Evaluation of Monitoring Programs For the NHEP Monitoring Plan

The objective of this report is to evaluate the monitoring programs for indicators in the NHEP Monitoring Plan (NHEP, 2002) to determine if sufficient data are being collected for each indicator and to identify any datagaps. The outcome of this report is a list of recommended changes to monitoring programs and a list of follow-up research projects. These recommendations will be considered to develop the workplans for NHEP monitoring funds in 2003

Environmental Indicator Report: Species and Habitats

During the fall and winter of 2001-2002, the New Hampshire Estuaries Project’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) developed a suite of environmental indicators to track progress toward the NHEP’s management goals and objectives. These indicators were fully described in terms of their performance criteria, statistical methods, and measurable goals in the NHEP’s Monitoring Plan, which was most recently updated in March 2003 (NHEP, 2003). The next step is to use these indicators to produce an updated “State of the Estuaries” report by mid-2003. The TAC decided to break this task into three sections: shellfish indicators in the fall of 2002; water quality indicators in the winter of 2002-2003; and land use/habitat indicators in the spring of 2003. For each group of indicators, the NHEP Coastal Scientist would prepare an “Indicator Report” that summarizes the available information and results of statistical tests for each of the indicators. The TAC would review and comment on this report, and then recommend a subset of the most important or illustrative indicators to be presented to the Management Committee. Finally, after being presented to both the TAC and the Management Committee, the indicator charts and interpretation would be incorporated in the State of the Estuaries report. This report is the last of four indicator reports to be presented to the TAC. The focus of this report is the NHEP’s species and habitats indicators (see list below). In an effort to be brief, the details of the monitoring programs for each indicator are not included. Please refer to the NHEP Monitoring Plan (NHEP, 2003) for additional details for each indicator

Environmental Indicator Report: Shellfish

During the fall and winter of 2001-2002, the New Hampshire Estuaries Project’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) developed a suite of environmental indicators to track progress toward the NHEP’s management goals and objectives. These indicators were fully described in terms of their performance criteria, statistical methods, and measurable goals in the NHEP’s Monitoring Plan published in March 2003 (NHEP, 2003). From September 2002 to April 2003, the NHEP Coastal Scientist prepared four “Indicator Reports” that summarized the available information and results of statistical tests for each of the indicators. The TAC reviewed and commented on these reports, and then recommended a subset of the most important or illustrative indicators to be presented to the Management Committee. Finally, after being presented to both the TAC and the Management Committee, 12 key indicators were incorporated in the 2003 State of the Estuaries report. The NHEP Coastal Scientist will update each indicator report at least every 3 years. A new State of the Estuaries report will be produced every three years. This report is an update to the first Shellfish Indicator Report, which was first published in September 2002

Summary of Freshwater Monitoring Programs in New Hampshire\u27s Coastal Watershed, Trowbridge, P

The New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) is part of the US 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 uses a Monitoring Plan to track changes in the estuarine environment as a result of the NHEP’s efforts. Up to this point, the Monitoring Plan has focused exclusively on conditions in the estuaries. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the feasibility of including water quality data from the freshwater portion of New Hampshire’s coastal watershed in the Monitoring Plan

Total Nitrogen Concentrations in Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent in the Great Bay Estuary Watershed in 2008

Nitrogen enrichment is a growing concern for the Great Bay Estuary. For the 2006 State of the Estuaries report (NHEP, 2006), the NHEP calculated the nitrogen load from wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF) using data on total dissolved nitrogen in WWTF effluent in 2002 from Bolster et al. (2003). The NHEP needs to update this indicator for the 2009 State of the Estuaries report. Not only is more recent data needed but also measurements of total nitrogen are needed to avoid assumptions about the ratio of dissolved to total nitrogen. Therefore, the NHEP allocated staff time to collect effluent samples from the major WWTFs in the Great Bay watershed and funded laboratory analysis of the samples for total nitrogen (TN) and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN)

New Hampshire Estuaries Probabilistic Monitoring Program in 2008

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) partnered in 2008 to implement the National Coastal Assessment in NH’s estuarine waters. USEPA provided the study design and field protocols. UNH collected the samples and field data at the designated sites in the estuary. Funding for this sampling effort was provided by the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership, NHDES, and the New Hampshire Coastal Program. The purpose of this memo is to document the quality assurance checks that were performed by NHDES. The data were not collected as part of a national survey; therefore, the data have not been transmitted to USEPA

UNH Monitoring Activities that Support the National Coastal Assessment in 2007

The National Coastal Assessment is an Environmental Protection Agency program to monitor the health of the nation’s estuaries using nationally standardized methods and a probabilistic sampling design. Dedicated EPA funding for the National Coastal Assessment ceased after 2006. Therefore, the NH Department of Environmental Services and the New Hampshire Estuaries Project contributed funds to continue a portion of the National Coastal Assessment in 2007. Water quality measurements were successfully made during 2007 at 25 randomly located stations throughout the Great Bay Estuary and Hampton-Seabrook Harbor. These data will be combined with samples collected in 2006 for probabilistic assessments of estuarine water quality during the 2006-2007 period in the NHEP Water Quality Indicators Report in 2009

Environmental Indicator Report: Land Use and Development

During the fall and winter of 2001-2002, the New Hampshire Estuaries Project’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) developed a suite of environmental indicators to track progress toward the NHEP’s management goals and objectives. These indicators were fully described in terms of their performance criteria, statistical methods, and measurable goals in the NHEP’s Monitoring Plan, which was most recently updated in March 2003 (NHEP, 2003). The next step is to use these indicators to produce an updated “State of the Estuaries” report by mid-2003. The TAC decided to break this task into three sections: shellfish indicators in the fall of 2002; water quality indicators in the winter of 2002-2003; and land use/habitat indicators in the spring of 2003. For each group of indicators, the NHEP Coastal Scientist would prepare an “Indicator Report” that summarizes the available information and results of statistical tests for each of the indicators. The TAC would review and comment on this report, and then recommend a subset of the most important or illustrative indicators to be presented to the Management Committee. Finally, after being presented to both the TAC and the Management Committee, the indicator charts and interpretation would be incorporated in the State of the Estuaries report. This report is the third of four indicator reports to be presented to the TAC. The focus of this report is the NHEP’s land use and development indicators (see list below). In an effort to be brief, the details of the monitoring programs for each indicator are not included. Please refer to the NHEP Monitoring Plan (NHEP, 2003) for additional details for each indicator

NHEP Data Management Plan

A goal of the New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) and its monitoring program is to promote a cooperative effort by all agencies and organizations who participate in monitoring activities, in order to maximize the usefulness of current monitoring efforts and available data. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to effectively manage the large volume of existing information as well as new information that will be developed through the NHEP monitoring program. Data and information about NH’s estuaries now exists in multiple formats within a variety of organizations. Existing monitoring programs are designed to meet the missions of the various implementing organizations. The organizations use different procedures and protocols for data collection, analysis, storage, and reporting. Coordination of data management among organizations is currently limited. This Data Management Plan contains protocols for data reporting to the NHEP to facilitate data integration. Different protocols will be applied to different types of data (e.g., chemical, geospatial, and biological). The protocols will be considered contract requirements for NHEP monitoring programs and recommended guidelines for other partners. This plan also includes protocols for conducting quality assurance tests on water quality data to ensure the integrity of the NHEP indicators