Environment

Erosion & Sediment Control and Steep Slope Protection

• Erosion Control for Construction within the Protected Shoreland Department of Environmental Services Fact Sheet WD-SP-1
• 2.2 Steep Slope and Ridgeline Protection from the Innovative Land Use Planning Techniques Guide
• NHDOT Guidelines For Temporary Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater Management Department of Transportation, Bureau of Construction
• See the results of the Municipal Land Use Regulation Annual Survey for municipalities with Erosion and Sediment Control During Construction regulations.
• In cooperation with the Squam Lakes Association, the Lakes Region Planning Commission has completed a report titled Regulating Development on Steep Slopes, Hillsides, and Ridgelines, December 2005. The report explores the historical importance of this type of regulation, outlines key development issues, and provides a variety of case studies designed to address safety, aesthetics, preservation of wildlife habitat, water quality protection and more.
• Steep Slopes Overlay District At-A-Glance, October 2007, LRPC
• See the results of the Municipal Land Use Regulation Annual Survey for municipalities with Steep Slope/Ridgeline Protection regulations.

Forestry

• Good Forestry in the Granite State: Recommended Voluntary Forest Management Practices for New Hampshire
  This guide provides landowners and the professionals who work with them practical recommendations and information on a wide variety of forest resources. First published in 1997, the Good Forestry revision started in 2008 and was completed with the publication of this second edition in 2010. It includes the many changes in practice and knowledge that occurred in the ten-plus years since it was first published. This revision was guided by a 24-member steering committee and involved much public input.
• Forest Products Road Manual: A Handbook for Municipal Officials and the Forest Products Industry
  This manual is a guide for both municipal officials and the forest products industry to improve everyone's understanding of the laws that govern public roadways. It highlights information and contacts, but it also intended to provide an understanding that will allow all involved to build trust and avoid conflicts or issues. To request a hard copy of the manual, contact UNH Cooperative Extension's Forestry Information Center at (800) 444-8978. There is a $2 fee to cover mailing costs. Please contact Andrew Fast andrew.fast@unh.edu with questions.
• Forest and Trees, UNH Cooperative Extension
• Guide to New Hampshire Timber Harvesting Laws - University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
• RSA 231:40-42 provides a process whereby a landowner who wants to remove "lumber, wood or other material" may petition the selectmen to lay out a right of way for that purpose over someone else's land. The right of way can be created for a fixed length of time and made subject to other conditions.
• New Hampshire Timber Tax Law (RSA 79)
• Municipal and Property Division Timber Tax page

Habitat Management

• See the results of the Municipal Land Use Regulation Annual Survey for municipalities with Habitat Management regulations.

Invasive Plant Species

• DES Exotic Species Program
• Useful information from the Biodiversity Committee (a subcommittee of the Hanover Conservation Commission)
  • Garlic Mustard Information
  • Least Wanted Plants in the Upper Valley - A Guide to Invasive Plants pdf file
  • Problematic Upland Plants pdf file
• Picking Our Battles: A Guide to Planning Successful Invasive Plant Projects
  A landscape-scale invasive plant prioritization strategy produced by New Hampshire Fish and Game and the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau Invasive Plant Working Group, with input from over 120 community members and natural resource managers and organizations.

Landscaping

• Integrated Landscaping: Following Nature's Lead - A new way of thinking about landscaping home grounds and public spaces
  New Hampshire's rapid development over the past four decades has replaced natural plant and animal communities with landscapes that often appear as an afterthought, replicating the same few plants over and over again," says Mary Tebo, UNH Cooperative Extension's community forestry educator.
• Landscaping at the Water's Edge: An Ecological Approach - A manual for NH Landowners and Landscapers
  No matter where you live in New Hampshire, the actions you take in your landscape can have far-reaching effects on water quality. Why? Because we all live in a watershed, an area of land that drains into a surface water body such as a lake, river, wetland or coastal estuary.
• See the results of the Municipal Land Use Regulation Annual Survey for municipalities with Landscaping regulations.

Nonpoint Source Pollution

• Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution Manual from the American Ground Water Trust
• "How to Planning Guide Series" publications from the Strafford Regional Planning Commission
  • How To… Improve Neighborhood Design and Reduce Nonpoint Source Water Pollution pdf file
  • How to… Reduce Nonpoint Source Water Pollution in Rural Areas: Promote Open Space Conservation/Cluster Development Subdivisions pdf file
  • How To… Protect Water Quality by Managing Nonpoint Source Water Pollution pdf file

Town Forests

• Town forests may be established by action of the local legislative body pursuant to RSA 31:110. The town forest is to be managed by a town forest committee, which can be the conservation commission if the local legislative body so determines - if it has not, then there must be a separate committee. [RSA 31:112]
• Revenue from the town forest goes to a special forest maintenance fund, which shall be non-lapsing (unless the local legislative body decides otherwise.) [RSA 31:113] The statutes do not state that the forest committee (or conservation commission) have any direct control over the forest maintenance fund, so any appropriations from it require the authorization of the local legislative body. Once such appropriations are made, the forest committee has the authority to expend such appropriated funds for the purpose for which they were appropriated.

Wastewater Engineering/Septic Systems

• See the Wastewater Engineering/Septic Systems subject heading on the Water Resources page