Environment and Cultural Resources

In his five terms, Senator Watters has become a leader in New Hampshire on the climate crisis, renewable energy, environmental protection, wildlife, and fisheries. 

Sea level rise, coastal storm inundation, and river flooding are the greatest challenges facing seacoast New Hampshire. Senator Watters took the initiative in establishing a broad-based commission to recommend policies for climate adaptation. Subsequent legislation enabled communities to respond, directed all state agencies to adopt sea-level rise projections in all transportation and other projects, and established mechanisms for communities to preserve economic and cultural resources. 

He is also the leader in protecting coastal and estuarine waters from the effects of warming waters, ocean acidification, and wastewater nitrogen pollution. Working with the Coalition of Great Bay Communities, Sen. Watters’s legislation facilitated an agreement between the Department of Environmental Services and the Environmental Protection Agency to set nitrogen discharge levels from treatment plants, as well as recognizing mitigation programs, saving Dover, Somersworth, and Rollinsford taxpayers millions of dollars. 

Senator Watters established the Coastal Marine Natural Resources and Environment Commission to examine emerging environmental threats in the Great Bay and coastal waters, including microplastics, PFAS pollution, nitrogen pollution, harmful algal blooms, and ocean acidification.  His legislation enabled expansion of oyster farms, which can mitigate these problems while providing an economic boost to small businesses and restaurants. 

One of New Hampshire’s “saltwater senators,” Sen. Watters has taken the lead in sustaining fisheries by serving as the legislative commissioner on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Its mission is to rebuild and maintain healthy populations of commercial and recreational species, including lobsters, shrimp, striped bass, and herring.

To address solid waste, recycling, and environmental pollution issues related to solid waste facility siting, Senator Watters’ legislation required the creation of a Ten-Year Solid Waste Reduction Plan to guide the Department of Environment Services and the industry to reduce waste and increase recycling, especially of plastic waste.  

Senator Watters took the national lead in passing legislation to prohibit instate endangered and protected wildlife trafficking and establishing wildlife corridors and habitat strongholds to promote sustainable wildlife and prepare for climate-driven migration and habitat change. Senator Watters’ legislation passed to save New Hampshire’s iconic loons by reducing lead fishing tackle and to stop poaching of American Eels. 

As an advocate for the protection of animals, Senator Watters has worked to strengthen New Hampshire’s animal cruelty laws, ban hunting contests, and prohibit the use of animals in cosmetic testing. His legislation to prevent zoonotic disease transmission is a national model.

Long a leader in historic preservation and land conservation, Sen. Watters extended an energy conservation and historic buildings tax credit program, helped restore funding for the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, and served on the Moose license plate advisory committee. He has taken a national lead with his bills passed to preserve cultural resources from the effects of climate change and sea-level rise. His legislation expanded protection for historic burying grounds, with a current bill to protect the graves of African Americans buried in the era of enslavement.