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Environment In November of 2005, the Forest Service recommended the designation of additional acreage as “wilderness” in its Management Plan for the White Mountain National Forest. The “New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 2006” incorporates the recommendations of this Management Plan by designating approximately 23,700 acres in the area of the Wild River as “wilderness” and adding approximately 10,800 acres to the existing Sandwich Range Wilderness. The land would remain as White Mountain National Forest land under the protection of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Wilderness areas consist of federal lands that are permanently closed to such activities as mining, logging, road construction, vehicular traffic, and building construction. By law, the establishment of new wilderness must be approved by Congress. Upon Senate passage of the bill, Jane Difley, President/Forester of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests said, “This is terrific news for New Hampshire and for the White Mountain National Forest. The Wilderness designation is the first of several steps to fully implement the White Mountain National Forest Plan. On behalf of the 10,000 members of the Forest Society, I commend Senators Sununu and Gregg for their strong support of not only the Wilderness Act, but the entire WMNF plan.”
Richard Minard, President of New Hampshire Audubon, said, “Senate passage of the ‘New England Wilderness Act of 2006’ attests to the national significance of New Hampshire’s remaining wild places and the value that we all place in keeping those lands wild. New Hampshire Audubon celebrates the bill’s adoption and the leadership of Senator John Sununu and Senator Judd Gregg. By designating parts of the Sandwich Range and the Wild River areas as wilderness, the bill fulfills the vision of a broad coalition of New Hampshire residents and protects wildlife habitat for generations of Granite Staters to come.”
John’s dedication to preserving and protecting one of New Hampshire’s most valuable natural resources - the Lamprey River - began in the United States House of Representatives and continues in the United States Senate. While serving in the House, he authored “The Lamprey Wild and Scenic River Extension Act” (H.R. 1615) – legislation that President Clinton signed into law on May 2, 2000. The bill added a 12-mile section of the Lamprey River to the National Wild and Scenic River system, and extended the boundary designation to the town of Epping in an effort to help preserve more of the river’s historic and recreational characteristics and further protect its water quality. Located near New Hampshire’s Seacoast, the Lamprey River runs through portions of Strafford and Rockingham counties, and is the largest of the state’s rivers to flow into Great Bay, a designated National Estuarine Research Reserve, which includes approximately 4,500 acres of tidal waters and wetlands. The Lamprey River is one of the state’s most historic waterways, home to early-American industrial and commercial sites such as Wiswall Falls Mill in Durham, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the House and Senate, John’s support for the Lamprey River includes: • Helping to secure $75,000 in 1997 for the Lamprey River Advisory Committee (LRAC) to implement its river management plan; • Helping to secure $2 million in the Fiscal Year 1998 VA-HUD Appropriations Act for the Epping Wastewater Treatment Facility; • Working to secure an additional $2 million for this project in the Fiscal Year 2000 VA-HUD Appropriations Act to augment the $2 million Epping received in 1998; • Enhancing the efforts of the LRAC by helping to obtain nearly $600,000 in funding for Wild and Scenic River Partnership funds in the Fiscal Year 2002 Interior Appropriations Act. As one of the partnership rivers, the Lamprey receives a portion of this funding from the National Park Service to support habitat restoration, water quality testing, and community education; • Securing $600,000 in Wild and Scenic River Partnership funds in the Fiscal Year 2003 Interior Appropriations bill for the Lamprey River. For Fiscal Year 2004, the Interior Appropriations Bill included $1 million for the Lamprey River; • Securing $900,000 in Fiscal Year 2005 Department of Interior funds to provide for land acquisition along this federally-designated Wild & Scenic River; and, • Securing $600,000 in Fiscal Year 2006 Department of Interior funds for land conservation efforts along the Lamprey River.
Bald Eagle Habitat Conservation Fund |
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