Flyer for CommuteSMART Seacoast's upcoming 'Conquer the Cold' challenge.
On Wednesday, November 6th Kyle Pimental, principal regional planner, and Jackson Rand, GIS planner, attended the Southeast Land Trust’s land conservation committee meeting to hear a presentation from Pete Steckler, GIS and conservation project manager at the Nature Conservancy, on the “Connect the Coast” project. Kyle and Jackson, among others, had the opportunity to learn more about this recently completed project, which aims to identify pathways for wildlife to move within and beyond New Hampshire’s coastal watershed. According to the newly released report , the project applied conservation science and planning tools to the more densely settled and rapidly developing Seacoast region by using the NH Wildlife Connectivity Model. The project identified critical connectors between regionally significant conservation land and habitat blocks, which will help prioritize land protection efforts to secure connections for wildlife. The connectors will also highlight opportunities to work with transportation managers to mitigate the effects of our roadways on wildlife movement. There are links to town by town mapping provided as part of the report, which can be found in Appendix B.

If you’d like to learn about this project, please contact Pete Steckler at 603-230-9222 or Duane Hyde at 603-778-6088. 

Pieces of Interest

Transportation

Shayna Sylvia, communications and outreach planner, attended the CommuteSMART Seacoast quarterly advisory board meeting on Thursday, Nov. 7. Board members discussed a variety of topics. Anne Rugg, manager of CommuteSMART Seacoast reviewed fourth-quarter metrics that will be submitted to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. Those measures include social media statistics, number of participants in the summer commuter challenge, and tabling events.

Board members also reviewed statistics from the summer “Dump the Pump” commuter challenge, which included 184 smart commuters logging 4,554 trips totaling 93,969 miles and saving 39 tons of carbon dioxide. 

The upcoming “ Conquer the Cold” challenge , and the upcoming commuteSMART sustainability awards were also discussed. 

Learn more about CommuteSMART Seacoast on its website .

 Pieces of Interest

Economic Development

Strafford Economic Development District (EDD) held its monthly economic development brown bag lunch at the Rochester Annex. These informal meetings, which are an expansion of those previously held in Durham, give the EDD staff and appointed and elected officials an opportunity to discuss economic development in the region. They are also a chance for participants to share important news from their communities, ask questions, and learn from each other.
 
Regional Economic Development Planner James Burdin facilitated the meeting with Colin Lentz, senior transportation planner, and Nancy O'Connor, program content coordinator. It was attended by Jennifer Marsh, Barbara Holstein, Michael Scala, and Blaine Cox from Rochester; Robin Comstock from Somersworth; Dan Barufaldi from Dover; and Dennis McCann from the Strafford Economic Development Corporation.
 
The group discussed regional planning challenges around the link between transportation, housing, and jobs. The conversation was wide-ranging: from how national economic factors affect families’ and individuals’ decisions about attending college, to how communities can support homeless citizens. The group also focused on how to attract and retain members of a strong workforce in the Strafford area and seacoast. These issues will be addressed in an upcoming update to the regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. 

Contact James Burdin , senior regional planner, at 603-994-3500 for more information.
 
 Pieces of Interest

Strafford Regional Planning Commission | 603-994-3500 | srpc@strafford.org | www.strafford.org
Nov. 8, 2019