| "It's given management a cadre of educated citizens. Several of the people from the watch are now on conservation commissions and planning boards, and they're bringing their information and concerns with them." | |
| Ann Reid, Great Bay Coast Watch |
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In many coastal states, the influx of new residents puts additional pressure on already stressed natural resources. For the past 10 years in New Hampshire, many of these new residents have been volunteering their time to monitor coastal water quality to ensure the Great Bay Estuary remains pristine.
"There are a lot of people who have moved into the area, or retired here, because they enjoy the beauty of the bay and the recreational opportunities it provides," says Ann Reid, coordinator of Great Bay Coast Watch. "I would say they are stewards who want to be able to recreate wisely."
According to Reid, Great Bay Coast Watch is the state's most wide-ranging program for direct citizen involvement in monitoring estuarine waters. Since its creation in 1990, the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension/Sea Grant outreach program has expanded water quality monitoring coverage from seven sites to twenty-one; has consistently measured water temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, transparency, and fecal coliform; and two years ago began monitoring for harmful phytoplankton.
The program's 150 volunteers may also be trained to conduct shoreline surveys, or participate in outreach efforts ranging from presenting data to local decision makers, who are often more receptive to information given to them from "a person in their own home town," to manning booths at community events. Reid notes the program is expanding again with a pilot project that will open the door for communities to use the volunteer monitors when implementing Phase II Stormwater Management Plans.
"I think our program stands out because it's long term, and we've found ways to diversify the activities and projects that we do," Reid says. "By offering new opportunities, we generate new energy for protecting the coast."
A recently published report summarizing Great Bay Coast Watch monitoring results from 1990 to 1999 communicates the group's success. These include the use of monitoring results to reopen coastal areas closed because of fecal coliform contamination; land surveys that led towns to do studies to determine bacterial sources; and results that helped spur communities to spend millions to update utility infrastructure. The state's governor recognized the success of the program with an award.
"It's given management a cadre of educated citizens," Reid notes. "Several of the people from the watch are now on conservation commissions and planning boards, and they're bringing their information and concerns with them. Volunteers that are well trained can really spread the work."
She adds, "I'm really proud that we've been able to maintain the quality of volunteers over the years. Now we can provide more of a service to individual communities by working with them to see what kinds of projects we could do with them."
For more information on the Great Bay Coast Watch, contact Ann Reid at (603) 749-1565 or ann.reid@unh.edu.
