Watershed Management Bureau

  Coastal Program

    Restoration Program

The Enhancement Program (Section 309 of the Coastal Zone Management Act) was created in 1990 to address coastal issues of national significance. New Hampshire's program primarily focuses on two areas: wetland protection and cumulative and secondary impacts.

What Is Restoration?
Restoration is defined as the process of reestablishing a self-sustaining habitat that closely resembles a natural condition in terms of structure and function.

The key aspects of this definition are three-fold 1) Restoration is more of a process than a single action. Degradation of a resource takes time, often decades, so the restoration of that resource will also take time. 2) Restored habitats should be self-sustaining, that it, a large degree of maintenance and management should not be needed. and 3) In many, if not most cases, we cannot recreate the condition of a habitat before it was degraded. Thus, we attempt to mimic natural structures which should, over time, regain natural function.

The Stream Barrier Removal Monitoring Guide

The Stream Barrier Removal Monitoring Guide provides a framework of critical monitoring parameters for use at dam and culvert removal sites in the Gulf of Maine watershed. When analyzed collectively, eight parameters will allow restoration practitioners to document the physical, chemical, and biological effects of stream barrier removal. The parameters include monumented cross sections, longitudinal profile, grain size distribution, photo stations, water quality, riparian plant community structure, macroinvertebrates, and fish passage.  The Guide presents the scientific context for barrier removal and gives detailed methods and data sheets for six parameters.

The Guide is based on the input of more than 70 scientists, natural resource managers, engineers, consultants, and staff from non-governmental organizations in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Final review was sought from experts in barrier removal monitoring from outside the Gulf of Maine region. View the abstract and download the Guide at http://gulfofmaine.org/streambarrierremoval.

Great Bay Estuary Restoration Compendium

Looking for ideas on ecosystem restoration projects in the Great Bay Watershed, but don’t know where to start? Check out the Great Bay Estuary Restoration Compendium developed by The Nature Conservancy with funding from the NHCP and New Hampshire Estuaries Project. The Compendium is a tool to help communities and organizations restore eelgrass, salt marsh, diadromous fish, and shellfish in the Great Bay Watershed.

The Compendium has two components: a report and a GIS database. The report provides maps and detailed descriptions on areas of concern to help set future restoration goals and aid project development. With the scientific backing and expertise of years of work compiled in one place, the Compendium saves loads of research time and strengthens project grant proposals.The GIS database is packed with GIS data on past restoration projects, water quality issues, dam locations, and historic distribution areas for salt marshes, fish and oysters. With ArcView you’ll be able to customize your own set of maps by selecting the restoration data most applicable to your projects’ needs.

In mid-September, 2006, copies of the CD with GIS database and report were sent out to each coastal community.

Staff from NHCP are available to assist communities in using the Compendium.