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Mount Major’s trails are ‘being loved to death.’ An ambitious project seeks to improve them.
As one of the most popular hiking destinations in the state with an estimated 80,000 visitors annually, Mount Major’s trails “are being loved to death,” said Jack Savage, president of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. His organization is in the process of an ambitious endeavor to raise $300,000 for a trail […]
National Park Service approves New Hampshire’s 5-year outdoor recreation plan
The National Park Service has signed off on New Hampshire’s 2024-2028 outdoor recreation management plan, a strategic tool for the $2.7 billion industry that employs 28,000 workers. The plan – developed by New Hampshire State Parks in partnership with the University of New Hampshire’s Recreation Management and Policy program – will prioritize five areas: the […]
12 more NH towns to launch community power this month
Another 12 towns are expected to launch community power this month, bringing the local energy control option to 30,000 additional electric customers statewide. The Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire – a nonprofit joint powers agency that uses collective buying power to secure competitive wholesale rates – now has 56 members, representing more than 30 […]
‘It has to stop’: NH Senate targets drug distribution with passage of three bills
Three fentanyl-related bills coming off hairline committee votes were passed by the Senate on Thursday, showing a growing appetite among lawmakers to see the state clamp down on drug distribution. Moving onto a future House vote are: Senate Bill 316 – establishing a penalty and mandatory minimum prison sentence specifically for a person who transports […]
Why this program is providing free trees to New Hampshire schools
On a sunny day last June, students at Abbot-Downing School in Concord gathered eagerly around a newly dug crater. Ready to fill it was a London plane, a deciduous tree that grows large with spiky, green fruit and can live for several hundred years. The children examined its extensive root system, picked up shovels to […]
New Hampshire opens $8 million crop loss program for farmers impacted by extreme weather
New Hampshire farmers can now apply for a share of an $8 million relief program to assist with significant crop loss as a result of extreme weather conditions last year. The Crop Loss Program, housed in the state’s Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food, began accepting applications on March 1. Designed in collaboration with the […]
NH lawmakers may reestablish a climate and health protection program – without any state funding
From 2013 to 2022, New Hampshire had a Climate and Health Program housed within the Department of Health and Human Services. But when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention passed over the state for funding in its latest grant cycle, the program ceased. Lawmakers are now seeking to revive it – but without any […]
‘They’re not go-karts’: NH snowmobile fatalities prompt safety warnings
The last two weeks in New Hampshire’s North Country have been marked by at least a dozen snowmobile accidents, two of which have been fatal. Officials say while overall the accident numbers aren’t anything out of the norm this year, the deaths are. Two women – Shawnee Hollis, 39, and Krista Bebezas, 48 – died […]
NH DOT awards $2.8 million in phase one of electric vehicle charging funds
The state’s Department of Transportation has conditionally awarded $2.8 million toward electric vehicle charging infrastructure in North Woodstock, Tilton, Rochester, and Sanbornville as part of phase one of the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program. The federal program, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is expected to send approximately $17.2 million to New Hampshire over […]
NH Fish and Game posts executive director position
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department has posted its executive director position and is seeking applications from interested candidates. Current Executive Director Scott Mason will complete his term in August after serving as head of the agency since 2020. He has said he will not seek reappointment. The 11-member Fish and Game Commission is […]
Animal abuse registry pitched in NH as ‘needed tool’; critics fear unintended impacts
Bjarna O’Brien has come close to only one conviction during her time working as an animal control officer for the Salem Police Department. She criminally pursued a man for leaving his dogs inside a hot environment on multiple occasions in town. O’Brien would later learn he’d done the same in several other towns, cross-jurisdictional information […]
Unitil begins work on Kingston solar array, the first in the state owned by a regulated utility
Unitil has begun site work on the state’s first regulated utility-owned solar array located on 36 acres of vacant land in Kingston. The 4.9 megawatt solar project, approved by the Public Utilities Commission in May 2023, will consist of 11,232 panels, and Unitil has selected Brentwood-based ReVision Energy as its engineering, procurement, and construction contractor. […]