If your property touches a lake, RSA 483-B governs what you can cut and dig within 250 feet of the water. Here's what it actually says — without the statute language.
New Hampshire's Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act (RSA 483-B) creates a protected zone extending 250 feet back from the reference line (roughly the natural high-water mark) of lakes over 10 acres, and designated rivers. Inside it, vegetation removal and earth work are regulated. Winnipesaukee, Winnisquam, Squam, Newfound, Waukewan, the Suncooks — all covered.
The first 50 feet is the strictest. Trees and saplings there are scored — larger trunks are worth more points — and each 50×50-ft segment must keep a minimum of 25 points of standing trees. You can cut for a view within the math (and remove dead or hazard trees), but you can't clear-cut the frontage, and ground cover in this strip largely stays.
From 50 to 150 feet, at least 25% of the area must remain in unaltered natural vegetation. You have real flexibility here — lawns, paths, and landscaping are allowed — but a quarter of the band stays wild, and where it stays is worth planning rather than defaulting.
Significant excavation, filling, or construction within the 250-ft zone generally requires a Shoreland Permit from NHDES (smaller projects may qualify for a Permit-by-Notification). Impervious-surface percentages on the lot also come into play as you build. Separate wetlands rules apply where the ground is wet regardless of distance from the lake.
This guide is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. The full rules live in RSA 483-B and NHDES's shoreland program pages — and for project-specific questions, NHDES's shoreland desk actually answers the phone.
We plan the cut and the dig to the rules — view, yard, and legal frontage, all three.
