When Pease Air Force Base on New Hampshire’s seacoast closed  under the military’s Base Closure process, it erased millions of  dollars from the local economy and left fear and confusion in  its wake. What would happen to the surrounding communities,  and what would happen to the 1,050 acres along Great Bay and  the nearly 4,000 acres once occupied by the base—the largest  undeveloped tract in the Great Bay estuary?

 

With the help of U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, then the State’s Governor, the former air base shoreline was designated a federal Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge and included within the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) boundary. The establishment and timing of the designation served as a core area to build upon Great Bay conservation efforts.

 

A partnership of federal, state, local, and private interests  developed a conservation plan with input from communities  and numerous partners that identifi ed 26 project areas in the  watershed. To date, they have protected nearly 7,000 additional  acres of wetlands and uplands acquired either by donation or  from willing sellers, through conservation easements or outright  purchase. Many towns surrounding Great Bay have passed bonds  totaling almost $40 million for land acquisition to further preserve  their community character and open spaces. In many instances,  the value of these lands has then been used as a match to obtain  additional federal funds.

 

Congress has appropriated more than 50 million dollars to protect the Great Bay Estuary during the past ten years, supporting a  number of Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection (CELP) projects in the watershed.

 

The base’s remaining 4,000 acres are now a thriving industrial park, airport, and educational center.