I n March, I traveled to Washington, D.C. for the National Groundwater Association (NGWA) Fly-In and Water Resources Summit. With the uncertainty about budgets and support for many critical water resource and drinking water programs, it seemed like a good year to participate in this important effort to travel to our nation's capital and speak to our elected representatives about important groundwater issues and funding needs. Prior to the meeting I communicated ........ Bob Schreiber, Sen. Maggie Hassan (NH), Danna Truslow

with colleagues and clients regarding their needs and interests and was armed with great information to share. 

On the first day we were briefed on US Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior and US Department of Agriculture policy, the overall budget picture, and bills and initiatives being tracked and advanced by NGWA on water policy and infrastructure. The following day we received our schedule for meetings with senators and congresswomen/men from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Bob Schreiber of CDM-Smith and I were paired to meet with senators or their staff in the morning and congressional representatives in the afternoon. We attended Senator Maggie Hassan’s coffee and had a chance to speak with her and her environmental policy aide. We also updated them on the issues and resources that NGWA provides on topics such as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl s ubstances ( PFAS ) and homeowner water wells . Although we were there to provide new information and resources, I was impressed at how informed staff was on the many water resource topics important to their constituents.

 Since 2014 Anna Boudreau has served as our staff land conservation specialist, grant writer and marketing coordinator. Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Anna’s interest in natural resource protection and conservation was launched in 1991 when she became a “Natural Resources Steward” for UNH Cooperative Extension ( UNHCE ). Her subsequent participation in 1996 in UNHCE's NH ................ Anna Boudreau - Courtesy photo: extension.unh.edu

Coverts Project, a wildlife habitat management program for volunteers and landowners, solidified her passion for educating the public about land and water conservation, which led to a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Community Development from the University of New Hampshire.

Anna was a founding member of both the Cochecho River Watershed Coalition, established in 1998, and the City of Dover's Open Lands Committee (OLC) established in 2000. She continues to play a key role on the OLC, which has conserved over 800 acres of important forest and farm lands, by negotiating easement acquisitions and leveraging over $2 million in federal and state grant funds. She remains active on the OLC, serving as the current chair and stewardship coordinator, and represented the OLC on the Climate Adaptation Chapter Steering Committee for the City of Dover's Master Plan, which was approved by the Planning Board in March of 2018.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT. The State of New Hampshire recently announced that u p to $5 million could be available for water supply land protection grants and construction loans from the NH Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund . A workshop will be held in Concord, NH on  Wednesday, April 18, 2018  to provide program details. A morning session will be held to address loans and grants for construction projects and the afternoon session will cover non-construction and land conservation for water supply protection grants.  Pre-registration is required.

Click here for a list of additional funding sources for land conservation and source water protection, including the Aquatic Resources Mitigation Fund ( ARM ), with pre-proposals

due April 20, 2018, and the Land & Community Heritage Investment Program ( LCHIP ) which

opens May 1, 2018.