During summer 2025, Great Bay NERR worked with a fantastic summer intern – Claudia Reuss – and a group of partners to conduct an assessment of Conservation Commissions to help inform future training and engagement programs. We are happy to share the assessment report, which details the varied interests and priorities of Conservation Commissions in NH’s coastal zone.
Read the report: NH Coastal Conservation Commission Assessment, 2025.
Purpose
Most municipalities in New Hampshire have established a Conservation Commission that has a general mandate to inventory, protect, and steward the community’s natural and watershed resources. However, the focus, procedures, composition, and staff support for each Commission vary widely across communities depending on a number of factors, including the size of the town, local ordinances, and historic and current interests of Conservation Commission members.
Because of their role in protecting water resources and reviewing permit applications for projects that could impact wetlands, Conservation Commissions are valuable partners for organizations like ours that are interested in supporting environmental planning and protection. This assessment provided a unique opportunity to understand the diversity and commonalities across NH’s coastal area Commissions.
When we launched this assessment, we were exploring ways to re-invigorate a workshop series called the Board Empowerment Series that Great Bay NERR supported along with the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership, the New Hampshire Association of Conservation Commissions, and the Natural Resources Outreach Coalition. This group of partners, along with the Seabrook-Hamptons Estuary Alliance, helped design and implement the assessment and visited with 12 Conservation Commissions during the summer of 2025.
Assessment Methods
To help identify priorities, challenges, and preferences that could guide development of future workshops and technical assistance programs, we initiated a multi-component assessment of Conservation Commissions in coastal New Hampshire. The assessment included three complementary activities:
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- A targeted survey to assess individual interests, which was completed by 46 board members;
- An AI-assisted review of 45 Commission meeting minutes to identify commonly referenced topics and themes; and
- Participation in 12 Conservation Commission meetings to preview workshop ideas and solicit feedback.
This assessment focused on current members of Conservation Commissions in New Hampshire’s 17 coastal zone communities, which includes: Dover, Durham, Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, Madbury, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, Newmarket, North Hampton, Portsmouth, Rollinsford, Rye, Seabrook, and Stratham.
Example Findings from the Assessment
Our observations and survey results are detailed in this report – NH Coastal Conservation Commission Assessment. The assessment reveals numerous findings that can directly inform future programs.
Potential Topics for Future Programs: “Wetlands and buffer protection” and “planning for climate resilience” were of high interest to the largest number of survey respondents (Figure 1). Wetlands, buffers, and permit reviews for these habitats are among the topics more frequently discussed in Commission meetings. In open-ended survey questions, Conservation Commissioners expressed interest in improving conservation planning, permit review processes, and community engagement.
Figure 1. Responses to the question: “In order to tailor our content to what municipal boards and commissions need and want, please indicate your level of interest in exploring the following potential topics.”
Potential Program Formats: Preferences for workshop timing and format varied widely, suggesting that offering a diversity of ways to engage Conservation Commissioners could maximize participation.
As highlighted in Figure 2, survey responses indicate that Commissioners are more likely to attend a single-session workshop rather than a multi-session workshop. In-person programs are preferred over virtual workshops or self-guided online modules. Field visits were of moderate interest. In addition, survey responses showed that Commissioners are more likely to attend a workshop focused on their own community than a workshop open to all communities.
Figure 2. Responses to the question: “We are exploring different formats for future learning opportunities. For any topics of interest, how likely are you to participate in the following types of programs?”
Desired Types of Resources: Respondents were asked what type of resources and technical assistance they would find most helpful to their work on Conservation Commissioners. Results show they were especially interested in checklists of tips, short videos, and reference sheets. Long videos were seen as less useful than other resource types suggested (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Responses to the question: “We are considering offering a range of online resources and technical assistance in addition to (or instead of) workshops. Please rank the following types of resources in order of what would be most valuable and useful to you and your board or commission.”
Next Steps
Assessment findings have helped our team successfully secure funding through Great Bay 2030 to launch a comprehensive training and community engagement program to build skills and support for buffer protection. The project will include a workshop series that will launch in spring 2027, as well as an update to the Buffer Options for the Bay website, and a communications toolkit, similar to stormwater toolkit recently developed by PREP.
With Gratitude
We are very grateful for the time that many Commissioners dedicated to talking with us in board meetings and completing the electronic survey. The work of Conservation Commissions is strikingly varied across the NH’s coastal region, so it was incredibly helpful to hear Commissioners explain their work, desires, and interests in their own words.
We are thrilled that we now have the funding to act on many of the ideas shared by Commissioners and captured in this Assessment. Stay tuned for updates!
Assessment Team
Claudia Reuss, University of New Hampshire Extension Small Family Fellow
Lynn Vaccaro & Becky MacKnight, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Abigail Lyon & Annie Cox, Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership
Jay Diener & Sara Gagnon, Seabrook-Hamptons Estuary Alliance
Barbara Richter, NH Association of Conservation Commissions
