From the Director: WOW. Dear GMCG friends—HUGE thanks to EVERYONE who voted, commented, posted, called friends, emailed friends etc. You are all Eco-Champs! Tara and I are blown away with the outpouring of support for GMCG—26 towns, 2 states=One Watershed and all of our support from our friends globally who have had contact with GMCG over the years! We also appreciated all the personal comments and different connections to Green Mountain Conservation Group. Yes we did form at a kitchen table; yes, our first donation was $150 of change in a brown paper bag; yes we continue to do Research, Education, Advocacy and also are a Land Trust; yes we received high honors from EPA for our non-confrontational advocacy; yes we partner across political town boundaries and also state boundaries, yes Tara’s smile keeps us all going even when under a tarp in the rain on the river counting bugs; yes the Board works incredibly hard to make sure our message is also heard with municipal officials; yes we have INCREDIBLE volunteers; and yes we are very scrappy but we are getting huge work done in this area of NH. For me, one of the most powerful aspects of this Brickfish campaign has been the incredible grassroots networking and support from all of YOU! In many ways it has reminded me of working to make sure the garbage company didn’t locate over the aquifer or that municipal sludge was not spread in an area that drained into a wetland and pristine river; or our advocacy around natural resource based planning….we have all had to work hard to bring more folks together and get out their vote for the environment. Ten years ago if we stood up at town meeting and talked about the “aquifer” it was not fully understood to be top priority to protect—thanks to so much work, today it is considered important to protect. Endless message endlessly repeated. And all of you have come forward through this campaign and really supported GMCG. Thank you so much for your support, votes and wonderful comments. We are not sure what the second phase of this competition will be but we hope you will continue to help spread the word, support GMCG and continue to teach folks about the importance of protecting NH’s largest stratified drift aquifer. Thank you all so much again. You are all Eco-Champs!
Ms. Blair Folts, Executive Director

When GMCG received EPA's Environmental Merit Award in 2006, that honor was formal recognition of the group's remarkable accomplishments. This well-deserved publicity brought awareness of the group far beyond the bounds of the Ossipee watershed and, reaching many who might never have known of GMCG's exemplary work otherwise, could inspire similar efforts in other places. Of course, we hope it shall. We must continue to celebrate and spotlight GMCG's achievements for exactly this reason, to leverage local success in environmental quality initiatives to higher levels of awareness and a wider audience of potential advocacy. Let the Earth know that GMCG is an Eco Champion!
DL

Thank you Green Mountain Group for uniting our community with your effort to protect the Ossipee Watershed and beyond. Your efforts have inspired many of us to jump into the communal canoe in the peddle for clean water. Emilie, Madison NH