NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS 



News from the 

 Legislature 



NO. 119 UPDATE 



House Bill No. 1 19-FN-Local, intro- 

 duced by Rep. Marilyn Campbell 

 (R-Salem), gives exclusive authority 

 over the use, regulation, sale, or 

 transportation of pesticides to the 

 Division of Pesticide Control, De- 

 partment of Agriculture. 



The bill passed the house. A 

 hearing scheduled before the Sen- 

 ate Environmental Committee on 

 April 8 was so crowded that a sec- 

 ond hearing was scheduled on 

 April 29. 



The bill has produced many 

 strongly stated viewpoints, pitting 

 the state, farmers, utilities, and 

 chemical manufacturers against en- 

 vironmentalists and local control 

 advocates. Sen. Richard Russman 

 (R-Kingston), Chairman of the Sen- 

 ate Environment Committee, was 

 quoted in The Boston Globe as say- 

 ing, "so far, both sides are perhaps 

 overstating the case." This may be 

 so, but it is important to have 

 made your viewpoints known. 



...AND NO. 252. 



House Bill No. 252-FN-LOCAL, 

 which would allow the wetlands 

 board to adopt rules to expedite 

 the permitting process for mini- 

 mum impact projects in forestry, 

 agriculture and recreation and town 

 road maintenance, was signed into 

 law. It became effective June sev- 

 enth. (An expedited permit would 

 not be available for subdivisions, 

 commercial development, or new 

 road construction.) 



CURRENT USE 



REIMBURSEMENT— 



NH SUPREME COURT REVIEW 



(from SPACE Newsletter, Spring, 

 1993). 



The NH House of Representatives 

 Environment & Agriculture Commit- 

 tee has requested a review by the 

 NH Supreme Court of House Bill 

 570, a bill establishing a current 

 use municipal reimbursement fund 



paid for by increasing the land use 

 change tax. The justices will con- 

 sider whether it is constitutional to 

 increase the land use change tax 

 (LUCT)— the penalty paid by cur- 

 rent use landowners when they de- 

 velop their land — without grand- 

 fathering all existing landowners 

 enrolled in the program. 



As introduced, the bill proposes 

 to increase the LUCT up to 15%, 

 with any increased revenue over 

 the current 10% penalty being dis- 

 tributed back to municipalities on 

 a per-acre basis. The intent is to 

 reduce some of the "economic bur- 

 den" imposed by current use on 

 mostly smaller, rural communities. 

 Committee Vice-Chair David Scan- 

 Ian expects an opinion to be is- 

 sued by the Court by summer and 

 full consideration of the bill during 

 the 1994 session. 



(SPACE — Statewide Program of 

 Action to Conserve our Environ- 

 ment — is at 54 Portsmouth Street 

 in Concord. For more information 

 on current use issues, call them at 

 603-224-3306.) 



A Graduation 



On Tuesday, May fourth, a cake 

 covered with pink frosting roses 

 and a tour of the UNH Research 

 Greenhouses were just part of the 

 graduation day activities for the 50 

 participants in a pilot Master Gar- 

 dener Program offered by UNH Co- 

 operative Extension. This program 

 involved fifteen weeks of classes 

 (45 hours of classroom instruction 

 and optional hands-on training) at 

 UNH Manchester. 



After graduation, Master Garden- 

 ers are required to give 30 hours 



of volunteer service, thus extend- 

 ing the information gained into 

 their communities. 



Dates for the next program have 

 not yet been announced. To be 

 on the list to receive this informa- 

 tion, contact your county extension 

 office. 



Gypsy Moths — Big Time 



[The Boston Sunday Globe, April 30.) 



State Entomologist Siegfried Thew- 

 ke says that last year was the sec- 

 ond in a three-year cycle for the 

 gypsy moths, which normally "build 

 to a crescendo" in the third year 

 before they die victims of parasites 

 and viruses. "We do have a popu- 

 lation of eggs out there and will 

 have some defoliation in the same 

 area as last year, between Inter- 

 state 93 and the coast." 



The long-haired caterpillars with 

 red and blue dots should be 

 around until late July. Then there 

 will be a three-week outbreak of 

 moths. 



There's nothing special about 

 southeastern New Hampshire that 

 makes the moths want to go there, 

 he said. "It's just sheer luck, be- 

 cause the moths are wind-borne." 



Show Time Roundup 



THE SEACOAST FLOWER SHOW- 

 LOOKING FORWARD TO NUMBER 

 EIGHT. 



The Seventh Annual Seacoast Area 

 Flower & Garden Show (March 12- 

 14) had a life filled with difficul- 

 ties. It wasn't until January 15 that 

 a location was found in the 'Old 

 Channel Building' on Lafayette 

 Road. But energy normally spent 

 on other aspects was spent in the 

 long and often frustrating search. 

 Several times there was serious 

 talk of cancellation. 



A strong, well-publicized show 

 opened on Friday, only to have a 

 snowstorm arrive on the afternoon 

 of the thirteenth. The snow was 

 over by Sunday morning, but there 

 was a lot of digging out to do and 

 it was decided not to open on 



JuneS July 1993 

 7 



