What's New
In February 2008, the New Hampshire senate voted to sideline legislation that would have helped to preserve the Great Bay Estuary for future generations. Without these protections, the Great Bay and wetlands all around the state are left vulnerable to harmful development. In the coming year, Environment New Hampshire will continue working with our allies to ensure that the Great Bay Estuary gets the protections it deserves.
How You Can Help
Tell your Senator that you want the strongest possible protections for the Great Bay Estuary.
Background
The Great Bay Estuary is one of New Hampshire’s most unique treasures,
known both as a recreational hotspot and a habitat for hundreds of
species of wildlife. Great Bay’s recreational value and beauty
distinguish the seacoast region from the other parts of the state, and
from other areas of the northern Atlantic seacoast. However, with the
Estuary located in one of the fastest growing regions in New Hampshire,
it is increasingly threatened by encroaching development. Great Bay and
its surrounding wetlands need strong protections now.
Unfortunately,
New Hampshire’s current wetlands law does not go far enough to protect
the Great Bay Estuary from this sprawling development. The state needs
an updated wetlands law that protects wetlands from harmful development
in and around sensitive wetland areas.
The good news is that we
now have the opportunity to protect our wetlands around Great Bay
Estuary from development. This spring, state policy makers will
consider an amendment to the New Hampshire wetlands law that would
tighten the restrictions on developers who are looking to build roads,
buildings and other harmful projects adjacent to wetlands. By
protecting the Great Bay’s wetlands, this legislation will help
preserve important habitat in the Great Bay that is home to a number of
endangered species including bald eagles, common loons, and ospreys;
will protect Great Bay communities from flooding; and will stop harmful
contaminants from entering the Great Bay that may otherwise make the
bay unsafe for fishing and swimming.
Environment New Hampshire
and other state conservation groups are advocating for strong action
from the legislature to help ensure that New Hampshire’s wetlands
continue to provide valuable functions for the Great Bay Estuary, but
lobbyists for the developers are also pushing hard to keep the law on
their side. That’s why we’re asking for your help to protect Great Bay
Estuary this spring.
