[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4841]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE RIVERS COUNCIL

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                           HON. ANN M. KUSTER

                            of new hampshire

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 9, 2013

  Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the New Hampshire 
Rivers Council as it celebrates its 20th Anniversary. The Rivers 
Council grew out of the New Hampshire Rivers Campaign, a group of 
concerned citizens and conservation organizations that united in 1985 
to create a voice for New Hampshire rivers. Thanks to the Campaign and 
the Council, the Rivers Program is celebrating its 20th anniversary 
with 1000 miles of rivers designated into the state program since 1988. 
Recognizing the need for a permanent and active voice for river 
protection in the state, the participants in the campaign formed the 
New Hampshire Rivers Council.
   Over the last 20 years, the New Hampshire Rivers Council has made 
many significant contributions to river and watershed conservation in 
the Granite State. For example, the Rivers Council worked with 
grassroots organizations to implement minimum water levels on protected 
rivers, worked with the Governor's Commission on Land and Community 
Heritage to recommend a new, permanent and adequately funded program 
for land conservation, and joined other New Hampshire organizations to 
negotiate a creative license agreement for the 15-Mile Falls Dam on the 
Connecticut River that provides better protection to the river 
ecosystem and preserved nearly 12,000 acres of land on the river and 
surrounding the Connecticut Lakes.
   The history and character of New Hampshire is largely defined by its 
rivers and the directors and growing membership of the Rivers Council 
continue to make significant contributions to river and watershed 
conservation and restoration, ensuring New Hampshire's natural 
resources will be enjoyed for generations to come.
   Today, the New Hampshire Rivers Council is the only statewide 
organization dedicated to the protection and conservation of New 
Hampshire's river resources and whose leadership was instrumental in 
the establishment of the New Hampshire Rivers Management and Protection 
Program. I ask the House of Representatives to join me to acknowledge 
and thank those individuals who had the vision to create the Rivers 
Campaign nearly thirty years ago and to celebrate the 20th Anniversary 
of the New Hampshire Rivers Council today.

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