meetings visit www.coastalclear.org.

1/13/06 - Gulf of Maine Council Grant Application The NHEP submitted an application for funding to the Gulf of Maine Council Action Plan Grants Program. The NHEP’s proposal involves supporting five watershed groups taking part in the State’s Volunteer River Assessment Program (VRAP) by providing monitoring equipment, training, and support. Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

1/17/06 - NH Sea Grant Policy Advisory Committee Meeting
Jennifer Hunter, one of NH Sea Grant’s Policy Advisory Committee members, provided feedback on the program’s Strategic Plan which includes goals and objectives to support fisheries, aquaculture, coastal communities, ecosystem health, and marine science literacy. Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

1/20/06 - UNH Foundation Meeting
Jennifer Hunter and Jodi Castallo met with Jennifer Goldberg, Associate Director of Major Gifts at the UNH Foundation, to discuss the NHEP and to learn how the two groups can coordinate fundraising efforts. Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

1/24/06 - UNH Marine Communicators Meeting
Dave Kellam attended this gathering of UNH professionals who work to communicate marine issues to a variety of audiences. Representatives attended from UNH Media Relations, NH Sea Grant, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, The Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Science and the Marine Program. The goal of this first meeting was for each member to become familiar with other marine-related communication efforts occurring on campus and to encourage collaboration. Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

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1/24-1/26/06 - Public Issues and Conflict Management Workshop
Jodi Castallo attend this workshop that was sponsored by the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve and conducted by the NOAA Coastal Services Center. The goal of the workshop was to teach participants how to conduct meetings on controversial topics using a cooperative and participatory process. Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

1/25/06 - Water Quality Team Meeting
Jennifer Hunter and Dave Kellam attended this meeting of the NHEP Water Quality Team that featured a presentation by Jeff Marcoux of NH DES Watershed Management Bureau- Watershed Assistance Section on the NHEP-funded Municipal Grant Program for surveys and monitoring, mapping storm sewer systems, and illicit connection identification and removal. Other meeting topics included a review of current projects, a brief discussion about the implementation of NHEP Action Plans WQ-6 (illegal discharge reporting) and WQ-19 (stormdrain stenciling), and preparation for project recommendations for 2007. Contact Natalie Landry for more information.

1/25/06 - Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
The NHEP Technical Advisory Committee met to critique a draft of the Water Quality Indicators Report. The report will be revised based on the comments received and finalized in February. Contact Phil Trowbridge for more information.

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1/25/06 - Septic Scenes Awards Show Amanda Stone (UNH Cooperative Extension NROC Coordinator) and Jay Baas (NHDES Septic System Inspector) hosted an awards show that features the five videos submitted to the NHEP septic system maintenance video contest. Shot in the UNH Video Services studio, the two hosts introduced each video and interjected key septic system maintenance information throughout the show. The final video will air on Community Access Television in March 2006. Hear an interview about the project on NHPR. Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

1/31/06 - Hearing for Shellfish Program HB 1747
Jennifer Hunter, Dave Kellam, Dave Funk, Rich Langan, and Peter Tilton, Jr. attended this hearing of House NH Fish and Game Committee to discuss a proposed bill to establish funding for the NHDES Shellfish Program. House Bill 1747 was sponsored by Representative Tom Gillick of Hampton, along with six other legislators. About a dozen people provided testimony on the bill. All were supportive of the bill's intent to support the Shellfish Program, but disagreed on how to fund the critical work. Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

1/31/06 - River Restoration Task Force Meeting
Phil Trowbridge attended this meeting of the inter-agency River Restoration Task Force. NH Department of Transportation and their consultants presented plans for the dam restoration feasibility study for the Taylor River Pond in Hampton/Hampton Falls. The NHEP is providing partial funding for this study and Phil agreed to obtain any NH DES water quality data on the impoundment upstream of the dam. Contact Phil Trowbridge for more information.

1/31/06 - Rollinsford NROC Meeting
Jodi Castallo and other Natural Resources Outreach Coalition (NROC) team members participated in this first meeting with members of Rollinsford’s Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and Selectmen to gather information for the initial NROC “Dealing with Growth” presentation. Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

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NEW NHEP PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS  

1/3/06 - Large-scale, manipulative field tests involving cultured and wild juveniles of the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria L.: Interactive effects of predator exclusion netting, aperture size, and planting area on seasonal growth and survival at the Willows Flat within the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary This interim report summarizes the results of the first two experiments conducted by Dr. Brian Beal from the University of Maine Machias to test the effects of protective mesh netting and seeding on growth and survival rates for juvenile clams. The experiments were conducted at two different times of the year (November 2004-May 2005 and June-October 2005). From November 2004 to May 2005, clam survival was nearly 90% in plots protected with the smallest aperture netting, and this was three times greater than survival in plots protected with 6.4 mm mesh netting. Few animals were recovered from plots that were not covered fully with plastic netting. Overall, enhancement due to the predator deterrent netting was greater than 100-fold. Clam survival in the smallest size plots was significantly greater (by 30%) than those in the three larger sized plots. The growth rate of clams was 30% faster in plots protected with the smaller aperture netting. The experiment initiated in June 2005 will be repeated by Dr. Beal in 2006 due to mass mortality of those clams shortly after seeding. Read the Report (.pdf/181KB)

1/4/06 - Natural Resources Outreach Coalition: Coordination and Program Delivery
In 2005, the Natural Resources Outreach Coalition (NROC) worked with three new communities: New Durham, Wakefield, and Deerfield. All three communities received NROC’s customized "Dealing with Growth" presentation and a series of follow-up meetings. At the same time, NROC continued to work with three previous NROC communities: Chester, Strafford, and Candia.

Read the Report (.pdf/118KB)

 

1/6/06 - Candia Land Conservation and Well Survey Project
This project was facilitated by the Natural Resources Outreach Coalition (NROC) with funding provided by the NHEP. After attending a workshop session, "Ground Water Protection Strategies", Candia-NROC participants worked with NROC staff and Nottingham-NROC participants to develop a survey of well owners in each community. The purpose of the survey was to identify water supply and quality issues and to educate residents about ground water issues. The survey was sent to 1,500 households in Candia and 275 surveys were returned, representing an 18% response rate. In addition to this survey, the Candia Open Space Committee and Conservation Commission hosted three neighborhood Coffee Evening workshops on Land Conservation Options, a community-wide workshop entitled "The Dollars and Sense of Saving Special Places", and the NROC workshop “Land Conservation Nuts and Bolts”. Finally, this project included the creation of a $200,000 warrant article to replenish the town's conservation fund. To build support for the warrant article, 600 brochures were produced and sent to Candia residents, and four land protection newsletters were created and sent to all Candia residents. The warrant article was approved during the 2005 Town Meeting.

Read the Report (.pdf/9.5MB)

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1/15/06 - Shellfish Tissue Monitoring in New Hampshire’s Estuaries: 2003 and 2004 NHDES coordinated the collection and processing of samples for Gulfwatch in 2003 and 2004 and managed subcontracts with laboratories to analyze samples for organics and heavy metals. NHEP funds were used for sample analysis from 3 sites in 2003 (Portsmouth Harbor, Dover Point, and Hampton-Seabrook Harbor) and 2 sites in 2004 (Dover Point and Hampton-Seabrook Harbor) to complement the baseline sampling conducted with Gulf of Maine Council funds. The increased spatial coverage resulting from the NHEP-funded analyses provides more comprehensive information for contaminant concentrations throughout NH's estuarine waters. Read the Report (.pdf/1.4MB)

1/18/06 - Summary of Coastal and Estuarine Monitoring Programs in New Hampshire (2005 Update)
The NHEP compiles data from many coastal and estuarine monitoring programs to assess the status and trends of environmental indicators in the Great Bay and Hampton-Seabrook Harbor. Each year the NHEP Coastal Scientist updates the list of coastal and estuarine monitoring programs that provide data for NHEP indicators or for state water quality assessments. This list is limited to long-term monitoring programs that do not have an end date.

Read the Latest Report (.pdf/234KB)

1/18/06 - Streamflow Monitoring in the Salmon Falls River The NHEP provided one year of funding to continue the operation of the Salmon Falls River streamgage after operational funding was lost. The NHEP relies on US Geological Survey-operated streamgages that measure daily streamflow on most of the tributaries to the Great Bay Estuary to calculate nitrogen loads delivered to the estuary. Daily streamflow measurements were made at the Milton Three Ponds Dam on the Salmon Falls River between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. These data were used to calculate the nitrogen loading for the 2006 NHEP Water Quality Indicator Report. Long-term funding for continued operation of this gage was not obtained. For subsequent years, streamflow for the Salmon Falls River will be estimated based on streamflow in similar river systems. Read the Report (.pdf/449KB)

1/25/06 - Great Bay Coast Watch Volunteers Assist NH DES Shellfish Program
During the late spring and summer of 2005, Great Bay Coast Watch (GBCW) volunteers traveled to the Isles of Shoals each week to pick-up shellfish tissue samples and delivered them, as well as water samples, to the state laboratories in Concord. The volunteers also assisted NHDES staff by collecting, bagging, and delivering mussels to the Pease NHDES office for transport to the Star Island PSP station.

Read the Report (.pdf/97KB)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Community Technical Assistance Program
In January, the NHEP accepted an application from the Town of Kingston for technical review of its existing water resource protection ordinances and regulations. Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

FUNDING STILL AVAILABLE Apply for Community Technical Assistance

 

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UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS

2/24/06 - Great Bay Estuary Commission Subcommittee Meeting , 8:30am-10:30am, NH DES Pease Office, Portsmouth
Contact Robert Scherpf for more information.

3/3 - 3/10/06 - Annual Meeting of National Estuary Programs, Washington, DC
Contact Jennifer Hunter for more information.

3/14/06 - NROC Meeting, 9:30am-Noon, Kingman Farm, Madbury
Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

3/22/06 - NHEP POET Meeting, 9:00am-Noon, Sandy Point Discovery Center, Stratham
Contact Dave Kellam for more information.

3/25/06 - New Hampshire Seacoast Region Wastewater Management Study Project Charrette, Cooperative Middle School, Stratham
Contact Robert Scherpf for more information.

10/27/06 - 2006 State of the Estuaries Conference, Sheraton Harborside, Portsmouth
Contact Jodi Castallo for more information.

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