(Moultonborough, NH) On August 27, 2013, New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan signed Senate Bill 89, protecting NH loons from toxic lead (Pb) fishing sinkers and jigs.
Gov. Hassan was joined at the Loon Preservation Committee’s Loon Center by Sen. Jeanie Forrester (SB 89’s prime sponsor), Reps. Ben Lefebvre and David Kidder (SB 89 co-sponsors) and many other legislative and public supporters of the bill.
From Left to Right: Rep. Karen Ebel, Rep. Linda Tanner, Rep. Stephen Ketel, Rep. Rose Marie Rogers, Bill Crangle (LPC Board Chair), Cydonia Hubicki (LPC Volunteer) Gov. Maggie Hassan, Rep. Ben Lefebvre (SB 89 co-sponsor and NH House Fish and Game Committee Chair), Rep. David Kidder, Sen. Jeanie Forrester (SB 89’s Prime Sponsor), Harry Vogel (LPC Senior Biologist/Executive Director); Attorney Sheridan Brown (LPC Legislative Coordinator), Kittie Wilson, Tom O’Brien (NH Lakes Assoc. President), LPC Seasonal Biologist Melissa Leszek, and John Wilson. Kittie and John Wilson are longtime NH Lakes Assoc. and LPC Volunteers and past recipients of LPC’s “Spirit of the Loon Award” for their many years of service.
The event was a ceremonial bill signing, as the Governor officially signed the bill on July 2, 2013 to meet the deadline for doing so. Gov. Hassan issued the following signing statement:
“Ensuring a bright economic future for New Hampshire and maintaining our high quality of life means protecting our wildlife and preserving what makes our state special. This commonsense, bipartisan measure will help protect our fragile loon population from deadly lead poisoning, preserving an important part of the natural beauty of New Hampshire that drives our tourism economy. I thank the Legislature, advocates and all involved for their efforts on this measure, and I am happy to sign this bill into law.”