Beavers and the Shoreline Protection Act

Onshore · 07-06-2008, 09:20 AM

The requirement to leave certain areas in an "unaltered state" is found in RSA 483-B:9, V, (b) (this is found on page 9 of the document Mee-n-Mac linked to.). This requirement does not apply to the entire protected shoreline. It applies to a certain percentage of that area of the lot that falls between 50 and 150 ft away from the reference line.

For starters, in those areas within 50 ft of the water (reference line). You are suposed to leave the ground cover in place with the exception of clearing for a 6 ft wide path and for any structures with a Wetlands permit. You can trim or prune the ground cover down to 3 ft in height and if the area was already open or landscaped you can continue to maintain those conditions.

You are supposed to maintain a minimum of 50 points worth of trees and saplings in each 50 ft x 50 ft section along the water. If you don't have enough trees and saplings in a section that does not mean you need to go out and plant something. It only means that you cannot remove any trees and saplings from that area at this time. Whether you have the minimum number of points or not, you are still allowed to limb the lower half of the trees to maintain a view and you are always allowed to remove limbs and trees that are dead diseased or that pose a safety hazard. Over time as trees grow they will gain in point value and you also have the option of planting trees or saplings and then later using those points in your count to cut something else. Just note that what you are planting for the purpose of counting should be a native species and you should give it a little time to make sure it is going to live before you cut anything else down.

In the area between 50 ft and 150 ft from the water there are 2 different buffer standards. The first is used for lots that have a half acre or less within 150 ft of the water. If your lot falls into this category, then 25% of the area between 50 and 150 ft from the water is supposed to be left in an "unaltered state". To put this in practical terms, if you have 100 ft of frontage on the water then you have approximately 15,000 sq ft of land within 150 ft of the water. You have approximately 10,000 sq ft between 50 ft and 150 ft the water. 7,500 sq ft can be cleared and developed, 2,500 should remain in an "unaltered state". If your town has a 10 property line setback then there is 1,000 sq ft up each property line that you couldn't build on anyway that would make practical sense to leave as unaltered, after that I think I'd start looking for wet areas that I couldn't build on anyways to cover the other 500 sq ft of unaltered area.

If your lot is already developed and there isn't 25% left in an unaltered state, then you are not required to let parts of it revert. You can maintain it as it is for as long as you want. Also the provision to remove dead diseased or hazardous trees and limbs still applies here (see provision C on page 9).

If your lot has more than a 1/2 acre within 150 ft of the water then the requirement is that you take the total area between 50 and 150 ft from the water and subtract the area of impervious surfaces located within this same portion of the buffer. Half of this remaining area is supposed to remain unaltered.

Once you get beyond 150 ft from the water there are no cutting restrictions.

07-06-2008, 09:20 AM	#37
Onshore Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 505 Thanks: 12 Thanked 428 Times in 147 Posts	The requirement to leave certain areas in an "unaltered state" is found in RSA 483-B:9, V, (b) (this is found on page 9 of the document Mee-n-Mac linked to.). This requirement does not apply to the entire protected shoreline. It applies to a certain percentage of that area of the lot that falls between 50 and 150 ft away from the reference line. For starters, in those areas within 50 ft of the water (reference line). You are suposed to leave the ground cover in place with the exception of clearing for a 6 ft wide path and for any structures with a Wetlands permit. You can trim or prune the ground cover down to 3 ft in height and if the area was already open or landscaped you can continue to maintain those conditions. You are supposed to maintain a minimum of 50 points worth of trees and saplings in each 50 ft x 50 ft section along the water. If you don't have enough trees and saplings in a section that does not mean you need to go out and plant something. It only means that you cannot remove any trees and saplings from that area at this time. Whether you have the minimum number of points or not, you are still allowed to limb the lower half of the trees to maintain a view and you are always allowed to remove limbs and trees that are dead diseased or that pose a safety hazard. Over time as trees grow they will gain in point value and you also have the option of planting trees or saplings and then later using those points in your count to cut something else. Just note that what you are planting for the purpose of counting should be a native species and you should give it a little time to make sure it is going to live before you cut anything else down. In the area between 50 ft and 150 ft from the water there are 2 different buffer standards. The first is used for lots that have a half acre or less within 150 ft of the water. If your lot falls into this category, then 25% of the area between 50 and 150 ft from the water is supposed to be left in an "unaltered state". To put this in practical terms, if you have 100 ft of frontage on the water then you have approximately 15,000 sq ft of land within 150 ft of the water. You have approximately 10,000 sq ft between 50 ft and 150 ft the water. 7,500 sq ft can be cleared and developed, 2,500 should remain in an "unaltered state". If your town has a 10 property line setback then there is 1,000 sq ft up each property line that you couldn't build on anyway that would make practical sense to leave as unaltered, after that I think I'd start looking for wet areas that I couldn't build on anyways to cover the other 500 sq ft of unaltered area. If your lot is already developed and there isn't 25% left in an unaltered state, then you are not required to let parts of it revert. You can maintain it as it is for as long as you want. Also the provision to remove dead diseased or hazardous trees and limbs still applies here (see provision C on page 9). If your lot has more than a 1/2 acre within 150 ft of the water then the requirement is that you take the total area between 50 and 150 ft from the water and subtract the area of impervious surfaces located within this same portion of the buffer. Half of this remaining area is supposed to remain unaltered. Once you get beyond 150 ft from the water there are no cutting restrictions.