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State Of Our Estuaries Report 2018, Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership

PREP Reports & Publications

Every five years the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) produces this condition and environmental trends report in an effort to provide communities and citizens with an informed and comprehensive evaluation of what is being observed in our estuaries.

Memorandum: Quality Assurance Of 2016 Great Bay Estuary Water Quality Data And 2017 Cocheco River And Bellamy River Water Quality Data Collected By Unh, Lara M. Martin

PREP Reports & Publications

The purpose of this memorandum is to document the results of quality assurance checks on the 2016-2017 water quality data collected by UNH for the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GBNERR) System-Wide Monitoring Program, GBNERR Diel Sampling, and UNH Tidal Water Quality Monitoring stations. These programs were previously established in the NHDES Environmental Monitoring Database with project identifiers of “NERRTWQ”, “NERRDIEL”, and “JELTWQ”, respectively. UNH/GRB NERR reviewed these data to ensure that they met data quality objectives for the National Estuarine Research Reserve and its partners.

Seagrassnet Monitoring In Great Bay, New Hampshire, 2016, Frederick T. Short

PREP Reports & Publications

SeagrassNet is a global monitoring program begun in 2001 and designed to scientifically detect and document seagrass habitat change (Short et al. 2006a, 2014). Monitoring of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in the Great Bay Estuary using SeagrassNet was conducted in Portsmouth Harbor between 2001 and 2009 (Short et al. 2006b, Rivers and Short 2007), and in Great Bay starting in 2007 (Short 2009). Results from SeagrassNet 2016, supported by PREP and conducted in Great Bay, are described in this report.

Review Of Seagrassnet Monitoring Photographs In Great Bay, New Hampshire, Usa 2007 - 2014, Frederick T. Short

PREP Reports & Publications

SeagrassNet is a global monitoring program begun in 2001 and designed to scientifically detect and document seagrass habitat change (Short et al. 2006a, 2014). Monitoring of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in the Great Bay Estuary using SeagrassNet was conducted in Portsmouth Harbor between 2001 and 2009 (Short et al 2006b, Rivers and Short 2007), and is ongoing in Great Bay itself, from 2007 (Short 2009) to the present. In this report, July quadrat photos taken along the three Great Bay SeagrassNet transects from 2007 – 2014 are presented and discussed. They provide useful documentation of field percent cover measurements of …

The Social Indicators Final Project Report, Simone Barley-Greenfield

PREP Reports & Publications

New Hampshire’s 1000 square mile coastal zone is showing signs of stress in its rivers, shorelines, and two major estuaries. This stress stems from significant population increases and subsequent development, as well as intensifying weather events coupled with land use policies inadequate to manage the impacts of these anthropogenic and natural stressors.1 To effectively manage this complex social ecological system, the management community must expand its current monitoring efforts. Tracking ecological data only tells half the story; collecting social data sheds light on how people engage coastal ecosystems and highlights values crucial for affecting behavior change. The goal of this …

Nhanrs Scientific Wetland Buffer Report, Wetland Buffer Scientific Work Group

PREP Reports & Publications

No abstract provided.

Developing 2015 High-Resolution Impervious Cover Estimates For The 52 Towns In The Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership: Final Report, David Justice, Fay A. Rubin

PREP Reports & Publications

Estimates of 2015 impervious cover (IC) for the 52 towns of the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) were generated from 2015 1-foot imagery (for the 42 towns in NH) and 2015 1-meter NAIP imagery (for the 10 towns in Maine). The 2015 IC mapping updated previous high resolution mapping developed from 2010 (New Hampshire) and 2011 (Maine) orthophotography for the study area.

Impervious features covered 32,462 acres (5.8% of the land area) in the New Hampshire towns and 13,295 acres (5.3% of the land area) in the Maine towns, with a total of 46,634 (5.6% of the land area) acres …

Hydrographic Study Of Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent In The Piscataqua River Of Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Report Of Findings From The December 10 – 14, 2012 Study Period, Yaping Ao, Gregory N. Goblick, Kevin R. Calci, William C. Nash

PREP Reports & Publications

In order to assist the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) evaluate the impact of treated wastewater effluent from Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) to the Lower Piscataqua River and Portsmouth Harbor a hydrographic dye study was conducted in December 2012 in Portsmouth, NH. Eight (8) shellfish cages with American oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were deployed both upstream and downstream of the Peirce Island WWTP in the Piscataqua River, Little Harbor, and the entrance of Little Bay. Eight (8) mini CTDs that monitor conductivity/salinity, temperature, and depth, and six (6) moored fluorometers, which measure …

Diadromous Fish Investigations, 2016: Anadromous Alosid Restoration And Evaluation, Nh Fish & Game

PREP Reports & Publications

Eight fishways on six New Hampshire (NH) coastal rivers were operated during the spring of 2016 to facilitate the passage of river herring (Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus and Blueback Herring Alosa aestivalis), American Shad Alosa sapidissima, and other diadromous fish over dams.

Estimated numbers of river herring using all coastal river fish ladders in 2016 increased by approximately 40.5% from 2015. Alewives dominated returns to the Cocheco, Exeter, and Lamprey rivers while the Oyster River had a slightly higher percentage of Blueback Herring returning. The Oyster River continues to have low return numbers and exhibits signs that habitat problems are inhibiting …

2016 Oyster Reef Restoration Project Funded By The Aquatic Resources Mitigation Program, Raymond E. Grizzle, Krystin M. Ward

PREP Reports & Publications

This report describes the results of the construction and initial monitoring phase of an oyster restoration project conducted in 2016 by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), funded by the New Hampshire Aquatic Resources Mitigation Program. The overall goal of the project was to construct 5 acres of new oyster reef habitat in an area adjacent to a live natural reef northwest of Nannie Island, in the Town of Newington, NH, off Woodman Point. The report is organized according to the four major tasks listed as deliverables in the subaward to UNH from TNC.

Seagrassnet Monitoring In Great Bay, New Hampshire, 2015, Frederick T. Short

PREP Reports & Publications

SeagrassNet is a global monitoring program begun in 2001 and designed to scientifically detect and document seagrass habitat change (Short et al. 2006a, 2014). Monitoring of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in the Great Bay Estuary using SeagrassNet was conducted in Portsmouth Harbor between 2001 and 2009 (Short et al. 2006b, Rivers and Short 2007), and in Great Bay starting in 2007 (Short 2009). Results from SeagrassNet 2015, supported by PREP and conducted in Great Bay, are described in this report.

Eelgrass Distribution In The Great Bay Estuary And Piscataqua River For 2016, Seth Barker

PREP Reports & Publications

Eelgrass distribution in Great Bay, Little Bay, and the Piscataqua River Estuary were mapped from aerial photography acquired on August 5, 2016. The total area of eelgrass beds with 10% or greater cover and a polygon area equal to or greater than 100 square meters was 683.42 hectares or 1688.71 acres. Eelgrass polygons were coded for Assessment Zone location and the results reported in Table 1.The largest concentration of eelgrass was found in Great Bay with lesser amounts in the vicinity of Portsmouth Harbor. The total area of eelgrass was nearly identical to that mapped in 2013 though there were …

Testing Of Great Bay Oysters For Two Protozoan Pathogens, Douglas E. Grout

PREP Reports & Publications

Two protozoan pathogens, Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) and Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) are known to be present in Great Bay oysters. With funds provided by the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP), the Marine Fisheries Division of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHFG) continues to assess the presence and intensity of both of these disease conditions in oysters from the major natural beds within the Great Bay estuarine system. Histological examinations of Great Bay oysters have also revealed other endoparasites

Monitoring Macroalgae In The Great Bay Estuary For 2015, David M. Burdick, Arthur C. Mathieson, Sydney Nick, Christopher R. Peter

PREP Reports & Publications

In 2015, five of the eight locations with fixed intertidal transects were sampled as part of the long-term effort to monitor macroalgae in the Great Bay Estuary. With the completion of the third year of the project, all eight locations have been sampled at least once, two years of data have been collected for four locations, and three years of data have been collected for one location, Monitoring results from 2015 show high levels of cover of nuisance green or red algae (Ulva and Gracilaria, respectively) at all sites sampled. Nuisance algae is characterized as fast-growing; it can interfere with …

Hampton Harbor Clam Data: Density, Green Crab Abundance And Neoplasia Incidence, Normandeau Associates, Nextera Energy

PREP Reports & Publications

Showing Data Through 2017

Buffer Options For The Bay: Exploring The Trends, The Science, And The Options Of Buffer Management In The Great Bay Watershed Key Findings From Available Literature, Shea E. Flanagan, David A. Patrick, Dolores J. Leonard, Paul Stacey

PREP Reports & Publications

No abstract provided.