Think Bigger
Photo by Jerry Monkman, courtesy of Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire
Let's Work Together
Often, conservation efforts focus on specific parcels of land. Natural resources, however, do not stop at property boundaries - they extend across the landscape. To protect them, we must think bigger—not only in terms of the scope of the lands we protect, but also the partners we engage to conserve them.
A good place to start is to consider how our own conservation work contributes to natural resource protection at the subwatershed or watershed scale. Watershed describes an area where all the water sources (such as runoff, streams, and rivers) drain from a single outlet.
There are 52 communities—42 in New Hampshire and 10 in Maine—in our coastal watershed, which drains into the Atlantic Ocean from the Piscataqua River, the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary, and the coastline in-between. This watershed is made up of 12 subwatersheds, or smaller areas of land that drain into a particular river or stream. Find your community’s subwatershed and learn which towns and cities share it.
When looking at natural resources in your community, always be aware of conservation priorities that may span municipal boundaries. Look for opportunities to work or partner with neighboring communities. Combining municipal resources can help protect—and connect—larger areas of the landscape that benefit wildlife, protect water resources, and build resilient landscapes as we experience the impacts of climate change.
Photo: Emma Tutein
Photo: Peter Steckler
Plan for the Future
We want to preserve the water quality, wildlife, climate, and agricultural benefits that natural lands provide, not only for ourselves but for future generations. Acquiring lands identified in New Hampshire's Coastal Watershed Conservation Plan is critical, but so is having local and state policies and planning efforts that ensure their protection and wise management into the future.
Key benefits can be protected through forward-thinking land use and transportation planning that is approached at a regional scale and through state wetland, shoreland and environmental policies.
Be a Champion
Become a champion for protecting our special places. Join a local land trust, talk to your friends about efforts in your community (like Tide Turners), and ask your elected officials if and how they support land protection.
Share information about the Plan with community and state leaders and support local, state, and national policies that promote natural resource protection (link to two pager here).
If you own land, steward it to maximize the natural benefits to people and wildlife and encourage your neighbors to do the same. We have communications resources to support your outreach or you can contact your land trust.
Reach out to your U.S. representatives and senators to let them know how important it is they support conservation in New Hampshire.
Photo by Jerry Monkman, courtesy of Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire