HB1603

Educational Freedom Accounts should be more accountable!

This makes no sense, as the landowner would have to give permission (or court order) for investigation of the endangered species we are trying to protect from their development plans. With the DRASTIC rate of species reduction around the globe right now, we cannot afford to lose more and risk ecosystems collapsing. May I remind you we all rely on these ecosystems to survive, especially those of us who drink water. Here are just some of the endangered species we need to protect Fedarally listed are Sea turtle, hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Sea turtle, leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Roseate tern (northeast U.S. nesting population), Dwarf wedgemussel (Alasmidonta heterodon), Jesup’s milk-vetch (Astragalus robbinsii var. jesupi), Northeastern bulrush (Scirpus ancistrochaetus). And those native to our state Mammals: Little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), Tri-colored bat (Perimyotis subflavus), Eastern small-footed bat (Myotis leibii), New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), Eastern wolf (Canis lupus). Birds: Northern harrier (Circus cyaneus), Common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), Piping plover (Charadrius melodus), Upland sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda), Roseate tern (Sterna dougallii), Least tern (Sterna antillarum), Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), Common loon (Gavia immer), Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), Common tern (Sterna hirundo), Cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea), Eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna), Grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum). Fish: American brook lamprey (Lethenteron appendix), Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum), Bridle shiner (Notropis bifrenatus), Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus), Round whitefish (Prosopium cylindraceum). Amphibians: Marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum), Fowler’s toad (Anaxyrus fowleri). Reptiles: Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina), Eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platyrhinos), Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), Spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), Black racer (Coluber constrictor). Invertebrates: Dwarf wedgemussel (Alasmidonta heterodon), Brook floater mussel (Alasmidonta varicosa), Eastern pond mussel (Ligumia nasuta), Frosted elfin butterfly (Callophrys irus), Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis), Puritan tiger beetle (Cicindela puritana), Cobblestone tiger beetle (Cicindela marginipennis), Rusty Patched Bumblebee (Bombus affinis), White Mountain fritillary (Boloria titania montinus), Pine pinion moth (Lithophane lepida lepida), Ringed boghaunter (Williamsonia lintneri), Hessel’s hairstreak (Callophrys hesseli), White Mountain arctic (Oeneis melissa semidea), Persius duskywing skipper (Erynnis persius). And even the Common Loon - our state bird - is on the threatened list!

I oppose this bill.

This bill would make it more difficult to protect endangered and threatened (T&E) species in NH. It imposes unrealistic and expensive requirements on agencies, such as NH Fish and Game, to prove that T&E are present on property under consideration for development. This bill would make it easier to disturb, fragment, or destroy habitat that T&E species depend on to survive. At a time when wildlife populations are already declining due to climate change, pollution, and habitat loss, weakening protections is reckless and unnecessary. I oppose this bill.

This bill will overall degrade the quality of New Hampshire on a financial and moral level.

This bill would lead to costs over 1 million dollars!!! I thought we were looking to cut costs??

This bill would set back local and regional efforts to preserve species that are important to the nature of New Hampshire. Nature and wildlife are cornerstones of the New Hampshire way of life. Vote this bill ITL.

HB 1603 fundamentally undermines science-based wildlife conservation by imposing impossible evidentiary standards that ignore how threatened and endangered species actually behave. Requiring date-and-time-stamped photographs and GPS coordinates of individual animals on specific properties before any habitat protection can occur disregards the reality that many imperiled species are nocturnal, highly mobile, or exist in low densities precisely because they are endangered. A vernal pool critical for breeding wood turtles or spotted salamanders doesn't cease to be essential habitat simply because a biologist wasn't present with a camera during the brief window when these species emerge to breed. This bill would effectively erase decades of peer-reviewed research, population modeling, and habitat mapping—forcing the state to abandon proven conservation methods in favor of a "see it to protect it" standard that guarantees species will decline further before action can be taken. The fiscal note's acknowledgment of over $1 million in annual costs reflects the absurdity of requiring continuous, property-by-property surveillance of mobile wildlife across an entire state. Beyond the ecological harm, this bill strips property owners of existing protections while creating a bureaucratic nightmare that serves neither landowners nor conservation goals. By prohibiting biodiversity assessments as part of land use applications, HB 1603 eliminates the early-warning system that currently allows property owners to plan projects that avoid costly conflicts with endangered species protections. Instead of proactive cooperation, this bill guarantees reactive enforcement—landowners could invest significant resources in projects only to have them halted when endangered species evidence eventually surfaces. The requirement for administrative warrants in most cases (since few landowners will volunteer for surveys that might restrict their land use) transforms routine conservation work into an adversarial legal process, wasting taxpayer dollars on court proceedings rather than on-the-ground habitat stewardship. This approach protects neither property rights nor imperiled wildlife—it simply ensures that both lose.

This bill will further endanger the threatened and endangered species of New Hampshire. It will also be most costly for the state in terms of cascading effects related to more expensive recovery, need for federal intervention, and slowing project times. This slowing of projects is an economic detriment that will impact the economy of New Hampshire somewhat similar to a tax on new projects. Endangering threatened and endangered species not only is wrong ethically, but it also poses the risk of reducing the state's biodiversity which has negative effects for ecosystem and human health as well as reducing the states resiliency to future challenges.

I oppose HB1603

As we witness a rapid and catastrophic worldwide wildlife population decline as a result of human development, we, in New Hampshire, should do everything possible to protect the critical habitat we share with our local flora and fauna essential for their survival

The state of New Hampshire should support and defend the rights of its citizens - including the right to marry.

Animals do roam...

I strongly oppose this bill. At a time when wildlife populations are already declining due to climate change, pollution, and habitat loss, weakening protections is reckless and unnecessary. Do not support anything that make it more difficult to protect endangered and threatened (T&E) species in NH. Do not impose unrealistic and expensive requirements to prove that threatened and endangered species are present on property under consideration for development. Do not make it easier to disturb, fragment, or destroy habitat that threatened and endangered species depend on to survive. Do not support this bill. We need more species on this planet than just humans. Without other species this will be a very lonely and unhealthy place.

I strongly oppose this bill. At a time when wildlife populations are already declining due to climate change, pollution, and habitat loss, weakening protections is reckless and unnecessary. Wildlife are at peril and they are not a priority for the current federal government. Funds to research wildlife have been cut drastically. It is hard to overstate how lacking our information about wildlife is. It is not a time to put onerous, unrealistic and expensive requirements on agencies to prove there is wildlife present who need to be protected. With what humans are doing to wildlife populations the default assumption could easily be wildlife is in peril, because a big proportion of the time, they are! Do not support anything that make it more difficult to protect endangered and threatened (T&E) species in NH. Do not impose unrealistic and expensive requirements to prove that threatened and endangered species are present on property under consideration for development. Do not make it easier to disturb, fragment, or destroy habitat that threatened and endangered species depend on to survive. Do not support this bill. We need more species on this planet than just humans. Without other species this will be a very lonely and unhealthy place.

This bill would establish conditions that are expensive and impractical to fulfill — our state wildlife agencies are severely underfunded, and do not have the staffing to conduct current field surveys for every occurrence of a Threatened or Endangered Species. In addition, wildlife move, and can be difficult to photograph for “verifiable” evidence, but that does not mean they are not present or deserving of protection in appropriate habitat. This bill would significantly undermine the protections T&E species need and deserve. I strongly oppose it.

The great cost required to determine species presence at the level required by this bill would be prohibitive -- meaning that protection of endangered species would be prohibited by this law. Do not re-endanger species that have been protected. Please find HB1603 Inexpedient to Legislate.

Absolutely no need for this legislation . It only makes it harder to protect species that are under threat or endangered.

By imposing unrealistic and expensive requirements on agencies to prove that threatened and endangered species are present on properties under consideration for development, this bill in effect weakens protections of threatened and endangered species. I strongly oppose this bill.

Death to the endangered species act by a thousand cuts. Also, very costly for Fish & Game

HB 1603 would make it more difficult to protect endangered and threatened (T&E) species in NH. It imposes unrealistic and expensive requirements on agencies, such as NH Fish and Game, to prove that T&E are present on property under consideration for development. This bill would make it easier to disturb, fragment, or destroy habitat that T&E species depend on to survive. At a time when wildlife populations are already declining due to climate change, pollution, and habitat loss, weakening protections is reckless and unnecessary.

The requirements enumerated in this bill are far too difficult to be met for any but the largest tracts of land..

Please ensure you consider all public comments and not just the people that can appear before you. Our opinions matter. I fully oppose .

I am writing to express my strong opposition to HB 1603. This bill would impose onerous and costly requirements on agencies like NH Fish and Game to prove the presence of endangered and threatened species on properties slated for development. By making it harder to protect these vulnerable species and their habitats, HB 1603 would effectively increase the risk of habitat destruction at a time when wildlife is already facing immense pressure from climate change, pollution, and habitat loss. Weakening these protections is both reckless and unnecessary. I urge you to oppose this bill and prioritize the preservation of our state’s natural heritage. Thank you for your consideration.

I am strongly opposed to HB 1603. All members of our NH legislature need to understand that HB 1603 mandates requirements that are essentially impossible to fulfill. This bill states that these requirements for "current and verifiable requires state agencies to provide current and verifiable evidence of an endangered or threatened species presence are unnecessary for either submission or approval of permit applications." This provision is in direct conflict with RSA 212-A:9. Inventories are the only method that can provide evidence of the "presence" of endangered or threatened species. However the State of NH Department of Environmental Services (Ecological Reviews) Data Check Tool is utilized to provide the necessary documentation for submission and approval of permit applications. The DataCheck Tool is an online data screening tool that allows the public to screen a proposed project for known locations of rare species and exemplary natural communities. This tool is used by applicants to satisfy a requirement of permit and grant applications in New Hampshire. It does not "impose restrictions" on the Applicant. I strongly urge you to Vote "No" to HB1603, as inexpedient to legislate -- it is in direct conflict with NH RSA 212-A;9 and will limit protection for threatened and endangered species and their habitats in New Hampshire. Our wildlife species and their habitats attract tourism in NH.