Happy Spring & Happy Arbor Day! Mark Your Calendar!

Wetlands in the Spring! Presentation coming March 24th

Winnicut Coalition at Portsmouth Open Market

The Winnicut Coalition was the featured watershed group at this Sunday's Gundalow tent during the Portsmouth Open Market at Strawbery Banke.  Rain and overcast skies kept attendance low, but there were still as many as a couple dozen visitors to the tent. 

Click on photo to enlarge, and then click again to zoom in on your watershed!

VRAP Sampling - July 28, 2011

With a new set of sites to sample (for a total of nine to date), volunteers set out early Thursday morning to conduct water quality testing on the Winnicut River and one of its tributaries.  All general parameters were tested, as were nutrients and bacteria.  It was a beautiful, clear day in the 70's, and we saw a Great Blue Heron at our first stop on the Packer Brook, pickerel frogs and an unidentified species of fish (~3-4" long) at our third stop (a quiet, scenic wet meadow/marsh area), and native Joe Pye Weed and Cardinal Flower at our last stop (among other flora).  Great rewards!

All photos by NHDES Habitat Restoration Coordinator Kevin Lucey (missing from photos), who volunteered his time for sampling assistance.  Also missing from photos, hydrologist and WRWC volunteer Danna Truslow.

Volunteer Nate Hazen (Greenland) performs an initial conductivity meter check at the first stop of the morning -- 03-PBG, Packer Brook in Greenland (refer to Sampling Locations map in right-hand column of this blog).

View of our second stop, this time on the Winnicut itself, just upstream from the former dam in Greenland (02-WNC on the Sampling Locations map). 

At the third site, also on the main stem of the Winnicut in Greenland (05-WNC), NHDES Coastal Program intern Andy Gould reviews sampling protocols while volunteer Jean Vincent (North Hampton) works with volunteer Nate Hazen and the WRWC's project director, Jean Eno (far right).

We're not always busy sampling...sometimes we take breaks for clay treatment on our feet.

VRAP Sampling - July 20, 2011

Ten newly trained citizen scientist volunteers began collecting water samples and testing for potential problems in the Winnicut River and some of its tributaries early Wednesday morning, starting with an area in North Hampton where the Winnicut River primarily begins (near the former town dump on South Rd...site '21-WNC' on the 'Sampling Stations' map at end of this post).

Using special meters to gauge the level of the river's health, volunteers tested for conditions such as turbidity, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen and specific conductance--all of which are described in the article "...Water Quality Parameters..." under the heading 'Pages' in the right-hand column.  At several sites bacteria (E. coli) and nutrient samples (nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorides) were also collected, which were delivered to a state laboratory for analysis immediately following the morning's end.  All results will be made available as soon as the sampling season is complete, some time in late October.

The WRWC will conduct this sampling regime next spring and summer as well, thereby increasing the amount of relevant information available to local, state and federal governments for making smarter land-use decisions and planning better protection of our river and streams.  In turn, these steps can improve community vitality (not to mention improve wildlife habitat!).

These volunteers are making a difference!  Left to right: Nate Hazen (Greenland), Kathy Grant (No. Hampton), Lisa Tutinas (No. Hampton), Brenda Tharp (No. Hampton) and Wendy Crowley (No. Hampton) begin reviewing sampling protocols at the day's first sampling site.

We welcome youths!  Junior High School student Petras Tutinas (No. Hampton) "grabs" the first sample of the day at a culvert crossing just west of North Hampton's former town dump.  Volunteer Danna Truslow (Rye), a surface water and groundwater hydrologist by trade, looks on.

Attention to detail is a must!  Nate, Brenda and Petras conduct a pH measurement at the first sampling site, while WRWC Project Director Jean Eno follows up on meter protocols.

Piscataqua Waterfront Festival 2011

The WRWC info table pre-start time at the 3rd annual Piscataqua Waterfront Festival in Portsmouth, NH.

It was a fantastically sunny and upbeat day yesterday down on the Ceres Street Wharf.  Folks from all around the region visited Portsmouth to partake in the 27th annual WOKQ Chowder Festival at Prescott Park, and the 3rd annual Piscataqua Waterfront Festival hosted by the historical Moffatt-Ladd House and Garden.

The Moffatt-Ladd Waterfront Festival is a celebration of Piscataqua River maritime history and contemporary water quality issues surrounding Great Bay.  The Winnicut River is a main tributary to Great Bay, and thus we were asked to participate in the celebration.  But of course!

The 'With Just One Hand' board was a successful attraction, and more than two dozen visitors pledged to support the 'Scoop the Poop' campaign!  Here, the green hands for writing pets' names have already started accumulating.

Interested folks scoping out the abundant information on many ways to help improve water quality (regardless of where one lives!).  For pledging to 'Scoop the Poop', visitors were given special poop bags tied around IAMs dog bones and an info tag.  As a NH Coverts Project volunteer, I also included lots of ways to protect wildlife and their habitat, and offered fun pocket guides to identifying wildlife tracks in NH. 

Piscataqua Waterfront Festival, June 4, 2011

http://www.moffattladd.org/calendar.html

One week from tomorrow the Winnicut River Watershed Coalition will be attending this event.  From the Moffatt-Ladd website:

"The festival features music, traditional maritime artisan demonstrations, free museum tours, hands-on children’s activities, boats, booths, and displays by area businesses and non-profit organizations, and an heirloom plant sale of plants from the Moffatt-Ladd garden.  The festival is designed to heighten awareness of our maritime history, contemporary water quality issues, boat building heritage and opportunities, marine management, water recreation, and conservation."

Curious how you'll manage to move back and forth between the PWF and the Chowder festival?  Portsmouth Harbor Cruises will be providing free boat shuttles between the Ceres Street Wharf and the Chowder Festival in Prescott Park! 

Stop on by our table and say hello!



Winnicut Coalition to Conduct Water Quality Monitoring

In addition to the critical grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to form the Winnicut River Watershed Coalition, and a generous grant from the Fuller Foundation to assist work in the towns within the Winnicut River watershed, the WRWC has just received a substantial grant from the New Hampshire Coastal Program to conduct some great work. Our press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 17, 2011

Contact: Jean Eno, Winnicut Project Director, New Hampshire Rivers Council, at 603-431-7009

Local Coalition Receives Funding for Water Quality Testing

North Hampton, Stratham, Greenland Communities to Benefit

Greenland, NH — The Winnicut River Watershed Coalition, an initiative of the New Hampshire Rivers Council, has received a two-year grant from the New Hampshire Coastal Program at the Department of Environmental Services to conduct water quality and biological monitoring on the Winnicut River and its tributaries in the towns of North Hampton, Stratham, and Greenland, NH, beginning in June, 2011.

Several sections of the Winnicut River are affected by one or more pollutants that impact swimming, fishing and boating, as well as, aquatic wildlife habitat. At as many as twelve sites, testing will be conducted for nitrogen, harmful bacteria, and water quality parameters including dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH (acidity). The Winnicut River is the only main tributary unimpeded by dams
that flows directly to Great Bay.

“With a larger snapshot of the river’s condition throughout the watershed—the area of land that drains to the Winnicut—we hope to gain a greater understanding of the local impacts of stormwater runoff, which in turn will allow us to provide even greater water quality education and outreach to our citizens,” said Jean Eno, Winnicut Project Director.

“Ultimately, people and wildlife need and benefit from the Winnicut and Great Bay being clean and healthy,” said Michele L. Tremblay, President, New Hampshire Rivers Council. “Our state’s economy and the health of its people depend on it, and involving citizens in these initiatives is cost effective and creates long lasting results.”

Those interested in volunteering should contact Jean Eno at jeno@nhrivers.org. Further information can be found online at www.nhrivers.org.

Grant funding was provided by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act in conjunction with the N.H. Department of Environmental Services Coastal Program.

Erosion of the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act and other protective conservation measures

The New Hampshire Rivers Council is providing a new and important service for those interested in the legislative aspect of water conservation and protection in our state. If you are interested in being notified of action relative to water conservation, please subscribe to LegislativeAlert by sending an email to LegislativeAlert-join@NHRivers.org.

To support this and other valuable watershed work, please visit New Hampshire Rivers Council's website.

Currently, there are three bills going before the Senate that aim to erode the integrity of important conservation and protection measures:

SB 19 is relative to the definition of prime wetlands;

SB 20 is relative to shoreland protection permits;

SB 21 is relative to the definition of wetlands.

All three are being heard by the NH Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in Room 102 at the Legislative Office Building at 10:15 AM on January 13, 2011. View the calendar (page 3 of the pdf) here.

From Michele Tremblay, President of NH Rivers Council:

These bills would dramatically and harmfully transform the regulatory framework and landscape of our waterbodies. Please ACT NOW on these three very important bills. Some of the senate hearing time overlaps with the Oyster River bill hearing in the House (HB 44, designating segments of the Oyster River as a protected river). It is recommended that the local focus of seacoast advocates be on this house hearing. Alternatively, you can drop off your House testimony letters/cards and then go to the Senate Committee hearings at 10:15.

What can you do now? Call or write your Senator and urge him/her to to vote against these three bills. This is especially effective if your Senator is on this committee. If you cannot be there, please take a moment to write a letter to or call your Senator.

Tools for action and what you need to know:

SB 19 would reduce prime wetlands to areas that are 5 or more acres.
SB 20 would remove the shoreland permit requirement when an applicant receives an alternation of terrain permit. As you are aware, these two programs are complementary and NOT redundant.
SB 21 would remove from wetland jurisdiction all man-made wetlands unless they are part of compensatory mitigation.

Committee membership

Who's my Legislator? (search by city/town)

It's important to close the circle. Please let us know when you have called your Representative or email/fax us your letter so that we can keep track of support when testifying at hearings. There is no assurance that the leadership and the committee membership will be notified of your support. We will make sure that ALL committee members know that you support this bill.

WRWC Kick-off Event A Success!

More than 50 people from local communities, organizations and groups participated in the Winnicut River Watershed Coalition's first outreach event on Saturday, May 15, 2010.

While the wind tried hard to dampen spirits, it was an enjoyable, social afternoon with much networking.  Many thanks to the following exhibitors for participating in this successful first event:

Joshua Cline, NH Rivers Council

Amanda Nelson, Weeks Brick House

Jean Eno, Greenland Conservation Commission

NH DOT Stormwater Pollution Outreach Program

Great Bay Stewards

Cheri Patterson, NH Fish & Game

Rick Mauer & sons, and Barry Gendron, Boy Scout Troop 158

Artist Hal Kirby

Artist Anthony D'Allesandro

Greg Tillman, NH Audubon (riverwalk guide)

NH Coastal Protection Partnership

Eco Movement Consulting

Thanks to the following individuals for their contributions to our raffle, and congratulations to their winners:

Suds N' Soda Sports Outlet: rod & reel, $60 value - Anthony D'Allesandro

Photographer Ann Reid: photograph of "Horseshoe Crabs," $85 value - John Meyer

Artist Hal Kirby: pastel print of "Old Ironsides," $30 value - Gordon Hislop
                          pastel print of "Prescott Park Fountains," $40 value - Bill Bilodeau

Artist Anthony D'Allesandro: pastel print of "Marsh at Sunset," $90 value - Tim Farrell

Big thanks to the following individuals for their help, without which things would have been a lot more hectic:

Paul Eno - parking, and pre/post grunt work

Tim Farrell & Friends - grilling, food delivery

Chip Hussey -  post grunt work

Joshua Cline, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Rivers Council, addresses participants at the Winnicut River Watershed Coalition kick-off event held at the Weeks Brick House in Greenland, NH

Come Celebrate the WRWC's Launch!