providing land and water resource solutions
Spring is a time for change! In addition to moving from Court Street to Islington Street last year, I recently dropped my landline so my 603-498-2916 line is my contact phone number now. Call or text and I’ll get back to you ASAP if I am not available or out of range!
The website and emails remain the same.
Enjoy the spring rains today!
Our office has moved to the West End at 959 Islington Street, Suite 2A in Portsmouth!
The presentation made at the October 25, 2019 meeting is attached. Links to the phosphorus, pharmaceutical and persistent chemical article references are on Page 2.
2019 – Septic System committee – reducing nitrate discharge from septic systems
Restoration of the Elwha River, WA – by Bill Truslow Photography
When my husband Bill and I visited my brother in Seattle this July, we planned a side trip to Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Part of the journey took us to the Olympic Peninsula so that we could take the ferry to Victoria, BC. The Elwha River is in Olympic National Park and is a short drive from Port Angeles, WA. My brother, also a geologist, kept me up to date on the progress of the Elwha River restoration project and I had seen a movie on the removals during the New Hampshire Rivers Council Wild and Scenic film festival. The movie “Return of the River” chronicles the varying interests, the evolution of the project, and has amazing footage of the explosion to remove the upper dam on the river.
The National Park Service summarized the Elwha Dam Removal in this way
“For millennia, the Klallam people relied on fish nurtured by the Elwha River watershed. That relationship was largely severed in 1913, when the Elwha Dam was built, blocking fish runs five miles from the river mouth. Glines Canyon Dam was completed upstream in 1927. Though a state law required fish passage, both dams were built without it. Thousands of salmon no longer reached most of the Elwha valley.
But in 1992, Congress passed a law requiring restoration of this watershed and its fish, and authorizing dam removal. After careful planning, both dams were removed by 2014. Within months of dam removal, salmon were spawning in the park for the first time in 100 years! Look for them as you explore this wilderness valley. Or stop by the Glines Canyon Spillway Overlook to learn more of the story and witness how revegetation crews and nature are greening the exposed sediments of the drained reservoir. “
The river is flowing freely now, it has re-claimed the floodplain, and salmon are returning. I had wanted to see with my own eyes, the Elwha River and better understand the momentous change to the river since the dams on the river were removed in 2013. The floodplain included the access road to the dam which washed out in two places in 2016 and 2017 so we hiked the 8 mile round trip to the upper dam. As we consider dam removal of our many streams and rivers in New England, the example of the Elwha River restoration can help to keep us inspired.
The City of Dover, NH was awarded a $150,000 federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Grant in September 2015 to improve boat and water sports access to the Cochecho River, located near downtown Dover. Truslow RC was hired by the City Recreation Department to prepare the federal LWCF grant application on their behalf. The funds were requested to develop and improve outdoor recreation facilities and public water access at the Cochecho River Park, formerly used by the city for their wastewater treatment facility, city farm, a jail, among other uses. The centerpiece of the project was a floating dock near the shore for recreational rowers and boaters as well as the UNH Rowing team. This site allows access to a deep-water channel area on the tidal portion of the Cochecho River.
Paddlers enjoying the new boat launch on the Cochecho River in Dover, NH
Access to the Cochecho River, Dover, NH – BEFORE (2014)
Dock and kayak/canoe launch on the Cochecho River, Dover, NH – AFTER (2019)
Cover page of USGS Cape Cod Report
From 2015 to 2017 as a member of the WaterVision LLC joint venture, TruslowRC managed and carried out a permeable reactive barrier hydrogeologic siting study on Cape Cod to evaluate site suitability for reduction of nitrates in groundwater using this technology. The project was completed for the EPA in conjunction with the US Geological Survey, the Cape Cod Commission, and the Towns of Falmouth, Dennis, Barnstable, Mashpee and Orleans. Co-authored by Danna Truslow, a USGS Scientific Investigation Report was published in July 2019 that details the background on the Southeast New England Program for Coastal Watershed Restoration (SNEP), the purpose of the siting study, the hydrogeologic work completed and the results and lessons learned as part of the investigation.
The citation and an online link is listed below:
USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2019–5047: Hydrologic Site Assessment for Passive Treatment of Groundwater Nitrogen With Permeable Reactive Barriers, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Barbaro, J.R., Belaval, M., Truslow, D.B., LeBlanc, D.R., Cambareri, T.C., and Michaud, S.C., 2019, Hydrologic site assessment for passive treatment of groundwater nitrogen with permeable reactive barriers, Cape Cod, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2019–5047, 39 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20195047.
In addition to working on PRB studies on Cape Cod TruslowRC worked with Rockingham County Conservation District and Strafford County Conservation District on installed pilot projects in Durham and Brentwood, NH and is currently working in Kingston, NH on a PRBs surrounding two community septic systems for an assisted living community now under construction.
The Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership announces funds are available in Winter 2019
Durham, NH – Grant applications are available for the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership’s Winter 2019 Land Protection Transaction Grant Program. The matching grants program assists with the costs for permanent land protection projects (donation and/or acquisition of full fee and conservation easements) within the coastal watershed area of New Hampshire and Maine. Qualified nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) conservation organizations, municipalities and units of government may apply for a grant.
Applications must be postmarked by March 22, 2019. Grant instructions and the application form are available on the GBRPP website http://www.greatbaypartnership.org
Photo Credit: Jerry Monkman/EcoPhotography, LLC. Harvey Forest, SELT Recipient
Conserving a network of undeveloped natural lands in the coastal watershed is critical to maintain clean water, protect significant habitats and ecosystems, support healthy wildlife populations, protect agricultural and forestry resources, and provide quality recreational opportunities. The purchase or donation of land or conservation easements often requires funding for transaction expenses (e.g. appraisals, land surveys, recording fees). The Land Protection Transaction Grant Program assists with the costs of conserving the most significant lands in the coastal watershed.
For questions about this grant opportunity contact: Dea Brickner-Wood at info@greatbaypartnership.org.
| About the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership: The Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership is a collaboration of conservation organizations in the coastal region that promotes landscape-scale land conservation and stewardship. Funding for the Land Protection Transaction Grant program is provided by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Thomas W. Haas Fund of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. The Nature Conservancy serves as the fiscal agent for the GBRPP grant program. |
2018 GSRW_PRB training 9-11-18
Excess nitrate and nitrite in groundwater can be harmful to human health and can lead to eutrophication of coastal waters. In the northeast nitrate from point and nonpoint sources has led to significant water quality decline in Long Island Sound as well as Great Bay in New Hampshire. Septic systems and wastewater ponds can be a significant source of nitrate pollution in groundwater. Excess nitrates from agricultural lands (manure and fertilizer) and residential and commercially developed lands (fertilizer and waste in stormwater) also impact surface water but can also lead to groundwater contamination.
A passive treatment technology, permeable reactive barriers or PRBs, is being used to treat nitrate in many coastal areas and hold promise for use for both small and large-scale settings. PRBs were first used to clean up contaminated groundwater in the late 1980’s. It was originally used to treat dissolved toxic metals and organic chemicals but has more recently been applied to treat excess nutrients in groundwater.
During our training session at the 2018 Granite State Rural Water Association (GSRW) annual conference, we described the application of PRBs to treat nitrate in groundwater in both shallow trench wood chip bioreactors and using injected food grade emulsified vegetable oil. Other nitrate reducing technologies and phosphorus reducing methodology were also reviewed. The talk summarized the results of pilot PRB studies completed in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to address coastal nitrate loading.
2018 Land Conservation Funding Sources – TruslowRC
2018 NHACC GRANT WRITING Workshop_TRUSLOWRC
TruslowRC gave a presentation on “Grant Writing for Land Conservation” at the 2018 NH Association of Conservation Commissions Annual Meeting and Conference. Time only allowed for a general overview on the grant writing process but we included tips for success and a list of funding sources for land conservation in New Hampshire. Participants were very engaged and had many great questions for us.
The links above are to a list of some of the funding sources for land conservation in NH and a PDF of our presentation. Please call (603) 766-6670 or email Danna@TruslowRC.com if you have any questions about grant writing or grant writing assistance.