University of New Hampshire
EN-14: Participation in Public Policy

Through a strong partnership between the UNH Sustainability Institute and the Town of Durham, NH over the last six years, the Univarsity has worked with the Town of Durham in the development, adoption and implementation of the town’s local Climate Action Plan, the development of a Greenhouse Gas Inventory for municipal operations, the Oyster River Cooperative School District operations, and the GHG for the entire Town as whole.

Likewise UNH has supported the town of Dover, NH in analyzing the costs, feasibility, and benefits of implementing different renewable energy systems and technologies at different municipal locations, and advocated for implementatin of several of those measures. The City of Dover is located just over 5 miles from UNH. that is part of the Seacoast region in which UNH is located. 

In addition, UNH continues to help coordinate the Natural Resources Outreach Coalition (NROC) and Climate Adaptation Work-group (CAW) two regional (coastal watershed towns) community assistance programs partnering with state and federal conservation and environmental agencies (NH Coastal Program, NH DES, EPA Region 1, Great Bay NEER, NH F&G), regional planning commissions, and NGOs (Nature Conservancy, PREP, land trusts) to advocate for and promote greater local climate preparedness. 

UNH participates, as a voting member, in the Strafford and Rockingham Metropolitan Planning Organizations (facilitated by Strafford and Rockingham Regional Planning Commissions).  During the period 2021-2024 the MPO routinely deals with sustainability issues including the following:  

• All USDOT and NHDOT Transportation funding/project selection including transit grants affecting mobility in the seacoast region air quality conformity and monitoring. The MPOs also assist NHDOT with environmental data collection, US Census partner regional housing and economic studies. UNH is also a participant in Strafford Regional Planning’s general planning programs including environmental, housing, general land use, and regional economic development efforts. See 
  https://strafford.org/photos_temp/metropolitantransportationplan_mtpcover-png/  and 
  https://www.therpc.org/transportation/about-mpo 

• UNH is also a member of Granite State Clean Cities Coalition which is a voluntary collaboration of fleet operators and owners that promotes alternative fuel vehicles in NH.
• UNH also monitors and supports increasing passenger rail and intercity bus service in New Hampshire including Capital Corridor intercity rail service.  Expanding intercity bus and rail has many associated sustainability benefits including significant reductions in traffic, congestion, and emissions, enhancing staff and student access to our Concord and Manchester campuses and enhancement of compact, mixed-use inclusive development along the Boston-Manchester-Concord corridor.  Our Durham campus benefits immensely from the successful Amtrak Downeaster service between Boston and Brunswick, Maine. As noted in NHDOT report “The optimal transportation infrastructure network considers the interconnection between development patterns, availability of housing choices, and transportation diversity as a means to preserve natural resources and community vitality and promote energy efficiency.” See https://www.nhbiz4rail.com/supporters/  
• The planning partners from UNH Cooperative Extension, the National Collaborative for Digital Equity, and METRO’s Digital Equity Research Center are in the process of collecting public input for the plan, which will be supported by $5 million/year in federal implementation funds.
• UNH Extension, in consultation with partner organizations, including the N.H. Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food (NHDAMF) and USDA Farm Service Agency, distributed a crop loss survey in 2023 that captured damage levels on 70 farms across NH following widespread freezing temperatures in February and May.  In the survey, growers estimated the economic impact of lost crop value of these two events to be over $10 million. Two additional surveys captured vegetable, field and forage crop losses due to excess rainfall and flooding, totaling another $5.5 million.  Their findings provided tangible support for approving an $8 million Crop Loss Program to aid New Hampshire farmers. In addition to the state program, Extension’s research is bolstering a similar federal effort led by Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who brought Extension’s data to the Senate floor while advocating for federal disaster relief for New Hampshire farmers. UNH Extension continues to educate legislators and agricultural service providers on the impacts of severe weather events while providing programming and other resources to help growers better prepare for future events.
• UNH’s Applied Recreation Research Collaborative, in partnership with NH’s Division of Parks and Recreation, completed a comprehensive five-year recreation management plan.  That plan, called the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Management Plan, was accepted by the National Park Service recently, giving the state access to millions of dollars in federal recreation funding. The UNH team provided essential research on residents’ visitation patterns, behaviors, attitudes and perceptions toward outdoor recreation in New Hampshire.  
• On January 9, 2024, UNH testified in opposition to New Hampshire House Bill 1690, relative to hiring, promotion, graduation, or admission in higher education. The bill, if passed, institutions of higher education would not be allowed to ask job candidates to submit diversity statements that reflect on efforts to support DEI in their prior roles or to share how their experiences, contributions, and knowledge in this area might help advance the university’s commitment to inclusive practices and the enhancement of the learning environment for all students. In addition, the bill also made reference to prohibiting “permitting diversity, equity, and inclusion statements” and appeared to intend to police both written (online and in print) spoken statements in all aspects of university life. https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB1690/2024
• UNH advocated and collaborated on New Hampshire Senate Bill 45 - relative to national guard education benefits. USNH has proudly partnered with the National Guard to offer tuition waivers to service members since 1996. Over the last ten years, this benefit has helped over 7,000 guardsmen and women achieve their educational goals while serving as a valuable recruitment tool for the Guard. This proposal would expand the existing benefit to spouses as an incentive for reenlistment. https://legiscan.com/NH/text/SB45/2023 
• Additionally, UNH advocated and collaborated on the passage of NH Senate Bill 154 - relative to tuition waivers for children in guardianships after being in foster care. The legislation would increase to 35 (from 15) the number of foster care tuition and fee waivers available at both USNH and CCSNH. USNH has supported foster children under this program since 2011 and supports this update to allow more young people to take advantage of this valuable benefit. https://legiscan.com/NH/text/SB154/id/2656251  

The following links provide information on addition examples supported by UNH Cooperative Extension: 

• https://nhltc.org/
• https://www.nhms4.des.nh.gov/coalition-meetings/seacoast-stormwater-coalition 
• https://www.nhbutterflies.org/  

The university’s commitment to sustainability is reflected in our appropriations, programmatic, and legislative engagement with Congress. 

• AMEC – UNH leads one of four Department of Energy Marine Energy Centers. The Atlantic Marine Energy Center is dedicated to developing wave, tidal and ocean current energy to advance the marine energy industry and provide sustainable power solutions to blue/maritime economies and coastal communities.
• UNH is the lead advocate for a new NOAA Cooperative Institute of Science and Engineering Excellence to support the sustainable development of aquaculture in the United States. This CI will be the preeminent research and development center working to address critical issues associated with sustainable development and regulatory procedures. The tenets of this UNH Cooperative Institute will reflect not only the United Nations' 17 goals for sustainable development for local seafood production but also partner with the NOAA to respond to new initiatives or policies
• UNH is actively partnered with the Appalachian Mountain Club to expand the USDA’s Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) Network to the Eastern United States. This automated snow and weather data collection network is critical for water supply forecasting and will serve scientific research and climate monitoring needs.
• UNH has long been an advocate of efforts to “Double-Pell” in order to increase educational opportunities for low-income students.
• UNH is leading efforts to introduce legislation to establish a federal Crimes Against Children Joint Task Force. This interagency task force would be focused on studying and promoting best practices related to identifying and responding to crimes against children. The task force would also provide evidence-based guidance on how to support children who are victims of crimes. This taskforce is an extension of the work of the UNH Crimes against Children Research Center.

• Relatedly, the UNH's Early Childhood Initiative is dedicated to improving outcomes for New Hampshire's children through collaboration with families, schools, and communities. Supported by a $27 million Preschool Development Grant, UNH is leading efforts to better understand the current early childhood system and use those data to strengthen the system, better address the needs of vulnerable young children and their families, and help build a solid foundation to improve outcomes for NH's children, families, schools, and communities. https://chhs.unh.edu/early-childhood  

• Through the Center for Infrastructure Resilience to Climate, UNH is leading efforts to accelerate and advance the development of new methods and approaches to planning, design, and operation and maintenance of climate and weather resilient transportation and building infrastructure systems. UCIRC works to develop and implement effective public policy solutions concerning these pressing issues. Among them, UNH has advocated for the full funding to the Transportation Resilience and Adaptation Centers of Excellence (TRACE) program, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).  These centers will conduct research and share outcomes with decision-makers and communities to make transportation infrastructure resilient to current and future weather and climate extremes while meeting the mobility needs of society, fostering healthy communities, and supporting economic growth.