Our Mission, Vision, and Values
New Hampshire is home to nearly 1,000 lakes — some of the cleanest in the country. They are one of the reasons people choose to live in New Hampshire and come from all over the world to visit. Clean and healthy lakes are important to our quality of life, economy, and culture. They are important for the health of our wildlife, too.
NH LAKES' mission is to restore and preserve the health of New Hampshire’s lakes. Our vision is a New Hampshire where all our lakes are clean and healthy, and caring for them is a way of life.
Today, our lakes face more challenges than ever before. Invasive plant and animal species continue to spread each year, polluted runoff water is causing more toxic cyanobacteria blooms than ever before, and climate change will continue to impact lakes in ways we’ve never experienced. The care of the lakes we all love is in the trust of the current generation who use them. It is up to us to protect them.
How We Do Our Work
It takes a community to make a lasting difference. NH LAKES is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization working for New Hampshire’s lakes. We must inspire others to make a difference.
Advocating for Our Lakes
Our lakes need a mobilized statewide network of advocates working together to implement public policies and laws that restore and preserve the health of our lakes. We provide advocacy expertise, information, training, and support to advance lake-friendly laws and public policies.
Building a Community
We are building an engaged and connected statewide community of residents and visitors taking action to live, do business, and recreate in a way that restores and preserves the health of our lakes. We provide hands-on training and programs so individuals, businesses, and municipalities have the knowledge, skills, and community connections to be heroes for our lakes.
Providing Trusted Information
Since 1992, we’ve been a trusted source of information for residents and visitors. You understand the value of healthy lakes and the threats lakes face. You need opportunities to take action to restore and preserve the health of all of our lakes–including the lake(s) you love. We provide information through a variety of outreach channels and events.
Our Values
Collaboration and Respect
We encourage participation and different perspectives and practice active, respectful listening to achieve the best possible outcomes. When we do not fully agree with others, we strive to find common ground and reach consensus decisions.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of who we are. Our commitment to these values is unwavering. Inclusion is how we unleash the power of diversity. We strive to foster belonging and empowerment in the work to achieve our mission. We foster a diverse network of people committed to clean and healthy lakes. We listen to and engage with our supporters, volunteers, communities, partners, and employees.
Education and Partnership
We strive to provide the best programs, services, and education to inspire individuals to live in a lake-friendly way, and we partner with other groups to achieve our respective missions.
Excellence and Innovation
We strive to redefine the standard of excellence in everything we do. We rely on data-driven approaches whenever possible. We are enthusiastic, creative, and bring new ideas to our work. We are open to new ideas from others and new ways of doing things.
Integrity
We are dependable and follow through on our commitments. We are open and honest when communicating with others. We hold ourselves accountable for our shortcomings. Our work is based on data and scientific process.
Stewardship
We are committed to the careful and responsible stewardship of all human and financial resources of the NH LAKES organization and network. We respectfully use the time and talents of those working, partnering, and volunteering with us. We hold ourselves accountable with clear, transparent, and reasonable expectations to wisely spend the funds invested in our work and advance the long-term viability of the NH LAKES organization.
Sustainability
We are committed to promoting the environmental sustainability of our lakes by working for clean and healthy lakes now and in the future. Clean and healthy lakes provide environmental benefits, influence the quality of life, and strengthen the economy. We believe New Hampshire’s lakes are for all the state’s citizens and visitors and can support a variety of uses in ways that do not threaten lake health.
Teamwork and Empowerment
We value and promote teamwork, empowerment, and a positive work environment. We provide our employees with mentorship, training, and professional development opportunities to succeed in their jobs and build a responsible work-life model that reflects the needs of their unique life situations while enabling them to achieve maximum productivity.
by NH Rocks