Great Bay Partnership Map (gbpartnership.pdf) The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire Press Releases Search All Press Releases Eric Aldrich 603-224-5853, ext. 26 E-mail: ealdrich@tnc.org

Conservancy Ramps Up Conservation Efforts on N.H.'s Great Bay

New staff, new office puts focus on Great Bay's conservation needs.

Concord, N.H. — October 7, 2003 — The Nature Conservancy is ramping up its conservation efforts around Great Bay, with the addition of a new office and new staff to focus on the area.

Joanne Glode and Jay Odell, new Conservancy staffers
focusing on Great Bay. Eric Aldrich photo (C) TNC.

The Conservancy has hired Jay Odell as Great Bay marine and estuarine ecologist and Joanne Glode as Great Bay stewardship ecologist. The two will work with Conservancy staff and the many partners working to conserve one of New Hampshire's most remarkable ecosystems. They'll be based in the Conservancy's new office in Newfields where they can easily work in and around Great Bay.

"This is part of our commitment to conserving Great Bay as a whole and working ecosystem, including its watershed and marine systems," said Mark Zankel, director of conservation programs in New Hampshire. "This is also a commitment to The Nature Conservancy's practice of science-based decision-making. Both Jay and Joanne are accomplished scientists and ecologists and bring with them a tremendous amount of experience both in the field and in managing ecological resources."

The Conservancy has long held Great Bay as one of the state's top conservation priorities. The Conservancy helped establish and is the lead acquisition agent of the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership, a collaboration of more than a dozen organizations and state and federal agencies working to protect Great Bay and its watershed. Since 1994, the partnership has protected more than 4,100 acres around the bay.

Jay Odell, the new Great Bay marine and estuarine ecologist, has 14 years of experience in fisheries and marine resource management, mostly in Washington state. He recently earned his masters in wildlife and fisheries conservation from the University of Massachusetts. Odell has extensive background in marine and fisheries sciences, marine resource policy, negotiation and consensus-building among diverse stakeholders.

"I'm very impressed by the depth and breadth of past and current Great Bay research activities, and by the successes of the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership," Odell said. "I look forward to getting my feet into the bay, meeting people, and listening. I anticipate helping to create an action plan based on sound science and shaped by the values and knowledge held by Great Bay area residents."

Joanne Glode, the new Great Bay stewardship ecologist, has extensive experience as an ecologist and habitat protection specialist with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and with the Massachusetts Heritage Program.

Glode, who started in September, said she's impressed by the diversity of habitats and species at Great Bay, as well as the partnership working to conserve those resources. "I'm really excited to be working with a partnership that's known across the country for its effectiveness in achieving conservation goals," she said.

Newfields Office: With its new office in Newfields, the Conservancy now has three offices in New Hampshire; the others are in Concord and North Conway. To reach the staff in Newfields: The Nature Conservancy, 167 Exeter Road, Unit 1A, Newfields, NH 03856; (603) 772-2203.