Highlights of the 1997 NRI in New Hampshire

The results of the 1997 NRI demonstrate the increasing pressures on our natural resources.*

• Forestland, cropland, and pastureland are being lost to urban land.  In 1982, 7.6% of our non-Federal land was urban land.  By 1997, urban land had increased to 12%.

• Between 1982 and 1997, New Hampshire lost 196,100 acres of forest land.  91% of this loss was due to urban sprawl.

• New Hampshire is losing it's most productive farmland. Between 1982 and 1997, nearly 12,000 acres of prime farmland became unavailable for production of crops, feed, forage, or fiber.  Most was lost to urban and rural development.  Only 2% of New Hampshire soils classify as prime farmland.

• There is progress with some resources.  For example, the average erosion rate on cropland declined from 4.1 tons per acre in 1982 to 3.5 tons per acre in 1997.

• New Hampshire's Federal land increased by over 28,000 acres from 1982 to 1997.

Find out more about 1997 NRI Results on these resources in New Hampshire:

• Forest Land
• Cropland
• Pasture Land
• Urban Land
• Erosion

Find out how New Hampshire compares to national trends at the National NRCS NRI website  .

Glossary of NRI terms

Source:  USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1997 National Resources Inventory, Revised December 2000.

*Please note that margins of error varies by each land use category.  Link to NRI Statistical Reliability.