Town of Newbury v. New Hampshire Fish & Game Department

Summary

The New Hampshire Supreme Court reviewed whether the Council on Resources and Development had authority to approve the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s design for a boat launch on land acquired through the Land Conservation Investment Program. The court held that the statutory provision concerning certain highway-related alterations did not limit CORD’s authority in this case and reversed and remanded for consideration of the petitioners’ remaining claims.

Holdings

1. RSA 162-C:6, IV does not limit CORD's authority to approve the boat-launch design merely because the boat launch is statutorily classified as a class III-a highway.
2. The superior court did not decide whether the boat-launch design violated RSA 162-C:6, II and III, so the case must be remanded for determination of those remaining claims.

Questions Presented

1. Whether RSA 162-C:6, IV deprived CORD of authority to approve the Fish and Game Department's boat-launch design because the launch qualified as a class III-a highway.
2. Whether the case should be remanded for consideration of the petitioners' remaining claims that the approval violated RSA 162-C:6, II and III.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded