Great Bay Discovery Center

About

The Great Bay Discovery Center is the education hub of the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The Reserve is administered by the NH Fish & Game Department and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

Story

Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GBNERR) is an estuary comprised of 7,300 acres of tidal waters and 2,935 acres of coastal land. GBNERR was designated on October 3, 1989 to focus on four priority topics, including land conservation, water quality, habitat and biological communities, and climate change impacts and adaptation. The combination of stewardship, research, and education address these primary topics.

Stewardship priorities at Great Bay focus on upland and intertidal resource management. Properties are managed to sustain wildlife and fish populations in balance with human uses.

GBNERR implements monitoring programs to evaluate and track water quality, habitat conditions, and species populations in Great Bay and its watershed. The research projects of GBNERR address the four priority topics noted above.

The Coastal Training Program provides science based training resources to individuals who are responsible for making decisions that affect coastal resources. The purpose is to ensure that coastal decision makers have the tools they need to address critical resource management issues. The vision of the CTP is ecosystem-based management of coastal resources based on sound scientific knowledge and the understanding of long-term environmental, social, and economic consequences of management decisions and actions.

The Great Bay Discovery Center opened in 1996 as the education headquarters of GBNERR. Education programs at the Discovery Center convey scientific information to school groups, interested adults, public decision-makers, and others. Adjacent to the Discovery Center is the Hugh Gregg Coastal Conservation Center which showcases exhibits on upland habitats and also serves as a training facility for a variety of workshops.