This summer, every day that I climb the ladder to the dock after a swim, I have to go through spiderwebs. This destroys their beautiful creations so that I leave the water feeling at once refreshed and terribly guilty.
When I go back the next day, the webs are re-built demonstrating fascinating adaptive management—bigger or smaller; vertical vs. landscape; oblong instead of round. The amount of energy expended to keep re-building is remarkable. I do not anthropomorphize that they are resentful but that this is their life (I still feel guilty). They are not daunted but continue to be dedicated to doing what is necessary (capturing food and raising young), at the necessary place (it must be the perfect flyway to capture insects), at the necessary time (midges this year have been numerous). I love and admire these dock spiders.
It can be discouraging working for our natural world with changing federal, state, and local policies, which are not always good for rivers and watersheds. There are conflicts between natural systems and economic growth or housing while at the same time trails and parks are built celebrating the essence of these same mighty and dynamic waterbodies.
We know that you depend on the Council to be spiders. We are not giving up. We are not resentful. We are adapting to be the most effective advocates for the rivers and watersheds you love.
This means that the Council is part of the legislative process, rulemaking, and policy development while working on-the-ground with restoration projects that save fish, birds, mammals, and their habitats.
It can be a tangled web. We have been here since 1985 and every day, we continue to adapt and work for you and the rivers we love.
With every good wish for your health and an enjoyable late summer,
This year marks the second full growing season for the Greenland Central School raingarden. The New Hampshire Rivers Council installed the garden in 2023 in partnership with the school and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. Important annual maintenance activities were conducted this spring and summer to ensure the raingarden continues to flourish and function as designed to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff.
Spring maintenance activities included raking accumulated debris from the garden, trimming old plant growth, inspecting plants to determine viability, and setting up a cistern to provide water for summer irrigation in the event of dry weather. Much of the important maintenance work was organized and led by Greenland resident Jean Eno, raingarden volunteer extraordinaire.
A view of the garden following spring maintenance activitiesRaingarden volunteer Jean Eno sets up a cistern which will provide irrigation water for the plants
Volunteers returned to the garden during the summer to add more plants to fill gaps in the planted area and increase plant diversity. Pollinator-friendly native plants including hyssop, Joe Pye Weed, and rudbeckia were incorporated into the garden. Many pollinators were seen enjoying these new additions! In July, Jean invited members of the Greenland Conservation Commission for a garden tour to learn about the raingarden’s purpose and the unique partnership that led to its installation.
Happy plants
During maintenance visits, it was noted that the blue flag irises planted at the garden’s inlet and outlet areas had grown quite large during the past two growing seasons. This enthusiastic growth clogged important stormwater drainage design features of the garden. A “divide and conquer” volunteer maintenance event was held to reduce the plant growth so that water could once again flow freely in and out of the garden.
Volunteers divide irises to restore drainage feature functions
Overall, the garden functions as designed and provides much needed treatment of stormwater runoff. Next steps for the garden include installation of a kiosk which will provide educational information about the raingarden project and its role in improving water quality in the Winnicut River.
Garden performs as designed to infiltrate stormwater and remove pollutants
Like other environmental indicator species, the presence (or absence) of wild brook trout is often a reflection of our imprint on natural landscapes. When forested lands are converted to other uses and we do not maintain water quality and natural hydrological processes, we risk jeopardizing those aquatic species which have evolved to live in our rivers and streams. Brook trout require cooler, well oxygenated water throughout the summer, suitable spawning habitat, and a diversity of habitat types to grow. Although the central and northern portions of the state support a broad distribution of wild brook trout, there are several isolated streams in the south which also contain self-sustaining populations. The southern streams tend to be strongly influenced by natural springs which help contribute to flow volume and cooler water temperatures.
A wild population of Brook Trout was first documented in McQuesten Brook in 2009. Beyond the initial revelation that brook trout were found in such an urbanized area, the number and size of these fish were very remarkable. Being in such densely developed area, McQuesten Brook is far from being a quintessential brook trout stream. A high density of impervious surfaces, several dams and undersized culverts, removal of riparian corridors, and the introductions of large volumes of sand were threatening the resiliency of the brook trout population. An estimate of 34% of the land cover in the watershed consisted of impervious surfaces. For comparison, watersheds in Maryland with impervious cover densities greater than 4% no longer support wild brook trout.
Given the magnitude of all the watershed level cumulative impacts, we continue to be in awe that this stream can support such a robust brook trout population. Ongoing monitoring through electrofishing surveys in 2023 continue to show McQuesten Brook not only supports a healthy brook trout population, the stream also has the ability to create extremely large fish. Our largest fish captured this past summer was close to 11 inches long. The steady supply of unusually cool water apparently has the ability to offset enough of stressors so their presence can be maintained. Hourly summer water temperature was collected for 12 consecutive years. Although drastic upward swings in temperature were observed immediately after rain events, values quickly returned to more tolerable conditions. During this monitoring, the average summer stream temperature at the origin of the stream in Manchester was a chilling 55.2°F.
The desire to ensure brook trout are secure and water quality is improved in McQuesten Brook has been and will continue to be a strong motivation. Since trout were first documented, several monumental steps have been implemented to maintain these objectives. Unfortunately, the introduction of sand continues to be a persistent problem. Despite the presence of large adult brook trout in McQuesten Brook, surveys from 2023 indicate a limited number of juvenile fish. This is likely attributed to deposited brook trout eggs not being able to successfully incubate after being covered with the shifting sand.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department looks forward to working with project partners to assist with monitoring and future restoration and enhancement projects. The development of a watershed management plan, dam and culvert removals, public engagement, and partner collaboration should be seen as inspiration for other watershed level restoration efforts. If effective strategies can be initiated in an area with all the challenges associated with an urbanized environment, similar work can be done in other New Hampshire Watersheds.
Of the 64 state-owned dams classified as “high hazard” – meaning their failure could result in loss of life – 33 are in poor condition, said the chief engineer of the Department of Environmental Services’ Dam Bureau.
“Each one of those high hazard dams, I mean, the risk associated, if that dam was to fail, there would be probable loss of life,” said Corey Clark, who oversees the bureau. “And here in New Hampshire, a high hazard dam … can be anything from one home being impacted or hundreds or more homes being impacted.”
Fixing New Hampshire’s state-owned dams is an expensive task – one a bipartisan group of lawmakers studying the issue recommended in a November report be addressed through fees. It would take $300 million to rehabilitate all of the high hazard state-owned dams and another $114 million for the others, Clark told the committee. In other words, to get the state’s dams up to standards in the next 50 years, the bureau would need $16 million annually, he said. Right now, it gets less than half that a year.
“Current revenues place the Bureau in a shortfall, extending the repair and rehabilitation schedule to 100 years,” lawmakers wrote in the report. “Considering the age, condition, and growth of development downstream from dams, this is an untenable situation which is poised to deteriorate.”
New Hampshire, unlike most other states, owns a significant portion of dams within its borders, most of which were acquired between the 1940s and ‘60s, the report said. The state owns 276 dams, and is responsible for maintaining and operating 208 of those, according to Clark. Of those, about 111 are owned by DES, 97 by the Fish and Game Department, and the rest by various state agencies and entities, Clark said.
Just five operators oversee those 208 dams, which breaks down to just over 40 dams per person, Clark said.
“If we have a major flood event … our resources are just stretched,” Clark said. “… We’re competing with every other agency that is trying to get some general funds to keep their agencies going. So it does become a challenge of … trying to maintain these dams, particularly when we have either flooding events or even this summer, the drought we had, trying to maintain those water resources throughout the state becomes challenging.”
As dams have aged, more people have simultaneously moved into the line of risk. Because of downstream development, the number of dams classified as high hazard has almost doubled since 2004, the report said. The remaining state-owned dams fall into the other risk categories: 34 classified as a significant hazard, 80 as low hazard, and 98 as non-menacing. These categories describe the risk the dams pose in the event of failure, not the actual condition of the dams.
“We’ve not built more high hazard dams, but more dams have been reclassified to be high hazard, therefore increasing the criteria that those dams then have to meet,” Clark said. For example, a low hazard dam must meet standards for a 50-year storm event, while a high hazard dam must meet the criteria for a 1,000-year event. “… So you have a dam that may have been, you know, satisfactory … when it was a low hazard dam (that) gets reclassified to be a high hazard dam. Now it’s in poor condition because, you know, it cannot pass that 1,000-year event.”
The average state-owned dam is more than a century old. Pawtuckaway Lake in the southeastern part of the state has four dams that were built in the mid-1800s, Clark said. Its largest dam has a wooden gate about 25 feet below the water that “hasn’t seen daylight in well over, I think, 40 years,” he said. “So, really if you look at it that way, Pawtuckaway Lake is relying on a wooden gate at the bottom that’s over 40 years old.” And it’s not the only water body relying on decades-old gates, Clark added. The flow gates on Murphy Dam in Pittsburgh are “nearing a century old; unaltered since installation in 1940,” the report said. (The four Pawtuckaway Lake dams are in poor condition, though their hazard classifications range from low to significant to high, according to the National Inventory of Dams. The Murphy Dam is considered high hazard, but its condition is “not rated.”)
The dam bureau operates on about $7.5 million a year, Clark said, but “for us to really dive into that backlog, get these dams to meet current criteria, it’s going to take, likely, another $8 million” annually.
The lawmakers studying the situation – now-retired Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, a Manchester Democrat; Rep. Ron Dunn, a Londonderry Republican; Rep. Mike Ouellet, a Colebrook Republican; and Rep. Peter Leishman, a Peterborough Democrat – agreed unanimously to recommend two new policies to raise funds for dam repairs.
One would “assess a fee of $1.58 per foot of linear shoreline upon all taxable waterfronts maintained by a state-owned dam,” which would generate an estimated $7.5 million annually from the approximately 4.79 million linear feet of “taxable, eligible shoreline,” the report said. Another funding source would be a $5 fee for boater registration that would go to DES’ dam maintenance fund. That would generate an estimated $530,000 a year, the lawmakers found.
Leishman said he is sponsoring legislation for those fees, and that three Republicans, including the two who sat on the study committee, will be co-sponsors. He said the study committee members weren’t “married” to the shoreline or boat registration fees and are open to other suggestions for how to generate the money.
“Fees and tax increases generally don’t receive a very favorable vote. If anything, we’ve been, you know, taking taxes away and reducing our revenue,” Leishman said, referencing the interest and dividends tax that goes away at the end of the year. That lost revenue is “a little troubling,” Leishman said, especially in light of the issues with the dams and other infrastructure in the state.
If lawmakers don’t raise the money, other options might be on the table, he said.
“Well, we either have to make these repairs and pay for these repairs somehow. We may get some positive feedback,” Leishman said. “Otherwise, we’ll have to start looking at … draining the lakes behind these dams. And I don’t think that would be met with a lot of enthusiasm.” (Clark said the bureau can take the step of draining an impoundment when it finds imminent problems, but that this “very rarely” occurs.)
Many of the state’s most treasured water bodies look the way they do because of dams, Clark said. Without dams, Lake Winnipesaukee could drop by 8 feet, Newfound Lake by at least 6 feet, Squam Lake possibly by about 12 feet, and Goose Pond in Grafton County by 20 feet, he said.
“A lot of people,” Clark said, “they don’t think about, you know, why is this water here?”
Cardinal flowers and other native plants doing their job to soak up the rain at the Greenland Central School (photo credit: Sally Soule)
Spring brought the first year of snowmelt and spring rains to put this little rain garden to its first big test. Right after planting in late August 2023, there were significant storms that showed runoff going where it needed to go: to the plants, soil, and structures beneath doing what they were designed to do—remove pollutants from stormwater runoff.
Sally Soule, Rivers Council board officer, and Jean Eno, long-time Winnicut River advocate and Greenland resident, put the garden to bed in the fall and gave it a gentle wake-up in the spring.
“Projects like this go a long way toward reducing nutrient loading in our waterways. Plus, they provide important co-benefits such as habitat and food for pollinators,” said Sally Soule, board officer, New Hampshire Rivers Council.
Since then, last year’s performance has continued through the 2024 growing season. This little rain garden is having a big effect in the Winnicut River watershed. It is removing 1.3 pounds of phosphorus and 13.2 pounds of nitrogen from the watershed each year. When the kiosk is completed, visitors will see the rain garden, read about what it is doing, and how they can do the same in their own backyards.
“It has been a pleasure watching this raingarden grow and adapt to the stormwater runoff imposed upon it. The resiliency of the all the plants, particularly the thriving Cardinal flower, is remarkable,” said Eno.
“Gigantic kudos to Jean and Paul Eno of Greenland for their amazing work taking care of the rain garden through some extreme summer and fall weather,” added Michele L. Tremblay, President, Board of Directors of the New Hampshire Rivers Council.
When the kiosk is completed, a ribbon cutting event will be announced.
Want to learn more about rain gardens? Please read on.
What is a rain garden?
A rain garden is a depressed area in the landscape that collects rainwater from a roof, driveway, parking lot, or road and allows it to soak into the ground. Planted with grasses and flowering perennials, rain gardens can be a cost-effective and beautiful way to reduce runoff. Rain gardens can filter pollutants and provide food and shelter for butterflies, songbirds, and other wildlife. This garden is filled with plants native to our area.
Why is it here?
Runoff from impervious surfaces, including roads, parking lots, and building roofs can carry fine soils, nutrients, and pollutants. The water can also become very warm, which has negative effects on fish and other animals, who depend on our brooks and rivers. This little rain garden has big, positive effects by absorbing these materials and keeping unnaturally warm water from flowing directly into the Winnicut River.
Should I have one?
Rain gardens are a wonderful way to absorb runoff to brooks and rivers and to keep water from pooling around houses. Depending on the plantings, they can provide food for pollinators and color year ‘round.
This rain garden went to work the day it was installed
From its first day in August 2023, this rain garden absorbed water that flowed from the road and parking lot. It was absorbed quickly and did not runoff into the storm drains, which lead to the Winnicut River. Since then, it has stood strong against heavy rains and snow melt. Each year, the plants will grow, expand, and reproduce to provide increased water absorption, filtration of pollutants, and habitat for butterflies, birds, and other wildlife.
Funding for this project was provided in part by a Watershed Assistance Grant from the NH Department of Environmental Services with Clean Water Act Section 319 funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and generous gifts from New Hampshire Rivers Council members.
Here’s a great video from American Rivers about dam removals. The benefits go beyond saving fish. It’s just over three minutes and packed with great information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqLugGlQj6k
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a landscape of connections. This place is the heart of generations of protection, lifelong friendships, and iconic wildlife migrations. Love is the Way tells the stories of these connections, and the power of the continuing efforts to keep oil companies out of the Refuge’s sacred coastal plain.
Sadly, the Blackwater River in Webster had a confirmed sample with cyanobacteria this past summer. This is believed to be the first river report in New Hampshire’s history. These bacteria are present in many waterbodies. When one or more circumstances is present, such as warm, shallow water receiving abundant sunlight, the few organisms can become many and cause a bloom. In the case of the Blackwater, the advisory has since been lifted but the state’s proactive work is needed. The New Hampshire Rivers Council worked with NH House Rep. Rosemarie Rung to support HB1066, creating a legislative study commission. The legislation was revised to create the Cyanobacteria Plan Advisory Committee, which assists the NH Department of Environmental Services’s development of coordinated approaches to cyanobacteria blooms. The New Hampshire Rivers Council is a member of the Committee and will continue to be a stalwart advocate for our rivers. To learn more, visit the Committee website by clicking here.
Each year, the New Hampshire Rivers Council brings one of the largest environmental film festivals to Concord. This year, we have more room for everyone at The Bank of New Hampshire Stage. The event will take place on Friday, March 28, 2025 and the doors open at 5:00 PM for ticketing (we want to keep you warm and out of the weather). The reception starts at 6:00 PM and Showtime is 7:00 sharp.
If you can’t be part of the big night or want to re-watch the films—there’s good news: your ticket price includes five days of video-on-demand.
Click HERE to buy your ticket now and secure your seat for this regularly sold-out ev
ent!
Please help us in thanking our generous sponsors for this year’s event.
Wild & Scenic® Film Festival New Hampshire Rivers Council Local Sponsors (so far…)
