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PAST WORKSHOPS

"Lake Level Management a Balancing Act." The current policy, as explained by Steve Doyon of the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Dam Bureau at a March 29 workshop hosted by the NLRA, is a best attempt to balance competing interests of the many users of Newfound Lake and the Newfound River. These interests include beach owners, boaters, the native fishery, aquatic plants, water quality, homeowners, hydroelectric power generation and anticipation of extreme weather events (flooding and drought). The current policy was established in the early 1980s, following a period of revisions that began in 1974 when NHDES took ownership of the West Shore Rd. dam that controls lake levels, and obtained the water rights from Public Service of NH. Possible revisions to the current policy were the focus of the presentation.

The graph below shows how lake levels are being managed over ever-smaller ranges since the NHDES began operating the control dam. Note the current (1982) approach, has a smaller range than the 1974 and 1977 management plans.

The nearly fifty people who attended the March 29^th meeting also heard from Amy Smagula (NHDES Biologist), Bob Craycraft (UNH Hydrologist) and Don Miller (NH Fish and Game), who spoke about the impact of lake levels on aquatic plants, water quality and the native fishery, respectively. All of the speakers are not only experts in their fields, but have long and deep connections with Newfound and other New Hampshire lakes – these are top-notch professionals who take their responsibilities seriously and do great public service!

To better understand how various interests compete, consider the following goals of each of group of users:

• Beach owners – Prefer lower levels over the summer to expose swimming beaches.
• Boaters – Prefer higher and steady water levels for navigation and access (launching).
• Fishery – Native species that spawn in late fall over the winter require high and steady water levels for protection from freezing and loss of habitat.
• Aquatic Plants – Extremes in lake levels foster growth of opportunistic (read “invasive”) species.
• Water quality – Extreme draw downs accelerate delta formation and delivery of nutrients from tributaries into the lake.
• Homeowners - Prefer low water (at some time of the year) to access shoreline structures for repair.
• Power generation – prefers steady and moderate flows in the Newfound River to optimize output.
• Everyone – wants to NOT be flooded by heavy rains (that raise the lake level at the rate of roughly 14 inches for every inch of rainfall, faster than the dam can let it out).

As a result of the positive response to this topic and the importance and complexity of the issue, the NLRA plans to sponsor a similar presentation on July 26, 2007. Please talk to your friends and neighbors, watch the local media and monitor our web site for upcoming event times and locations.

All river corridor and lakefront communities will be affected by recent legislative changes to the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act (CSPA) RSA 483-B. These changes will be implemented April 1, 2008. The changes will be presented by the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES) at a special outreach session on Wednesday, April 2, 2008, 6:30-9:00PM, at the "Old" Alexandria Town Hall in Alexandria.

Key changes to CSPA include:

• A state permit will be required for development taking place within 250’ of surface water (rivers, lakes, ponds)
• Changes the way “buffers” will be managed (introduces point system)
• Provides for flexible management in the critical area of “impervious surfaces”
• A change in the way that rivers are classified will add 1,391 stream miles to CSPA. This represents 14% of NH river miles
• A 50’ setback now applies to both primary and accessory structures
• The Pemigewasset and Saco rivers are now protected by CSPA
• 150’ frontage requirement applies even with off-site sewage
  http://www.des.state.nh.us/cspa/

Land Conservation
Don Berry, Executive Director of the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, Will Abbot, VP of the Society for the Protectin of NH Forests, Roger Larochelle, Executive Director of the Squam Lakes Conservation Society, and Katie Callahan, GIS expert from NH Fish and Game gave an overview of land conservation initiatives at national, state, and regional levels. They described the many methods that can be used to put land into conservation, and how each of their individual organizations operated.