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Estuaries Update July 2008, #63

Featured Items
New Hampshire Estuaries Project Launches Pilot Project to Help Coastal Communities Adapt to Climate Change		  


New Hampshire Estuaries Project Launches Pilot Project to Help Coastal Communities Adapt to Climate Change
 With a $50,000 “Climate Ready Estuaries” grant from the U.S. EPA, the NHEP is initiating a pilot project in the Oyster River watershed to identify road culverts that are subject to failure during extreme storm events.
Read Press Release

Protecting Great Bay is a team effort
06-29-08: Portsmouth Herald editorial by Mark Zankel, (TNC) and Jennifer Hunter (NHEP).
Read Editorial

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 New Publications
Salt Marsh Tour Marsh Restoration Tour
 06-05-08: The NH Coastal Program hosted an inter-agency tour of completed salt marsh restoration projects to show different restoration approaches, discuss lessons learned and environmental outcomes, and discuss future opportunities.

2007 Great Bay Water Quality (DataSonde) Monitoring Program Monitoring Bouys
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) completed this project with the objective to: (1) support in situ water quality monitoring for the April – December sampling season at the Lamprey River (LR), Squamscott River (SQ), Oyster River (OR), Great Bay (GB) and Coastal Marine Lab (CML) sites; and (2) fund the deployment of in situ water quality monitoring at the Salmon Falls (SF) for July, August and September.
Read Report

 

Announcements

 

Local Grants
Request for Proposals for the
2009 Local Grants Program
The NHEP is accepting project proposals for its annual Local Grants Program. Selected projects will result in achievement or significant progress toward achievement of one or more Action Plans described in the NHEP Management Plan. This is the first year that entities working in the Maine part of the Great Bay Watershed (Acton, Berwick, Eliot, Kittery, Lebanon, North Berwick, Sanford, South Berwick, Wells, and York) will be eligible for this grant program. Instead of directly referencing Action Plans, Maine-based projects should address actions in existing watershed plans with goals that are consistent with the NHEP Management Plan. An applicant may submit a project proposal for up to $8,000 of NHEP funds; however a 50% match is required. An original proposal and five double-sided copies must be received by NHEP Project Coordinator, Dave Kellam, by 4:00 p.m. on September 25, 2008.
Download Request for Proposals

UNH Stormwater Center Workshops
UNH Stormwater Center
In 2008, the UNH Stormwater Center will host workshops at its field facility to demonstrate a number of stormwater treatment technologies. The NHEP will pay registration fees for members of planning boards, conservation commissions, and zoning boards of adjustment, as well as town planning and public works staff from NHEP’s watershed communities. Register at Stormwater Center’s website. Confirm sponsorship eligibility by contacting the NHEP.

Accepting 2008 Land Transaction Grant Applications
The NHEP has funding available in 2008 to assist with transaction costs associated with high priority permanent land protection projects within the New Hampshire coastal watershed. Applications from nonprofit 501(c)(3) conservation organizations or government entities are currently being accepted for up to $3000 per project. Download Application

Accepting Applications for Community Technical Assistance Program
The NHEP is accepting applications from municipal planning boards and conservation commissions through Round 3 of its Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP), which provides consulting assistance to communities on a wide range of regulatory and nonregulatory approaches to natural resources protection.
Read Application (.pdf or MS Word)

Pre-proposals Requested for NHDES Watershed Grants

The N.H Department of Environmental Services Watershed Assistance Section is now requesting pre-proposals for the 2009 Watershed Restoration Grants for Impaired Waters and the 2009 Watershed Assistance Grants for High Quality Waters.
Learn More

Upcoming Events

7-18-08: Oyster River Watershed Culvert/Climate Analysis Stakeholder Meeting, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Community Room, Durham Police Department (map). The purpose of the meeting is to present the project methods that will be used in the Oyster River watershed to identify culverts that are threatened with failure due to increasing stormwater runoff volumes caused by both development and increasingly intense storm events associated with climate change. Contact Derek.sowers@unh.edu for details.

8-2-08: Moose Mountains Regional Greenways Woods, Water and Wildlife Festival, Milton Mills, NH Details

8-20-08: VIP Tour of Great Bay for Municipal Planning Officials, 9am - Noon, Boat leaves and returns to UNH pier in New Castle. Registration begins in July.

9-13-08: VIP Tour of Great Bay, 9am - Noon, Boat leaves and returns to UNH pier in New Castle. Registration begins in July.

 


Image of the Month
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Oyster Reef Restoration Restore NH Estuaries Partnership Meeting
 06-05-08: The Nature Conservancy provided excellent maps of restoration consideration areas and a complimentary template for compiling restoration site profiles. NHEP established a project management wiki for the Partnership.
Read Minutes
Drinking Water Supply Area NH Water Plan Survey Development Meeting
 06-05-08: NHEP staff participated in a meeting to craft a stakeholder survey for Phase 1 of the NH Water Plan being created by NHDES, USGS , NHGS, and a number of advisory groups.
NROC NROC Quarterly Meeting
 06-10-08: The Natural Resource Outreach Coalition's quarterly meeting provided a summary of current activity, approaches to recruiting new communities into the program, and grant support.
Eelgrass NHEP Technical Advisory Committee meeting
 06-10-08: Meeting included discussions on NHEP environmental indicators, modeling historic nitrogen loads from the Great Bay watershed, the relationships between total nitrogen and water clarity in the Great Bay Estuary, and a review of proposed methodology for assessing eelgrass habitat for the State of NH Surface Water Quality Assessments.
Read Minutes
Marine Program Marine Program Communication Coordination
 06-10-08: NHEP and NH Sea Grant staff coordinated information sharing for the new UNH Marine Program e-newsletter, Saltwater News.
North Hampton
 North Hampton CTAP Meeting
 06-10-08: NHEP staff attended a Conservation Commission meeting to discuss outreach plans and a technical memo characterizing sensitive town wetland and stream buffers. This project is part of the Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP).
Brentwood Seal Brentwood CTAP Meeting
 06-11-08: NHEP staff attended a Conservation Commission meeting to discuss edits to a land use regulations outreach piece that will be sent out to residents later this year. This project is part of the Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP).
LID Stormwater/LID workshop
 06-12-08: NHEP staff assisted with this seminar to explain the benefits of Low Impact Development (LID) practices and encourage municipalities to adopt LID requirements in planning ordnances.
See Presentations
Association of National Estuary Programs ANEP Fall Conference Planning Meeting
 06-13-08: NHEP staff made plans to coordinate an outreach technology session at the 2008 fall meeting of the Association of National Estuary Programs in New York.
Culvert Fieldwork for Stream Gauge Installation
 06-16-08: As part of NHEP's "Climate Ready Estuaries" project, two temporary stream gauges are being installed in the Oyster River watershed to provide data for enhanced watershed modeling of storm runoff volumes and timing.
Flooding 100YR Floodplain Meeting
 06-16-08: This meeting convened a broad range of stakeholders to work on a plan for developing 100-year floodplain maps for coastal areas in NH and ME that take into account climate change. Presentations included informational needs of local planners, impacts of sea level rise on coastal communities, and impacts of increasing storm intensity and watershed development on culvert infrastructure. The group then discussed next steps necessary to model coastal impacts and freshwater runoff increases, as well as requirements for effective stakeholder involvement in the project.
NHEP Focus Area NHEP Strategic Planning Meeting
 06-17-08: Facilitator Jim Varn worked with NHEP staff and a Strategic Planning Subcommittee of seven NHEP Management Committee members to take the first steps toward positioning the NHEP to achieve project goals for the future. Issues considered included the Maine expansion, the Management Plan Update in 2010, and the strengths and challenges of the program.
Flood Damage EPA Climate Change Forum
 06-19-08: This forum convened EPA scientists, experts from academia, and regional, state and municipal officials to examine the latest scientific research on the impacts of climate change on our natural resources, and the science tools under development or still needed to help government officials plan for these impacts. NHEP was recognized for its Climate Ready Estuaries project award from the EPA.
See Presentations
Flooding FEMA Flood Study Meeting
 06-25-08: Staff attended the final presentation for a FEMA study examining causes and impacts of recent extreme flood events in southeast NH.
Danville Danville CTAP Meeting
06-26-08: NHEP staff attended a meeting of town boards and committees to review a draft of the Stewardship Plan for the Danville Town Forest, which is being developed through the Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP).
Seacoast Media Group Portsmouth Herald Editorial
 06-29-08: "Protecting Great Bay is a team effort" by Mark Zankel, (TNC) and Jennifer Hunter (NHEP).
Read Editorial

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