Beginning in 1995, the New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) embarked on a process to develop and systematically address the 98 Action Items outlined in the program's guiding document, the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. The intent was to achieve the Plan's goals of improved water quality in New Hampshire's estuaries.  The NHEP addresses Action Items by either completing them directly or funding other organizations to complete the work.

The NHEP is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program, which is a joint local/state/federal program established under the Clean Water Act with the goal of protecting and enhancing nationally significant estuarine resources. The NHEP receives its funding from the EPA and is administered by the University of New Hampshire.

The NHEP’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for NH Estuaries was completed in 2000 and implementation has been ongoing. The Management Plan outlines key issues related to management of New Hampshire's estuaries and proposes strategies (Action Plans) that are expected to preserve, protect, and enhance the State's estuarine resources. The NHEP's priorities were established by local stakeholders and include water quality improvements, shellfish resources, land protection, and habitat restoration. Projects addressing these priorities are undertaken throughout NH's coastal watershed, which includes 42 communities.

The NHEP strives to:

• Improve the water quality and overall health of New Hampshire's estuaries;
• Support regional development patterns that protect water quality, maintain open spaces and important habitat, and preserve estuarine resources;
• Track environmental trends through the implementation of a long term monitoring program to assess indicators of estuarine health; and,
• Develop broad-based popular support for the implementation of the Management Plan by encouraging involvement of the public, local government, and other interested parties in its implementation.

Download the NHEP Overview (.pdf/1.5MB)

Expansion into Maine

In 2005, the program moved from state government to the University of New Hampshire. In December 2007 the NHEP Management Committee voted unanimously to expand the NHEP’s area of focus to the entire Great Bay Estuary watershed, including the 24 percent of the watershed in Maine. This shift is a critical step toward achieving the program’s watershed-wide goals of improving water quality and protecting and restoring important habitats.