The Ossipee Watershed Coalition is a partnership of municipal officials, community and business leaders, and other concerned citizens. Its mission is to sustain and protect our shared resources through cooperative natural resource-based planning.
What does the Coalition do?
Since 2004, GMCG and the Ossipee Watershed Coalition have hosted numerous workshops on natural resource based planning. GMCG hired Environmental Planner Steve Whitman of Jeffrey H. Taylor & Associates of Concord with funding from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to engage local residents, municipal officials and state and non-profit organizations in watershed-wide natural resource based planning. The Coalition has been promoting the concept of planning for our shared growth while still protecting our natural resources.
In 2006, GMCG and the Ossipee Watershed Coalition (OWC), working in partnership with over 35 volunteers from many different state and local agencies, published the Ossipee Watershed Natural Resource Based Planning Guide. This Guide provides information on natural resources, area maps, template ordinances and information about balancing development with protection of the Ossipee Watershed’s natural resources. Rural Planning needs to be an active process and new chapters in this Guide need to be added overtime as new information becomes available. If you would like to read or download this Guide you may do so at: Ossipee Watershed Natural Resource Guide
In 2008, GMCG also produced the Ossipee Watershed Municipal Ordinance Book which we given to town planning boards. Each town’s natural resource ordinance is included in the guide as well as a matrix describing what towns have in terms of natural resource ordinance. The Ordinance Book encourages watershed towns to review each other’s ordinances and see ways to improve their own. Through the creation of this Book, a watershed ordinance matrix has been created, which indicates the status of natural resource ordinances across the watershed. This matrix provides town officials and citizens with a method to review the status of these ordinances and see where potential upgrades may be needed.
The matrix is currently being revised and will show up on this webpage soon, so please stay tuned. It will also be the subject of a review of the next OWC meeting, and become an active chapter in the natural Resources Guide.
The OWC is now actively involved in a new project in partnership with Lakes Region Planning Commission (LRPC), to help watershed towns update or develop aquifer protection ordinances. OWC members will be working with an LRPC planner to help ease the burden on planning boards to develop these ordinances; use of existing model ordinances will greatly facilitate that.
If anyone would like to help out or get their planning board involved, please contact the OWC Chair, John Shipman, by calling the GMCG office at 539-1859
How can I get involved? The Ossipee Watershed Coalition is seeking participation from all watershed towns, as well as commitment from at least two representatives from each town to work on the guidebook. The Coalition’s meetings are open to the public, and anyone is invited to participate. FMI, call 539-1859 or visit http://www.gmcg.org.
If towns would like to pursue additional projects with help from natural resource planners, they can also contract:
Steve Whitman at Jeffrey H. Taylor & Associates: 603-536-5037 swhitman@jhtplanning.com
Lakes Region Planning Commission, 103 Main St., Suite #3, Meredith, NH 03253. (603) 279-8171
When Is the Next Event?
Please see our calendar for more upcoming meeting dates. The Coalition’s meetings are open to the public, FMI, email gmcgnh@roadrunner.com or call 603-539-1859.
Quick Links:
Ossipee Watershed Natural Resource Guide
Town Links: Effingham, Freedom, Madison, Ossipee, Sandwich, Tamworth
Power Point Presentation: Enacting Zoning Ordinances
Power Point Presentation: Aquifer Protection
Sustainable Communities Presentation June, 2007
GPS & PCS Inventory Presentation January 31, 2008
The Green Mountain Conservation Group (GMCG) is a community-based, charitable organization dedicated to the protection and conservation of natural resources in the Ossipee Watershed in central Carroll County. Read More 