Editor's Note: Below is draft language for a proposed bylaw that would ban selling and releasing helium balloons in the the town of Orleans, Massachusetts, which is on Cape Cod. The language comes from the packet of documents for the Orleans Board of Selectmen meeting of Wednesday, January 2, 2019.
Citing changes in population and the recreational use of federal lands in New Hampshire, the state's four-member congressional delegation has sent a letter to federal agencies requesting they meet with NH Fish & Game (NHF&G) officials to consider ways the feds can compensate the state for "rising costs" associated with expensive search and rescue operations in the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF). The 750,000-acre forest comprises nearly 14 percent of NH's land and is a popular destination for adventurers, hikers, snowmobilers, skiers and other recreational tourists.
The letter, written by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Maggie Hassan, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter and Rep. Ann Kuster, was sent in December to Vicki Christiansen, acting chief of the US Forest Service (UFS), and Margaret Everson, acting director of US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS). The USF is part of the US Dept. of Agriculture; the FWS, part of the US Dept. of the Interior.
