I am In complete support of what is written below by this 5th grade class!! On behalf of my son, Nicholas-5th grader at North Hampton School: Hi Everyone! My name is Nicholas and I’m in the 5th grade. My friends and I are creating a bill to name Lake Winnipesaukee the State Lake of New Hampshire. We have been working on this since 4th grade with the help of our teacher and Representatives Maggiore and Balboni, and are so excited that after all of this hard work it is finally going to committee. After our 4th grade field trip to the State House, we were looking at a state map and realized that we have many state symbols in our state, but no state lake. We looked at a map of the US to see if every state could have a state lake if they wanted to, and the answer was “yes.” So we decided to ask our teacher if we could create a bill to name a state lake. Some of the reasons why we chose Lake Winnipesaukee are that it is a very well known lake - even by people outside of our state, it is the largest lake in the state, and it reflects the heritage of the Abenaki people in its name which means “Smile of the Great Spirit” or “Beautiful Water in a High Place.” This beautiful water is enjoyed year round from folks all over the state! Not only is this lake used for your normal swimming and water activities in the summer, in the winter it is transformed into an ice fishing, skating, and snowmobile paradise and even has a landing strip for planes! We hope you will take a moment to share your support for Bill 1020 before our hearing on Wednesday by following this link! Thank you
HB1020
House · 2026 sessionBipartisanKilled in HouseLake Winnipesaukee as state lake
AIDesignates Lake Winnipesaukee as the official state lake of New Hampshire.
proclaiming Lake Winnipesaukee the official state lake of New Hampshire.
Status
Killed in the House — Inexpedient to Legislate · March 5, 2026- ✓Introduced
- ✕House
- Senate
- Governor
- Law
Division of testimony
181 submissionsArgument digest · AI-generated
from 72 of 72 written submissionsHB1020 would designate Lake Winnipesaukee as New Hampshire's official state lake, a proposal that originated as a student civics project. Testimony reviewed is overwhelmingly supportive, citing the lake's economic and tourism value, the civic-education value of the student-led process that produced the bill, and the opportunity to highlight the importance of protecting all of New Hampshire's lakes; no substantive opposition to the designation appears in the submissions reviewed.
- General expressions of support without detailed reasoningSupport31 of 72 reviewed
A large share of submitters simply state support for naming Lake Winnipesaukee the state lake, often in a sentence or two, without elaborating specific reasons.
“Lake Winnipesaukee is a state treasure. As perhaps the most well-known and largest lake in the state, I believe it is appropriate to identify it as the official state Lake of New Hampshire.”
— Alex Reno, North Hampton · #601293 — read full submission →
“I fully support making Lake Winnipeasaukee the official state lake of New Hampshire. It is a key feature of our beautiful state and this official declaration would give it the recognition it deserves.”
— Wendy James, North Hampton · #585550 — read full submission →
- Economic and tourism importance of the lakeSupport17 of 72 reviewed
Submitters argue the lake is a major driver of New Hampshire's recreation and tourism economy, supporting local businesses, communities, and thousands of jobs, and that the designation would reinforce this identity.
“As the state’s largest lake, Winnipesaukee is a major driver of recreation and tourism, supporting local businesses, communities, and 8,000+ jobs.”
— William Johnson, Moultonborough · #588873 — read full submission →
“Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest and most well known lake in the state of N.H. It’s the economic engine of the lake region.”
— Doug Kenyon, Gilford · #606977 — read full submission →
- Values the student-led civic process behind the billSupport11 of 72 reviewed
Many submitters emphasize that the bill originated from a school class project and praise the civics lesson it represents, arguing this demonstrates and rewards civic engagement by young people.
“It began not in a back room or through political pressure, but in a classroom—where students identified a gap in our state symbols, did the research, and worked thoughtfully through the legislative process over multiple years.”
— State Rep. Nicholas Bridle, Hampton · #601195 — read full submission →
“Lake Winnipesaukee could become an important connection between our students' knowledge of our state and their sense of environmental stewardship for their local communities.”
— Rebecca Carlson, Hampton Falls · #585609 — read full submission →
- Designation spotlights the importance of all NH lakesSupport11 of 72 reviewed
Submitters argue that honoring the state's largest lake does not diminish others, but instead offers an opportunity to draw attention to the value and shared responsibility of protecting all of New Hampshire's nearly 1,000 lakes and ponds.
- Environmental and water-quality value of lakesSupport8 of 72 reviewed
Some submitters point to the ecological role lakes play, such as supporting wildlife and moderating climate, and frame the designation as a way to encourage protection of water quality.
- Personal and sentimental attachment to the lakeSupport5 of 72 reviewed
A number of submitters describe personal memories of growing up on or visiting Lake Winnipesaukee, expressing that these experiences motivate their support for the designation.
Generated by claude-sonnet-5 (claude code agent) on Jul 22, 2026. Quotes are verbatim excerpts, verified against the cited submission before publication. Summaries are AI interpretation of the record, not part of it.
I think it is a tremendous idea for Lake Winnipesaukee to be named the State Lake.
As a New Hampshire native retired US Army Special Forces Officer, I was raised during the summers on the shore of Lake Winny by my grandfather who was a Navy Veteran. Now that I live back in NH I am always drawn to the lake to re center myself and find my peace. I have brought many veterans to the area to share this experience with. NH deserves to have this lake named the state lake.
I have a lifetime of wonderful memories of visiting Lake Winnipesaukee and the surrounding towns for summer and winter activities. I fully support Bill 1020!
I fully support this bill because I believe Lake Winnipesaukee to be the state of New Hampshire’s finest recreational lake and was surprised to hear that no state lake has yet been recognized!
A state lake would be unique and our "big lake" deserves it.
I support this Bill 100%!
I grew up on Lake Winni., it’s a place that brings families and friends together to relax and celebrate special occasions. There’s no other place in NH as beautiful; day or night with the moon shining across the smooth water and listening to the sounds of nature all around. you. The memories I have as a child there will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Support
With only a few other states in the country having named an official state lake, what a wonderful opportunity to highlight not only the special body of water we have in Lake Winnipesaukee, but to also shine a light on all of our lakes and how important they are to the state of New Hampshire. I think it is a wonderful idea to select our largest and arguably most well known lake to serve as the official state lake and as the representative of our many bodies of water across the state.
I support this bill being the largest lake in the state. Lake Winnipesaukee is a foundation of New Hampshire's tourism economy and a symbol of its natural heritage.
Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest and most well known lake in the state of N.H. It’s the economic engine of the lake region. It should be the state lake of N.H.
Recognizing Lake Winnipesaukee as the state lake of New Hampshire makes sense since it is such an important part of the state's history and it's future. I'm glad a smart 5th grader came up with this idea!
The children have done so much work to help pass this bill. It’s a Great Lake that represents so much of what NH is… fresh water, great fishing, clean resources, beautiful scenery. It is a wonderful example of something wonderful in our state !
I support this bill for Lake a Winnipesaukee to be the state lake.
Love this idea of having a state lake and that elementary students are behind this! Vote yes!
We support this bill and visited and boated on Lake Winni for 55 years before permanently moving to NH 6 years ago.
Designating Winnipesaukee as our official state lake will bring attention to the value of all 1,000 lakes in New Hampshire. Mascoma is my personal favorite, but I urge passage of this bill to enshrine the largest lake as our official ambassador for the Granite State.
Lake Winnipesaukee should absolutely be New Hampshire’s state lake! I know how much work the New Hampton students put into proposing this bill, because my class also did this project back when I was in the fourth grade (NH state vegetable)! Even now as an adult I remember how happy and proud we were when our bill was passed, and these students absolutely deserve this too.
I have lived on Lake Winnipesaukee for a decade. Lake Winnipesaukee has got to be New Hampshire’s official state lake!
I live in Moultonborough and realize how fortunate to be near Lake Winnipesaukee. It adds so much to our town and to the state and derserves to be designated as our state lake. Thank you
I am in favor of naming Winnipesaukee the NH State Lake. This will help bring attention to the lake and serve as a catalyst to gather more support for protecting the lake from invasive species, erosion, and pollution. Thank you.
I have grown up on the lake and enjoy working there during my summers. I believe that the lake not only represents the beauty of New Hampshire, but also the people. The lake is able to bring so many people together in all seasons and shows how amazing our state’s people and scenery is.
With the exception to violent crimes, competency within 1 year for those struggling with mental health is enough time for the justice & mental health system to deem someone non-competent.
I support making Lake Winnipesaukee the state lake in NH.