The Strafford NROC program started with the Dealing with Growth in Strafford presentation in October, 2004. Over the course of the next few months, Strafford-NROC participants identified goals, and formed Action Groups to develop and implement specific actions to achieve their natural resources protection goals. These activities are described below.

• Develop a land protection program

• Develop a surface water quality monitoring program for Bow Lake

• Managing Growth: Revise zoning ordinances

• Hosted a Land Conservation and Estate Planning Workshop presented by NROC staff, and attended by 40 interested land owners.

• Secured funding from NROC, and hired a part time land protection consultant to work with land owners interested in conserving their land.

• Prioritized open spaces for protection and started contacting landowners. Of the first 24 landowners contacted, at least half expressed an interest in land protection.

• Initiated a Land Protection Program, resulting in the development of the Strafford Land Protection Group.

• Developed a new Wetland Conservation Overlay District to strengthen the previous wetland setback requirements by defining restricted use buffers, exemptions, and procedures for the permitting and waiver application process.  Additional protection was provided for vernal pools, State designated rivers, and surface water. This new ordinance was successfully passed at the March 2006 town meeting.

• Developed a spring through fall bi-weekly water quality monitoring program for Bow Lake and its tributaries. Participants include 15 resident volunteers and assistance from UNH Lakes Lay Monitoring Program students. The UNH Lakes Lay Monitoring Program is helping coordinate this project.

• Conducted additional surveys and education and outreach to support zoning ordinance changes at town meeting in 2006. As a result of these activities, the town successfully passed the following zoning ordinance changes:

  • Growth management ordinance
  • Viewshed protection overlay district
  • Clarifying languages changes (eliminating "stores" from the Land Uses Allowed section in order to require review of stores under Special Exceptions, and prohibiting construction on areas of slopes of 25% or greater)

• Developed and sent out a survey at town meeting (2005) with questions about Town ordinances and subdivision regulations, Variable Zoning, Town Villages or Centers, Building permits, and Natural resource protection. A total of 242 responses was received.

• Established the Managing Growth Committee, a group of 13 volunteers working on revisions to zoning, and implementation of the Master Plan.

• Hire a part-time land conservation consultant to work on land conservation projects with the Land Protection Group

• Purchase lake testing kits for the Water Quality Monitoring Program

• Develop and mail a fact sheet about proposed zoning ordinances to all Strafford residents, conduct a survey of voters to get their input to the draft ordinances, and generate variable zoning map drafts using GIS.