enabling regional, conservation, and energy resource planning for habitat strongholds and wildlife corridors and creating a commission to study transferring ownership of the Winnipesaukee River Basin program to an alternative authority.

Corrected the name of the state agency responsible for delineating planning regions from 'office of planning and development' to 'division of planning and community development,' matching the agency's official designation in New Hampshire law.

Version label changed from 'AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE' to 'AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE' in the header and page footers

House amendment tracking line added: '9Apr2026... 1277h' indicating the House processed this bill on April 9, 2026 under House bill number 1277

The bill now creates a commission to study transferring ownership of the Winnipesaukee River Basin program to an alternative authority, and creates the position of director of that program within the Department of Environmental Services. This is an entirely new subject matter unrelated to the original habitat/wildlife corridor planning focus.

In RSA 36:45, habitat strongholds and wildlife corridors were removed from the list of conservation land uses (previously 'conservation, including habitat strongholds...and wildlife corridors') and instead placed under 'the facilitation of transportation and communication.' This repositions them from a conservation planning concern to a transportation/infrastructure planning consideration.

In RSA 36:44, the word 'index' was replaced with 'inventory' (twice), and a new sentence was added stating that the inventory of habitat strongholds and wildlife corridors is intended for informational purposes only for regional planning commissions and shall not be used as the basis for municipal zoning or planning purposes. This limits how municipalities can act on this data.