Shoreland Team Represents at Lakes Congress 2023
Our Shoreland Team attended the Lakes Congress at Church Landing in Meredith on June 2. It was a wonderful day of networking with NH Lakes! Rosemary Aures, Shoreland Specialist with Land Resources Management, delivered a presentation on “Demystifying Shoreland Permitting.” This session educated attendees about the various permits needed for shoreland development, as well as environmental considerations for minimizing impacts on aquatic habitats. Rosemary also provided insight into navigating the permitting process and complying with regulations. Read further for a summary of Rosemary’s message.
Demystifying Shoreland Permitting
Shorelands encompass a wide range of habitats, ranging from the sandy shoreline all the way to the wooded forest. These habitats possess the resources to support a diverse selection of flora and fauna, some of which are endangered in the light of human development and recreation. To maintain the quality of the shoreland for use by both humans and wildlife, it is imperative that we work together to ensure their longevity.
The Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act highlights three primary goals: To maintain and restore vegetated buffers, improve stormwater runoff, and to preserve and/or provide critical wildlife habitat within jurisdictional shorelands. To accomplish this, the region extending 250 feet back from the water’s edge is protected under this law. Within this zone are three sub-zones that are determined by the distance from the water’s edge: Waterfront Buffer (50 feet), Natural Woodland Buffer (150 feet), and the Limit of Jurisdiction (250 feet). Each zone possesses its own limitations, most of which increase in proximity to the water’s edge. Generally speaking, development in any of the three zones is prohibited without a shoreland permit.
Interested parties may request a permit by means of filling out an application and delivering it to the NHDES Land Resources Management Program, which administers the shoreland permits. For more information on shoreland permits and how to acquire one, please visit our Protected Shoreland webpage. You can contact the Shoreland Permit team directly by phone at (603) 271-3501 by requesting to speak with the “Inspector of the Day,” or you can send an email to shoreland@des.nh.gov for questions. For more information on Protected Shoreland Permit Tips, please watch our short video.