BITS AND PIECES

A Weekly Update from the Strafford Region

Volunteers Needed!

It's not too late to volunteer!

SRPC and the City of Dover are conducting a parking study in downtown Dover in September. The parking study will take place over a course of 3 days (8am-9pm) including two weekend days and one week day. The parking study will look at the utilization of parking across the downtown, the efficacy of parking restrictions, meter usage, and other trends. This information will help the city make informed decisions on potential changes to parking regulations and to identify when and where additional parking structures should be built. 

Volunteers are needed to assist with data collection. There are over 2,000 parking spaces in the study, so we will need many volunteers.

If you are interested in volunteering to collect data, please email Rachel Dewey at rdewey@straffordrpcnh.gov

Planning

Local Advisory Committee Members Go For A Sail Around Great Bay!

The Gundalow Company recently hosted members of the local advisory committees (LACs) for designated rivers in the coastal watershed for a sail around Great Bay. In addition to Gundalow history, participants heard about eelgrass and water quality in the estuary from staff from the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP), and about dam removal efforts from staff from the NH Department of Environmental Services Coastal Program. SRPC regional planner Lisa Wise joined Jenn Rowden from Rockingham Planning Commission to share about the ways regional planning commissions support local advisory committees and municipalities. For example, SRPC worked with the Oyster River Watershed Association on a watershed management plan back in 2001, supported the nomination process to the NH Rivers Management and Protection Program resulting in designation in 2011, and assisted the Oyster River LAC with the management plan development in 2014. SRPC provided mapping assistance for plan updates for the Lamprey and Isinglass Rivers, and we’re working with the Cocheco River LAC to finalize a Corridor Management Plan (see input opportunity below!). 

Public Workshop on the Cocheco River Corridor Management Plan

Wednesday, September 16th, 6:30pm-8:00pm, at the Dover Public Library, 73 Locust Street, Dover, NH

Please join the Cocheco River Corridor Management Plan Steering Committee and Strafford Regional Planning Commission for a public workshop. Share feedback on draft actions and priorities for this Corridor Management Plan. Registration is encouraged for planning purposes: https://forms.gle/mcvyuMZKaCsfRszRA.

Interested but can't make the workshop? We have an online survey option as well: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HHNK7LM.

Pieces of Interest

September 15: Dover, NH: Plan NH’s Annual Meeting – Built to Belong: The Next Generation of Mixed-Use Neighborhood Developments

September 22: Northeast Housing Summit | 10am to 2pm, virtual | register here

September 22: Seacoast Eat Local 20^th Anniversary Celebration – a fundraising event honoring their Roots and Seeding their Future. Tickets available here. 

September 23, 2026: NH Housing - Housing and Economy 2026 Conference: Preserving the Past. Creating Homes for the Future

 September 25: Preservation Regional Roundtable from the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance | 10am to 2pm, Somersworth | register here

October 1: Plan NH Annual Golf Tournament - register as a player or an event sponsor. More event details can be found on the Plan NH Event Calendar

October 28, 2026: AEI Housing Center's 15th Annual Housing Center Conference

Happening Now! NH NPR asks One Big Question each month. “How has the cost of housing in New Hampshire shaped your life decisions?"

Congratulations!

MAAM to receive National Excellence Award

Congratulations to Municipal Alliance for Adaptive Management (MAAM). They have been selected to receive the National MS4 Recognition for Stormwater Excellence - Phase II Overall Excellence Award.



This award recognizes MAAM’s collective leadership, collaboration, innovation, and measurable environmental progress in implementing a pioneering adaptive management approach to improve water quality in the Great Bay Estuary.

Public Input Opportunity

Share feedback on the draft New Hampshire Coastal Flood Risk Summary, Part II: Guidance for Using Best Available Science.

First published in 2020, the Guidance is currently being updated as part of the 5-year update required by the State legislature and guided by a Steering Committee of state agency representatives, regional planning commission staff, and other partners. The Guidance is intended to support users to access the latest information about sea level rise, groundwater rise, coastal storms, and extreme precipitation in different types of projects, including planning, regulatory, or site-specific efforts.

The public comment period runs throughout October 2026 and includes the following opportunities:

October 1, 12:00-1:00pm - Kickoff Webinar: Join this webinar for an orientation to the draft Guidance and Q&A

• Webinar Registration: https://events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/09b57d34-434b-4024-8090-893c7ee5a336@992deae9-1c4c-42c8-a310-5088af55ba74

Two In-Person Workshops: At these workshops, participants will have an opportunity to apply the draft Guidance to different scenarios and share feedback with the Project Team.

• October 8, 1:00-3:00pm, Dover Library, Dover, NH
• October 13, 10:00-12:00pm, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Stratham, NH
• Workshop Registration: https://forms.gle/6zVqN9NMJHWVRSNS7

For more information, visit the public comment landing page: https://arcg.is/1KmXDD4. Questions? Contact Lwise@straffordrpcnh.gov.

This project is funded in part, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Coastal Program; the NHDES Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau; and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Coastal Resilience Fund. 

Grant Opportunities

PREP’s Climate Impact Grants are BACK!

Is your community facing challenges with extreme heat or flooding? PREP is offering grants up to $25,000 for community-led projects that build local climate resilience across the Piscataqua Region Watershed.

Apply and learn from recently funded projects: https://lnkd.in/gm5zJrEf

Applications Due: October 30, 2026 @ 5:00 PM, EST

Land Conservation Transaction Costs in the Great Bay Watershed - Land Protection Transaction Grant Program, Fall 2026.

Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership announces the Fall 2026 application is available. Grants assist with transaction costs for land protection projects in the Great Bay Watershed of New Hampshire. Qualified nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) conservation organizations, municipalities and units of government may apply. Applications are due October 15, 2026.

Grant Application Instructions and Application Form are available on the GBRPP website http://www.greatbaypartnership.org

Grants Available for Stewardship Costs in the Coastal Watershed

The Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership announces Stewardship Grant Program Fall 2026 Stewardship Grant Program applications are available to assist with land stewardship costs for permanently protected conservation lands in the Coastal Watershed.

Stewardship Grant Application Instructions and Application Form are available on the GBRPP website http://www.greatbaypartnership.org

Application Due Date: October 15, 2026

Strafford Regional Planning Commission | 603-994-3500 | info@straffordrpcnh.gov | www.straffordrpcnh.gov

September 11, 2026