Field Days

Hello all, I figured I would post an update before I ship off for a week long fishing and guiding trip to Lake Champlain in VT and Pittsburgh NH. The past 2 weeks have been going great! Tina and I have been involved with a number of field activities including green crab surveys in Great Bay, glass eel monitoring efforts on the Oyster River, marsh restoration in Portsmouth and dune plantings along with dune profile surveys in Hampton. So far it has been a great start to the summer and there is still so much to be done!

Featured above from left to right is graduate student Andrew Payne, fellow intern Tina G, Me being stoked on marsh restoration, Dr. David Burdick and 2 community members who came out to help us plant in Cutts Cove in Portsmouth.

Robert's Introduction

Hello! I am Robert Lafreniere, a soon to be senior at The University of New Hampshire. Throughout the next couple months I will be working with NH Sea Grant/ UNH Cooperative Extension as one of the 2018 Doyle Fellows. My main area of focus will be on dune restoration by monitoring the success of dunes which were planted in prior years. I have been a member of the UNH Coastal Habitat Restoration Team for over a year prior to starting this fellowship and look forward to continuing my restoration work.

I have had an unrivaled obsession with aquatic life beginning as soon as my father began taking me fishing while I was still in diapers. Through volunteering with Trout Unlimited over the years I have developed a passion for conserving and teaching others about the fantastic natural resources we have in New Hampshire and throughout New England. Nowadays, I spend much of my free time stalking the New England coastline in search of striped bass on the fly rod so I am no stranger to the dunes and beaches being effected.In my past few years living on the seacoast I have noticed some dramatic changes in dune composition as a result of dune grass die off and winter storm erosion. My own first hand accounts of the changes taking place along our coastline has helped fuel my interest in restoring and managing these fragile ecosystems.

My mentor Alyson Eberhart along with Caitlin Mandeville have given me a plan of work which should make for an exciting summer filled with a mix of field work, project development and community outreach. The end goal of this fellowship is for me to design a dune monitoring protocol and implement this at restored dunes along the coast of Northern Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In addition to dune work, I will be helping with a number of other citizen science projects over the summer such as glass eel monitoring, beach profiling and many community oriented events. I look forward to sharing this experience and updating you all with my progress on my various goals!

Welcome 2018 Doyle Fellows

New Hampshire Sea Grant would like to congratulate our new Doyle Fellows and Cooperative Extension Intern.

Audrey Berenson, a Biomedical Science: Medical Microbiology major at UNH, will work with Dr. Steve Jones on oyster farm sanitation practices. Collecting oysters and water samples in the Great Bay Estuary, testing for the presence of various bacteria, and working with oyster farmers will keep her busy.

Robert Lafrieniere, a Marine, Estuary & Freshwater Biology major at UNH, will work with Alyson Eberhardt and Caitlin Mandeville on evaluating the success of completed dune restoration activities. Developing a research study, monitoring coastal fieldwork, and participating in citizen science events will fill his summer.

Nicole DeRoche, a Biology major at Saint Anselm College, will work with Gabby Bradt on invasive green crabs in the Great Bay and Hampton Estuaries. Monitoring the molting cycle, recruiting and training volunteers, and working to develop a green crab fishery are only a few of the items on her to-do list.

As Coastal Resilience Intern, Krtistina will assist with data collection and volunteer training efforts related to beach and dune management in NH and will develop communications products to connect beach profiling data to management needs.

We look forward to working with and learning from our Fellows, as part of this unique exchange of knowledge and experience.

Visit our blog often and follow their stories this summer.