News

News of interest collected and shared here, for New Hampshire Rivers Council members and friends.

Program Administrator position available
The New Hampshire Rivers Council is seeking a part-time Program Administrator to support and administer the Council’s operations and programs. The ideal candidate is experienced in working with an active nonprofit board of directors, be a self-starter that can manage the Council’s operations, and enjoy the challenge or working with committed volunteers and partners. He or she will have a proven track record in nonprofit operations and support, working with a board of directors, managing multiple projects and grants, operate the organization’s fundraising software and manage membership and other donations, and have excellent written and oral communication skills and a deep appreciation for New Hampshire’s rivers and watersheds. This is an exciting opportunity to provide essential services and to develop new programs and services for a statewide nonprofit organization based in Concord, New Hampshire. Based on funding and other organizational growth that the successful candidate will facilitate, this could become a full-time position with expanded duties and responsibilities. The compensation package is commensurate with experience and a proven track record of organizational and project administration. Click here to view position description. By the close of business on June 6, 2013, please email cover letter, résumé, three professional references, and a writing sample to SearchCommittee@NHRivers.org. No telephone or email enquiries, please.

Request for qualifications released
The New Hampshire Rivers Council is soliciting statements of qualifications for design, engineering, and permitting for the removal of the McQuesten Pond and McQuesten Brook Dams in Manchester, NH. Statements of qualifications are due by the COB on May 10, 2013. Please click here to download the request for qualifications document. This announcement is posted April 1, 2013.

New Hampshire Rivers Council 2012 Annual Report
The New Hampshire Rivers Council 2012 annual report is now online. Please click here to download the report.

New Hampshire Rivers Council annual meeting and Wild & Scenic® Environmental Film Festival on March 29, 2013
The New Hampshire Rivers Council is proud to announce that it is convening its Annual Meeting and third Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival on Friday, March 29, 2013 at the Red River Theatres. The evening begins at 5:00 with a reception and the annual meeting. Showtime begins at 6:30 PM. Tickets are $9 for members and $12 for non-yet-members, which includes a one-year membership. For further information and to purchase tickets, please visit our Film Festival page by clicking here. Click here to view the media release as a PDF.

New Hampshire Rivers Council and its partners are in the news for McQuesten Brook
The McQuesten Brook Restoration Project in Manchester got some great press this week in The Hippo. Click here to view the story as a PDF.

Site Plan Reading and Analysis Workshop
Whether you are an experienced planner or you’ve just volunteered for your local land use board (planning, conservation, zoning) you know reading and interpreting site plans is part of the job.  Don’t panic, this workshop will help you to learn what all those lines mean and give you an introduction to basic engineering terms.  We will review a variety of plan types including site and subdivision plans, existing conditions, grading and drainage, road cross-sections, profiles, and landscape plans.  We will go on a virtual tour to further identify typical elements on site and subdivisions. Participants will get a hands-on session with a simple step-by step process of highlighting plans.  By the end of the session you will have a good idea on how you can make plans more “readable”, how to begin your analysis of plans, and how to use highlighted plans as a tool for discussion with developers. Click here to download the flyer…
Click here to register for this free workshop
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
8:30 - 11:30 AM
Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Hugh Gregg Coastal Conservation Center
Greenland, NH

New Hampshire Rivers Council elects new officers
The Council welcomed new officers, Matt Monhan as Vice-president and Danna Truslow as Treasurer. The Council honoured retiring directors David Borden and Steve Robinson. Click here to view the media release as a PDF.

NH Water and Watershed Conference
The New Hampshire Water and Watershed Conference is designed to meet the information and networking needs of a broad audience. Participants include scientists; educators; consultants; students; lake, river, and watershed groups; environmental organizations; volunteer monitors; municipal board and staff members; elected officials; local and regional planners; and policy makers.
https://www.plymouth.edu/center-for-the-environment/2013-nh-water-watershed-conference/
Conference Date & Location:
Friday, March 22, 2013
9:00 PM - 4:00 PM
The Hartman Union Building, Plymouth State University,
High Street
Plymouth, NH
Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival



A benefit for the New Hampshire Rivers Council
Coming to the Red River Theatres in Concord
March 29, 2013

This fun filled event features films from around the world to spark your senses and motivate environmental grassroots action. The Rivers Council will celebrate its Twentieth Anniversary and hold its Annual Meeting during the reception.
We hope you can join us, volunteer, be an event sponsor, or donate a raffle prize. More details to follow or inquire now with an email to Beth at BFlagler@NHRivers.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 10/05/2012

Contact: Beth Flagler, Program Administrator, New Hampshire Rivers Council 603.228.6472 or info@NHRivers.org

Michele L. Tremblay, President, NewHampshire Rivers Council

603.796.2615 or info@NHRivers.org

The New Hampshire Rivers Council's Board has grown with the addition of five new volunteer directors. Full biographical summaries for all Rivers Council directors and photos are available on http://nhrivers.org/about-us/.

The Honorable Frank Tupper, former NH State Representative and Canterbury Town Selectmen joined the Board and brings valuable experience and knowledge to the Council after having served on the Resources, Recreation, and Development House Committee as well as the Environment and Agriculture Committee. Frank said, "In one irrational action, our rivers environmental quality can be held in the balance. Our clean and beautiful rivers have so many gifts that are offered to visitors and residents alike. And for that reason, I find that it is imperative that I lend my support to the NH Rivers Council. For it is the NHRC that is our State rivers' best friend."

Rachel Brown is the Senior Program Naturalist at the Amoskeag Fishways Learning and Visitors Center in Manchester. Rachel had a growing interest in the work of the Rivers Council since she has been attending "Bug Nights" with the Upper Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee. "Clean water and well managed watersheds are vital to human health", said Rachel. "New Hampshire Rivers Council strives to protect water resources. The mission resonates with me, as I have been passionate about watershed education since my first college internship with UVM Watershed Alliance".

Ellen Heronemus Bryan, a member of the Upper Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee, brings to Council the enthusiastic outlook she shared with her students for 22 years at the St. Paul's School in Concord. Ellen said, "I strive to be a good steward of finite resources, especially water and energy, because doing so can make a positive difference within a community and wanted to bring my experience and commitment to the Rivers Council". Living a more sustainable life has been an on-going personal and educational theme as she has helped educate the next generation of environmental stewards.

Steven Lowe, owner of Lowe Temperature Solutions, Inc., Canterbury, NH said, "I hope to protect New Hampshire's rivers for the future and to educate young and old in the value and importance of clean rivers and streams". He also enjoys participating in "Bug Nights", the NH Fish & Game salmon program and stream surveys, and Trout Unlimited's "Trout in the classroom program."

Rachel Ruppel works with Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission as a GIS analyst and planner, where she has had the opportunity to work with Conservation Commissions and support the work of the Connecticut River Joint Commissions and Mascoma River Local Advisory Committee. Rachel said, "I see how many people enjoy boating, fishing and swimming in rivers all over New Hampshire -- clean, healthy rivers are a wonderful community resource. I'm delighted to serve on the Rivers Council to promote the appreciation and stewardship of our rivers". Rachel was a great promoter of the Council's River Runners program this summer and partnered with the Council on its river shoreland standards focus group for stakeholders along the Connecticut River.

"I look forward to working with these new directors and our diverse board," said Michele L. Tremblay, President, "Their many strengths, valuable expertise, and fresh ideas will bring even more success to the Council's work for its members and the citizens of and visitors to New Hampshire's rivers."

This year is very busy for the New Hampshire Rivers Council having facilitated four regional focus groups to form recommendations for separate rivers, lakes, and tidal waters protection standards and five River Runners Invasive Aquatic Species Identification and Monitoring workshops. Planning for the next Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival is just around the corner.

The New Hampshire Rivers Council is committed to the conservation and ecologically sound management of New Hampshire's rivers, watersheds, and related natural resources. The New Hampshire Rivers Council is the only statewide conservation organization dedicated to the protection and conservation of New Hampshire rivers. Over twenty years ago, the organization was established as the New Hampshire Rivers campaign to create and pass the Rivers Management and Protection Act. Since then the Council has worked to educate the public about the value of the state's rivers, designate rivers in the state's protection program, and advocate for strong public policies and wise management of New Hampshire river resources. For further information, please visit www.NHRivers.org.

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Celebrating 25 years of environmental protection - 1/1/2012 (Seacoastonline.com)
A note about protecting New Hampshire's environment since the creation of the NH Department of Environmental Services in 1987.
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NH gets grant for oyster restoration - 1/1/2012 (The Wire (NH))
Efforts to restore the native oyster population in Great Bay recently got a welcome financial boost. The state chapter of The Nature Conservancy has received a $24,000 grant from the New Hampshire Conservation License Plate Program to help rebuild an oyster reef at the mouth of the Squamscott River in Newmarket.
[ Read more ]
Report urges development of ‘recreation corridors’ - 12/27/2011 (Bangor Daily News)
A recent report commissioned for the National Park Service is urging support for seven interstate “recreation corridors“ in New England — including on the Merrimack River and another on the Connecticut River.
[ Read more ]
2012 New Hampshire Fishing and Hunting Licenses Now Available - 12/23/2011 (Union Leader)
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department has announced that 250 of the licenses will be available.
[ Read more ]
VT DOH discovers tritium in Connecticut River - 12/22/2011 (Brattleboro Reformer)
According to the Vermont Department of Health, a water sample taken from the Connecticut River just offshore from Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon tested positive for tritium.
[ Read more ]
US destroying 434K lake trout for 'rock snot' fear - 12/22/2011 (Wall Street Journal)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is disposing of 434,000 lake trout from a Bethel fish hatchery because of fears that stocking them in the Great Lakes could spread the invasive algae known as "rock snot."
[ Read more ]
Several agencies work together to protect the Connecticut - 12/19/2011 (Keene Sentinel)
The Connecticut River Watershed Council works in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut to protect the river.
[ Read more ]
Public Hearing Jan. 3, 2012, on Marine Rules, Lamprey & Oyster rivers - 12/6/2011 (NewHampshire.com)
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold a public hearing on proposed marine rule changes on Tuesday, January 3, 2012, at 7 p.m., at the Urban Forestry Center, 45 Elwyn Road, Portsmouth, N.H. 03801. The proposed rules would affect persons taking marine species and anglers fishing in the freshwater section of the Lamprey River near Wiswall Dam in Durham, N.H.
[ Read more ]
UNH scientists to provide sea level rise data for next IPCC report - 11/29/2011 (EurekaAlert!)
Scientists at the University of New Hampshire's Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space (EOS) have been funded by NASA to improve estimates of how melting mountain glaciers around the globe will contribute to sea level rise in the future. The data, which are currently poorly understood, will be a critical new element in the next assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

"Our role in this project is to plug new meltwater estimates into the global water balance/river transport model we developed here at UNH and move it all downstream to gauge potential sea level rise," says co-investigator and lead UNH scientist Richard Lammers of the Water Systems Analysis Group. "It's an accounting of the world's water under changing conditions."
[ Read more ]
The Power to Persevere: How One City Is Rebuilding Itself Through Biomass - 11/16/2011 (Renewable Energy World.com)
It must be a theme for today: Cities built by river-powered industries in New Hampshire are looking now to sustainable industries for economic growth and development: Berlin, NH, its paper mills on the Androscoggin River shuttered, is introducing renewable biomass power production.
[ Read more ]
Sustainable Design Of Water Treatment Facility Earns National Recognition - 11/16/2011 (Water Online)
Wright-Pierce, a New England provider of water, wastewater and civil engineering services, has set a new standard for sustainable, energy-efficient municipal infrastructure design in the newly constructed water treatment facility for the City of Rochester, New Hampshire.
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Vt. didymo fears send salmon to native tribes - 11/15/2011 (WCAX)
Didymo-- also called rock snot-- is an invasive algae that chokes out native plants in rivers, leaving nothing for fish to feed on. It's already been found in the nearby White River and scientists say it can spread to other waterways very easily. Because of that, the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission voted not to stock the lower Great Lakes or others waterways with the salmon from the Bethel hatchery-- 7,000-8,000 will be killed and donated to Native American tribes in the Northeast for food.
[ Read more ]
'Rock snot' fear means salmon for native tribes - 11/11/2011 (CBS News)
Fear that an invasive algae species known as "rock snot" might have contaminated a Vermont fish hatchery has prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to donate thousands of Atlantic salmon to native American tribes in the Northeast to prevent a possible spread of the specimen.
[ Read more ]
New Hampshire Fishing Maps for 4K - 11/11/2011 (Android-Apps.com)
We noticed this useful Android app listing lakes, rivers and streams in our state. Not an endorsement! But it looks good.
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Heckuva Job, For Real - 11/11/2011 (WCVB TV Boston)
A nice interest story on the great covered bridges in New Hampshire, including the famous Blair Covered Bridge crossing the Pemigewasset River.
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"Rock snot" fear means salmon for native tribes - 11/11/2011 (CBS News)
Fear that an invasive algae species known as "rock snot" might have contaminated a Vermont fish hatchery has prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to donate thousands of Atlantic salmon to native American tribes in the Northeast to prevent a possible spread of the specimen.
[ Read more ]
Berry Brook restoration project needs volunteers - 10/28/2011 (Foster's Daily Democrat)
Water quality and stream restoration improvements are underway in the Berry Brook Watershed. Berry Brook, a tributary to the Cocheco River, is impaired for aquatic life use (i.e. habitat) and primary contact recreation.
[ Read more ]
2011 Clean Water Projects get off the Ground - 9/7/2011 (New Hampshire Dept. of Environmental Services)
$536,000 awarded to eight projects; Brentwood, Cocheco River Watershed, Dover, Green Mountain Conservation Group, Hodgson Brook, Lakes Region Planning Commission, The New Hampshire Rivers Council and Wolfeboro
[ Read more ]
PSNH: EPA is rushing change in water-usage rules for power plant - 10/13/2011 (Nashua Telegraph)
PSNH has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow more time for comments on a proposed tightening of water-usage rules at the company's Merrimack Station power plant in Bow.
The extension request was supplemented by similar requests by environmental consulting firms ENERCON and Normandeau Associates, who both indicated that the initial 60-day comment period does not allow adequate time for a full and proper review of the draft permit.
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Trip on Merrimack gives youngsters lessons on water, environment - 10/13/2011 (Boston.com)
A group of schoolchildren take an educational boat ride on the Merrimack River.
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Rochester, NH, river to be stocked with trout - 10/8/2011 (Boston.com)
The Three Rivers Stocking Association is working with Waste Management of New Hampshire to add 500 fish to the Isinglass River in Rochester.
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Unexpectedly strong salmon returns offer hope of recovery - 9/30/2011 (Bangor Daily News)
Atlantic salmon are returning to rivers in Maine and elsewhere along the North Atlantic this season in numbers not seen in years, suggesting to biologists and conservation groups that ocean conditions for the famed sportfish are improving after decades of decline.
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EPA: Plant puts river life at risk - 9/30/2011 (Concord Monitor)
Public Service of New Hampshire's Bow power plant may have to install an expansive, multimillion-dollar cooling system if a draft permit released yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency is approved.
[ Read more ]
Feds want PSNH to cool down Bow plant - 9/30/2011 (Union Leader)
The Merrimack River needs to cool down, according to the EPA, which on Thursday released a draft permit that would require Public Service of New Hampshire to spend an estimated $112 million to reduce the temperature of cooling water discharged from its coal-burning power

The Environmental Protection Agency wants PSNH to build a closed-cycle cooling system, which would take much less water from the Merrimack River and lower the temperature of its discharges by 99 percent, the agency said.
[ Read more ]
EPA wants major changes to PSNH plant in Bow - 9/29/2011 (Boston Globe)
New Hampshire and federal environmental protection agencies want a coal burning power plant in Bow to overhaul its cooling system to restore the health of the Merrimack River.
[ Read more ]
Most of Hooksett sewage disks recovered - 9/19/2011 (Boston Globe)
About four million of the estimated 4.3 million bacteria-collecting sewage disks discharged from a New Hampshire sewage treatment plant in March have been recovered.

Enpro, the company hired to collect the thin plastic, 2-inch in diameter disks, said in a statement that they have been recovered in coastal areas from Maine, to Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The disks are not considered hazardous.
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Watershed council issues “SOS” for Connecticut River clean up post-Irene - 9/18/2011 (VTDiggers.org)
The Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) wants to help you and your friends remove trash from the shorelines during its 15th Annual Source to Sea Cleanup on Saturday October 1st.
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How could fish survive that? - 9/8/2011 (Bennington Banner)
"Watching the raw power of the river water in the aftermath of Irene, it was impossible not to think of the animals that live there. How, on earth, could a trout survive? If each foot of rising water produces 500 pounds of lateral force, then wouldn't every single living thing be swept away in such a torrent?"

Dave Mance III discusses Tropical Storm Irene and the effect the flooding will have on trout and other wildlife living in Vermont and New Hampshire's rivers.
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Residents advised to keep out of rivers - 9/1/2011 (Brattleboro Reformer)
Water quality specialists are requesting swimmers, boaters and kayakers remain out of county rivers and streams for safety reasons for at least a week following Tropical Storm Irene.

David Deen, river steward for the Connecticut River Watershed Council for Vermont and New Hampshire, told the Reformer on Wednesday that it is hazardous to pursue any recreational activities on the heels of Irene because of the enormous amount of materials that have entered local waterways.
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Addendum to the McQuesten Brook Watershed Restoration Plan Request for Qualifications - 7/29/2011 (NH Rivers Council)
NHRC responses to consultant questions received as of the close of business on July 27, 2011
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Hot weather, storms raise bacteria levels in river - 7/27/2011 (Nashua Telegraph)
E. coli readings from the fourth water sampling session of the summer by Souhegan Watershed Association volunteers saw normal to high e-coli readings in the Souhegan River because of the hot weather and thunderstorms two days prior to the sampling. The Merrimack River, as is virtually always the case, had safe levels of the bacteria.
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Souhegan River plan to surface - 7/25/2011 (Nashua Telegraph)
A draft of a water management plan for the Souhegan River is ready. This is the last step in a process that began a decade ago.
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McQuesten Brook Watershed Restoration Plan Request for Qualifications - 7/20/2011 (NH Rivers Council)
Geomorphic Assessment, Engineering, and Development of the McQuesten Brook Watershed Restoration Plan.
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Souhegan in Milford tests high in bacteria - 7/16/2011 (Nashua Telegraph)
The Souhegan River tested high for bacteria after heavy rains on July 4th.
[ Read more ]