PREP Reports & Publications

Abstract

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 the Clean Water Act with the goal of protecting and enhancing nationally significant estuarine resources. 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 enhancements, land protection, habitat restoration, and outreach and education. Projects addressing these priorities are undertaken throughout New Hampshire’s 42 community coastal watershed. In addition, the NHEP developed and now implements a comprehensive monitoring program for the coastal watershed. The NHEP collects, compiles and analyzes data for a number of environmental indicators. The NHEP finalized its communications plan, which outlines goals and strategies to shape the program’s outreach and communications activities to better support Management Plan implementation. Each year the NHEP prepares its work plan, which describes recent accomplishments and priority activities and projects to be undertaken in the next year to implement the Management Plan. The work plan is developed by the NHEP with input from NHEP’s four project teams. The NHEP Management Committee reviews and approves the work plan each year. The current work plan represents the eleventh year of the NHEP’s activities and involvement in collaboratively protecting, enhancing, and monitoring New Hampshire’s estuaries.

Department

Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership

Publication Date

6-2006

Publisher

New Hampshire Estuaries Project

Document Type

Report

Download

Share

COinS