Marine Biology Commons^™

Portsmouth Vernal Pool Inventory, West Environmental Inc.

PREP Reports & Publications

West Environmental, Inc. (WEI) conducted a city-wide Vernal Pool Inventory to locate, document and map vernal pools in Portsmouth. This effort was coordinated with the Portsmouth Planning Department and Conservation Commission to help the City of Portsmouth in vernal pool identification and mapping. The goal of this project was to locate isolated wetlands that provide vernal pool habitat. Currently the City of Portsmouth’s wetland regulations exempt wetlands less than 5,000 square feet from the local 100’ buffer zone. This study identified smaller wetlands which have the potential to provide vernal pool habitat that may deserve the 100 foot buffer protection. …

Shellfish Tissue Monitoring In New Hampshire Estuaries, 2007, Phil Trowbridge

PREP Reports & Publications

Conducted by a committee of Canadian and US government and university scientists, Gulfwatch examines the effects of decades of development and industrialization on the water quality of the Gulf as it relates to human health primarily through assessing contaminant exposure of marine organisms. Gulfwatch scientists collect blue mussels at over 60 US and Canadian sites Gulf- wide, and analyze the organisms’ tissue for potentially harmful levels and concentrations of toxins including heavy metals, chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

New Hampshire increased the number of Gulfwatch sampling locations from two sites per year in 1997 to …

Using Moored Arrays And Hyperspectral Aerial Imagery To Develop Nutrient Criteria For New Hampshire's Estuaries, J. Ru Morrison, Thomas K. Gregory, Shachak Pe'eri, William H. Mcdowell, Philip Trowbridge

PREP Reports & Publications

Increasing nitrogen concentrations and declining eelgrass beds in Great Bay, NH are clear indicators of impending problems for the state’s estuaries. A workgroup established in 2005 by the NH Department of Environmental Services and the NH Estuaries Project (NHEP) adopted eelgrass survival as the water quality target for nutrient criteria development for NH’s estuaries. In 2007, the NHEP received a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to collect water quality information including that from moored sensors and hyper-spectral imagery data of the Great Bay Estuary. Data from the Great Bay Coastal Buoy, part of the regional Integrated Ocean Observing …

Water Quality Monitoring In North River And Little River In Nottingham, Nh, Deb Kimball

PREP Reports & Publications

The Town of Nottingham Conservation Commission (NCC) in New Hampshire purchased water testing equipment for monitoring the North and Little Rivers as part of the New Hampshire Volunteer River Assessment Program (VRAP). The equipment enabled NCC and Lamprey River Watershed Association (LRWA) volunteer water samplers to efficiently monitor water quality on the two rivers twice a month from May 2007 to June 2008.

Danville Town Forest Stewardship Plan, Ellen Snyder

PREP Reports & Publications

As a community resource the Town Forest offers many benefits and values to residents and visitors. The Forest provides wildlife habitat, scenic beauty, clean air, cool temperatures, hiking trails and other outdoor recreation, wood products, water supply protection, flood storage, historical artifacts, among others. People value the Town Forest for many different reasons. Fortunately, most of these are complementary benefits, each available without compromising the integrity of the others. A goal of this Stewardship Plan is to understand and appreciate the values of the Town Forest and to guide the use and management of these resources over time. This is …

Hampton Falls' Prime Wetlands Designation, West Environmental Inc.

PREP Reports & Publications

West Environmental Inc staff (WEI) worked with Hampton Falls Conservation Commission to prepare a zoning amendment to designate 10 Prime Wetlands in the town, totally 1,270.8 acres. The amendment was approved by the citizens of Hampton Falls at the March 2008 town vote and WEI compiled and submitted the Prime Wetlands Designation application to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services on August 4, 2008.

Community Land Conservation In The Coastal Watershed, Brian Hart

PREP Reports & Publications

The New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) provided a $10,000 grant to the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire (SELTNH) to support the hiring of a Community Land Protection Specialist to expand the region’s capacity to implement and complete conservation efforts within the coastal watershed, and specifically within the Lamprey River and Exeter River corridors. Over a period of eighteen months (January 2007 through June 30, 2008), the Community Land Protection Specialist (Specialist) worked with the Town of Brentwood, the Lamprey River Advisory Committee, and other community partners to conserve critical lands along the Exeter River, Lamprey River, and other areas …

Unh Monitoring Activities That Support The National Coastal Assessment In 2007, Philip Trowbridge

PREP Reports & Publications

The National Coastal Assessment is an Environmental Protection Agency program to monitor the health of the nation’s estuaries using nationally standardized methods and a probabilistic sampling design. Dedicated EPA funding for the National Coastal Assessment ceased after 2006. Therefore, the NH Department of Environmental Services and the New Hampshire Estuaries Project contributed funds to continue a portion of the National Coastal Assessment in 2007. Water quality measurements were successfully made during 2007 at 25 randomly located stations throughout the Great Bay Estuary and Hampton-Seabrook Harbor. These data will be combined with samples collected in 2006 for probabilistic assessments of estuarine …

Evaluation Of Nhep Outreach: A Survey Of Planning Boards And Conservation Commissions, Dave Kellam

PREP Reports & Publications

This report presents the findings of a survey conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center of planning board and conservation commissions in the 42 coastal watershed communities of New Hampshire from November 2007 to February 2008. Background information about a similar survey conducted in 2005 and a summary of New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) outreach activity from August 2005 to February 2008 is also provided to assist in the interpretation of the survey. Conclusions by NHEP staff are offered at the end of the report.

Incidence And Timing Of Low Dissolved Oxygen Events In The Squamscott River: 2005-07, Stephen H. Jones

PREP Reports & Publications

The Squamscott River has had extended episodes of low dissolved oxygen (DO) that have been recorded at a site near its mouth during the past few years. These episodes were recorded as a result of temporally intensive monitoring by a datasonde deployed through most of each year. Whereas low DO events can occur during April-November, events during the colder months are typically less frequent and are often caused by unusual natural or severe weather conditions. Low DO events occur most frequently during July-September when elevated levels of nutrients are most likely to contribute to their cause, and are thus of …

Thanks For The Maps And Reports. What Do We Do With Them?, Joyce El Kouarti

PREP Reports & Publications

The goal of this project was to assist local communities in establishing specific local priorities for land protection. MMRG staff conducted a total 32 meetings with conservation commissions, organized three regional workshops, created three sets of maps, conducted three field events, gave three presentations at lake association meetings, created six display booths and issued 12 press releases.

Wetland Buffer Characterization And Public Outreach In North Hampton, Dave Kellam

PREP Reports & Publications

This report includes a characterization of wetland buffers and buffer protection in North Hampton and a community outreach newsletter that focuses on the protection of the North Hampton wetland buffers. Consultants from Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc conducted field examinations of key North Hampton wetland buffer areas and issued a technical memorandium that characterize wetland buffer areas in the town and discusses of the value of these areas in terms of public interest and property values. Much of the information presented in the technical memo was communicated in an eight-page newsletter produced at Fosters Daily Democrate. Fosters produced 3,000 copies and …

Nhep Monitoring Plan - Version 5, July 2008, Philip Trowbridge

PREP Reports & Publications

The NHEP Management Plan presents a series of goals, objectives, and specific actions designed to improve, protect, and enhance the environmental quality of the state‟s estuaries, and outlines a process for implementing the Plan‟s most critical actions (NHEP, 2000; NHEP, 2005b). Measuring the effectiveness of these actions in achieving NHEP goals is an essential part of implementation that will be achieved through a suite of environmental and administrative indicators. This Monitoring Plan describes the methods and data for the indicators that will be used to answer the following question accurately and unambiguously: Are the goals and objectives of the Management …

Nhep Year 13 Work Plan, Jennifer Hunter

PREP Reports & Publications

The New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Estuary Program which is a joint local/state/federal program established under the Clean Water Act with the goal of protecting and enhancing nationally significant estuaries. The NHEP’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (Management Plan)for New Hampshire’s estuaries was completed in 2000 and updated in 2005. The Management Plan outlines key issues related to management of New Hampshire’s estuaries and proposes strategies (Action Plans) to protect, enhance, and monitor the state’s estuarine resources. Local stakeholders established the NHEP’s priorities, which include water quality improvements, shellfish resource …

Prime Wetland Designation Activities, Dave Kellam

PREP Reports & Publications

In 2008, Prime Wetland Designations (PWDs) were on the town ballot in the towns of Fremont, Hampton Falls, Brentwood, and Newfields. Three of the four passed (Appendix A); however, the Town of Newfields’ proposed designation was not approved due to significant opposition in the community (Appendix B). Portsmouth City Council will decide whether to designate the wetlands identified by their PWD report in the late spring or summer of 2008. This report documents the NHEP and community efforts to adopt PWD and offers insight into the unique situations of each community that may assist other communities in the PWD process. …

Protecting Shoreland And Riparian Buffers Workshop (2007), Jennifer Hunter

PREP Reports & Publications

The New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) organized and implemented a workshop on protecting shoreland and riparian buffers. A number of other organizations, including three regional planning commissions, NH Fish and Game Department, NH Department of Environmental Services, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and UNH Cooperative Extension, were involved in the planning and execution of the workshop. The workshop was designed to provide information and tools to encourage greater municipal regulatory protections for buffers. The workshop was held three times in October and November 2007 and attended by 75 people, primarily planning board and conservation commission members.

2007 Great Bay Water Quality (Datasonde) Monitoring Program, Jonathan Pennock

PREP Reports & Publications

In situ water quality assessment has become an important source of data for monitoring, research and management activities in estuaries nationwide. As part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, the Great Bay System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) produces in situ water quality data for four sites in and around Great Bay. This project extends the SWMP program to include year-round in situ data for a station at the University of New Hampshire Coastal Marine Lab pier at the mouth of the Piscataqua River and summmer data for a station in the Salmon Falls (SF) River. This suite of stations provides …

2007 Great Bay Organic Nitrogen And Light Extinction Monitoring Program, Jonathan Pennock

PREP Reports & Publications

Nitrogen is most often considered to be the limiting nutrient for plant growth in marine waters. As a result, knowledge of nitrogen loading and ambient water-column concentrations are considered to be critical to understanding the response of aquatic ecosystems to nutrient over-enrichment—a process known as eutrophication when it results in the excess production of organic matter. Plant production in many estuarine systems may also be limited by light availability as a result of high levels of turbidity in the water resulting from sediments, dissolved organic matter, and phytoplankton in the water column. Light limitation resulting from human-induced increases in turbidity …

(2008) Wellhead Protection Program - Lary Lane, Gilman, And Stadium Wells In The Town Of Exeter, Nh, Wellhead Protection Program

PREP Reports & Publications

A Wellhead Protection Program (WHPP) identifies existing and potential sources of contamination to public water supply wells. The purpose of a WHPP is to prevent contamination of groundwater used for drinking water, recognizing the best way to maintain high quality drinking water is to prevent contaminants from reach drinking water sources. The Federal Safe Drinking Water Act requires states to develop Wellhead Protection Programs. New Hampshire’s Groundwater Protection Act, NH RSA 485-C, provides the basis for protection in New Hampshire. The Town of Exeter, New Hampshire has developed this WHPP for three wells, the Lary Lane well, the Gilman well, …

Testing Of Great Bay Oysters For Two Protozoan Pathogens, John I. Nelson

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 New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP), the Marine Fisheries Division of New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, (NHF&G) continues to assess the presence and intensity of both disease conditions in oysters from the major beds, some open for harvest, within the Great Bay estuarine system. Histological examination of Great Bay oysters has also revealed other endoparasites.

Shellfish Tissue Monitoring In New Hampshire Estuaries 2006, Phil Trowbridge

PREP Reports & Publications

Conducted by a committee of Canadian and US government and university scientists, Gulfwatch examines the effects of decades of development and industrialization on the water quality of the Gulf as it relates to human health as well as its impact on other marine organisms. Gulfwatch scientists collect blue mussels at over 60 US and Canadian sites Gulf-wide, and analyze the organisms’ tissue for potentially harmful levels and concentrations of toxins including heavy metals, chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

New Hampshire increased the number of Gulfwatch sampling locations from two sites per year in 1997 to …

Guide To Understand Brentwood's Land Use Regulations, Brentwood Conservation Commission

PREP Reports & Publications

No abstract provided.

Summary Report For Round 1 Of The Community Technical Assistance Program, Jennifer Hunter

PREP Reports & Publications

The New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) initiated its Community Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) in 2005. The program provides consulting assistance to the 42 New Hampshire communities that are part of the watershed areas for the Great Bay estuary, Hampton Seabrook Harbor estuary, and Atlantic coast. Assistance is available in the areas of land conservation planning, wetlands/stream buffer protection, and stormwater management. Eleven communities applied for and received assistance through the first round of the program.

Hampton-Seabrook Estuary Restoration Compendium, Alyson L. Eberhardt, David M. Burdick

PREP Reports & Publications

The Hampton-Seabrook Estuary Habitat Restoration Compendium (HSEHRC) is a compilation of information on the historic and current distributions of salt marsh and sand dune habitats and diadromous fishes within the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary watershed. These habitats and species groups were selected due to the important ecological role they play within the watershed and with effective restoration and conservation efforts, will continue to play. Other ecologically important habitats and species, such as avifauna, shellfish and eelgrass beds, currently are or historically were present within the watershed. Shellfish and seagrass are recognized as important habitats within the Estuary, but were not included in …

Buffer Projects In The Town Of Wakefield And City Of Somersworth, Julie Labranche

PREP Reports & Publications

Participants in the Wakefield Buffer Project include SRPC staff, members of the Acton Wakefield Watershed Alliance (AWWA), local board and commission members, and the Wakefield Town Planner, Kathy Menici. AWWA members included: Linda Schier, Carol Lafond, Marge Kimball and Adam Soukimas. Town Staff included Joe Fluet (Planning board Chair) and Nancy Spencer Smith (Conservation Commission). The goals of AWWA are to educate and inform shoreland property owners about the harmful effects of erosion and uncontrolled stormwater runoff on water quality of its lakes and ponds. AWWA focuses their on- the-ground efforts to repair, restore and preserve healthy functioning buffers and …

Predicting The Success Of Invasive Species In The Great Bay Estuarine Researve, Jennifer A. Dijkstra, Larry G. Harris

PREP Reports & Publications

The University of New Hampshire Zoology Department reports on a study designed to continue monitoring the distribution of invasive species in the Great Bay Estuary and to carry out laboratory experiments designed to test the effects of salinity on ascidian mortality and determine predators of ascidian species. Researchers collected presence/absence and abundance data of invasive species at four sites within the Great Bay Estuarine System. The report gives a brief description of the results of the monitoring program to compare results obtained from 2006 to 2007 and to assess the response of ascidians to varying salinity and predators. This report …

Seasonal Appearance And Monitoring Of Invasive Species In The Great Bay Estuarine System, Larry G. Harris, Jennifer A. Dijkstra

PREP Reports & Publications

The University of New Hampshire Zoology Department reports on a study designed to synthesize existing data on invasive species in the estuary and the surrounding area, compare succession between two panel studies (1979 to 1982 and 2003 to 2006), seasonally monitor invasive species in the Great Bay Estuary, and identify predators of invasive species. Researchers identified species most likely to invade the Great Bay Estuary, analyzed succession between two long-term panel studies separated by approximately 25 years, collected presence/absence and abundance data of invasive species at four sites within the Great Bay Estuarine System and identified potential predators of invasive …

2005 Coastal Municipal Stormwater Infrastructure Mapping Project, Jeffrey Marcoux

PREP Reports & Publications

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) received funds in 2005 from the New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) to provide assistance to coastal communities to develop storm sewer infrastructure maps. This final report describes the grant projects completed in Rye and Seabrook.

NHEP chose to fund stormwater infrastructure mapping projects for a number of reasons. Primarily, this grant was established in order to fulfill one of the water quality action plans identified in the NHEP Management Plan. In addition, the Coastal/Piscataqua watershed has been identified by DES as a priority watershed in need of restoration. Updated and comprehensive maps …

Hydrological Parameters For New Hampshire's Estuaries, Phil Trowbridge

PREP Reports & Publications

The New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program which is a joint local/state/federal program established under Section 320 of the Clean Water Act with the goal of protecting and enhancing nationally significant estuaries. The NHEP’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for New Hampshire’s estuaries was completed in 2000 and implementation is ongoing. The Management Plan outlines key issues related to management of New Hampshire’s estuaries and proposes strategies that are expected to collectively preserve and protect the state’s estuarine resources. The coastal watershed for the NHEP drains into two major estuary …

Wakefield Land Conservation Education & Outreach Project, Cindy Barstow, Cheri Schlenker

PREP Reports & Publications

The Town of Wakefield has experienced an unprecedented growth explosion in the past seven years. Pressures to use heretofore undeveloped land for the construction of residential housing has threatened the natural resources of this community. The projected growth rate has the potential to severely impact Wakefield’s natural resources. While the town has undertaken a comprehensive revision of zoning, site plan and subdivision regulations, it is important that voluntary land protection measures are advanced to secure permanent protection of valuable resources.