Outreach and Partnerships

Three Mile Island Sustainability Plan: The Appalachian Mountain Club’s Three Mile Island Camp is a volunteer-managed family-oriented facility on a 43-acre island on Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith, NH. In 2008, the AMC contacted the Center for the Environment about developing a sustainability plan for the island. PSU senior Jamie McMillan worked for the summer of 2008 as the island educator at Three Mile Island Camp for the summer of 2008 providing educational programs for campers on topics relevant to life on the island and developing a Sustainability Plan for the camp.  Work on the Sustainability Plan was coordinated by Steve Whitman and Brian Eisenhauer of the Center for the Environment.

• Three Mile Island Sustainability Plan, 2008

Seed Grants: In the spirit of collaboration, the Center for the Environment has funded a number of PSU faculty and staff for projects related to outreach and environmental science research. The purpose of these Seed Grants is to support the regional mission of the University. Grantees are selected from a competitive process.

• 2006 Seed Grants
• 2005 Seed Grants

Environmental Planning for Local Officials in North Country Communities: In the fall of 2006, the Center for the Environment partnered with the North Country Council (NCC) on applied training in environmental planning for local officials in North Country communities. The project is part of NCC’s Community Outreach Program and addresses an identified need for training in this field. A two-part workshop was held on October 12 and 26, 2006 at NCC. The workshop focused on applied techniques and local environmental topics. Additional workshops may be scheduled for future dates.

• October 26, 2006 Presentation (PDF)
  
• October 12, 2006 Presentation 

Hubbard Brook Research Foundation: Beginning in the fall of 2007, the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation (HBRF) and the Center for the Environment are partnering on science education initiatives. Mary Ann McGarry, Associate Professor of Science Education, will serve as the Director of Education for HBRF to bring more environmental literacy to PSU students as well as educators and their students in the region, state, and beyond.

Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest: In the summer of 2005, the Center for the Environment negotiated an arrangement to co-fund a hydrologist with the Northern Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in Durham. Kevin McGuire filled this position in August 2005 and is a member of the Center's faculty in the new PSU Masters of Science in Environmental Science and Policy as well as a research scientist with the USFS. His research focuses on hydrology at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Start-up funding for the position was provided by the NH Charitable Foundation. The Center is also providing office space to Scott Bailey, a USFS Northeastern Research Station geo-ecologist.

North Country Conservation Initiative: The North Country Conservation Initiative (NCCI) is a collaborative effort to integrate the role of land use and land conservation in support of the North Country’s social, cultural, and economic well-being. At the first NCCI gathering organized by the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust and the Center for Land Conservation Assistance at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests in the fall of 2006, over 40 people representing conservation organizations, towns, state and federal government, economic development, and philanthropic interests participated in dialogue focused on creating this effort. A second day-long meeting, funded by the Davis Conservation Foundation to and NH Charitable Foundation, was held on April 25, 2008 with 60 people, including Patrick Bourgeron and June Hammond Rowan from CFE, attending. The next step of NCCI is to identify a specific project with communities in the region that will help achieve the aspiration of social, economic, and ecological sustainability. The Center has joined this initiative and is involved in supporting the mission through educational efforts and staff time.

Squam Lakes Association: Applied environmental research and public outreach are the missions of both the Center for the Environment and the Squam Lakes Association (SLA) in Holderness, making a partnership between the two a benefit to both organizations. The two organizations are co-funding a Research Associate position at SLA. Rebecca Harvey, SLA's current Research Associate, is also a PSU graduate fellow seeking her master's degree in environmental science and policy.

The Center for the Environment is also working with SLA to develop a laboratory at their headquarters in Holderness. This lab would be run by the Center and would focus on lake water quality monitoring and serve as a satellite site to our laboratory at PSU.

In the summer of 2006, Adjunct Professor Tom Shevenell and Research Scientist Mike Prentice began a pilot study of the ground water and sediments in a sub-basin of Squam Lake. The findings of this work will be the basis for future research projects.

In June 2005, SLA and the Center hosted a Squam Watershed Workshop to discuss research and environmental projects in the watershed. In response to the workshop, the Center is working with SLA on exploring ways to assist local communities in watershed planning and management.

Newfound Lake Region Association: The Newfound Lake Region Association (NLRA) has partnered with the Center for the Environment, the University of New Hampshire, Newfound Area School District, and Jeffrey H. Taylor & Associates to develop a master plan for the Newfound Lake watershed. This project is funded by a Watershed Assistance and Restoration Grant from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. Development pressures and recreational use pose significant threats to water quality in Newfound Lake. The goal of the watershed plan is to improve land use management practices, maintain water quality, and protect habitat.

Waukewan Watershed Project: The Center is working with the Town of Meredith and the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) on biomonitoring in the Waukewan watershed and implementation of a watershed management plan to help protect the town's drinking water supply. Graduate student Melissa Greenawalt-Yelle is collaborating with faculty member Rick Van de Poll to assess tributary streams throughout the watershed to establish baseline water quality data as part of the implementation of a watershed management plan. Her work involves sampling tributary streams to look for macroinvertebrates that are indicators of water quality. Melissa’s data will help the towns within the watershed understand the health of the watershed and direct future management decisions.

Graduate student Linda Madorma, is analyzing remote sensing images using GIS to identify areas of impervious surface in the watershed. These areas can adversely affect water quality due to pollutants in the runoff within these areas. Linda’s work will help the town of Meredith locate areas where land use planning techniques can be applied to help limit additional impacts from impervious surfaces.

Both students are exploring team authorship of their theses, a unique feature to the MS in Environmental Science and Policy and an opportunity to learn about working in teams.

White Mountain National Forest (WMNF): The WMNF and the Center for the Environment have partnered on several projects. The Center is conducting water quality testing at the Ore Hill mine, which is being reclaimed in 2006. The Center is also assisting the WMNF with enhancing educational services and programs along the WMNF Forest Discovery Trail off the Kancamagus Highway. Students from the Center interpretive programs on weekends in the summer and are developing a Junior Ranger booklet for younger visitors. Future projects being discussed include developing a database program for WMNF to track Outfitter Guide Permits and monitoring popular rock climbing sites on the forest.

NH Department of Environmental Services (DES): The Center has developed a new laboratory in the Boyd Science Center which will serve much of DES’s water quality monitoring needs in the central and northern part of the state, as well as meet the research needs of the Center.

The Center for the Environment is working with the DES on a road salt study related to the widening of I-93. Road salt (sodium chloride) is increasingly being recognized as a contaminant in New England surface waters because of land development, more roads and the need for de-icing these roads. Chloride is often linked to a general decrease in water quality as nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus increase in lakes leading to algal blooms and increased occurrence of invasive plant species. Recent publications, including those by researchers at PSU, have documented increases in chloride as much as 400% in lakes in New England in the past 20 years. There are lake water supplies in central New Hampshire that have recently recorded 50% increases in sodium chloride and some streams in New Hampshire are regularly in violation of the aquatic life toxicity limit of 230 parts per millions of chloride. The project will evaluate sources of salt in five southern New Hampshire towns as part of an assessment of how to decrease the amount of chloride in streams in order to meet water quality criteria.

DES has also partnered with the Center for the Environment on the Lake Waukewan Watershed project in Meredith and the NEC-NALMS conference, which was held at PSU, in June 2005

Humboldt Field Research Institute (HFRI): In order to enhance field based course offerings in the MS in Environmental Science and Policy program at PSU, a partnership has been developed with HFRI in Steuben, Maine. HFRI offers a variety of field courses each year, which are available for PSU credit.

Northern Forest Center (NFC): The Center for the Environment hosted the NFC's Leadership Exchange in May 2005. This 2-day event brought together people and organizations involved in Northern Forest work. One outcome was to develop a Northern Forest Council of Colleges and Universities, and PSU has received funding from the Davis Conservation Foundation to begin this project.

University of New Hampshire (UNH): The Center for the Environment has worked with UNH on a variety of initiatives including an EPA funded grant to study the regions lake response to acid rain; developing a joint PSU/UNH Marine Science methods course; and collaborating on the NH Water Conference.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): NOAA has provided the Center for the Environment with start up funding for two years. These funds are being used to support the work of the Center, establish the new MS in Environmental Science and Policy, and support graduate students. In addition, NOAA has funded the Center's work in Atlantic salmon water quality research and the development of a Marine Science Methods course through the UNH Sea Grant program.

Outreach for the Baker River Watershed Association (BRWA): The Center has worked with the BRWA to coordinate their outreach activities through development of a Web site. The project was funded by a grant from the NH Department of Environmental Services. This site was designed by staff at the Center and Scott Maziarz, an Information Technology student. The site is available at www.bakerriverwatershed.org.

Committees: Patrick Bourgeron is a member of the Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forest's Research Committee.

Associate Director Brian Eisenhauer is a member of the Board of Directors of D Acres, a nonprofit organic farm & educational homestead committed to promoting a more sustainable future through farm-based workshops, internships, and public access.

Assistant Professor Kevin McGuire is on the Board of Directors of the Mirror Lake Association.

Outreach and Development Coordinator June Hammond Rowan serves on the Board of Directors of the Squam Lakes Association.