RSA 270:93
Big Pea Porridge Pond (Madison/Conway) is a Restricted Body of Water in NH.
RSA 270:93 - “No person shall use or operate any powerboat equipped with an internal combustion engine on the open waters of Big Pea Porridge Pond in Madison and Conway."
RSA 270:98 - “No person shall use or operate any powerboat equipped with an internal combustion engine on the open waters of Middle Pea Porridge Pond in Madison.”
When Dick and Connie Brown arrived on the pond in the fall of 1963, there were just eight older camps and one small year-round residence along the east shore and a new small development on the south shore. There were no motorboats but also no laws prohibiting them. Then came Eidleweiss in the late 1960s, or perhaps early 70s, and motorboats proliferated, especially high-speed boats towing waterskiers. There were oil slicks, gas fumes, and noise that negatively affected water quality, aquatic life, and general tranquility.
The Browns armed themselves with photos of numerous oil spills and headed to a meeting with a state legislator in Portsmouth to present their case. Their efforts led to a compromise law prohibiting motorboats except between the hours of 12:00 and 3:00 PM. Dick said you never had to look at a clock to know when it was noon.
Unfortunately the oil spills continued and the discovery of a loon killed by a speeding boat was the final straw for the Browns. They initiated a new effort to have boats with gas-powered engines banned completely. They photographed the bird, the oil slicks and the waterskiers too close to rafts and headed to Concord.
One of the props they used in their presentation at the committee hearing was a map of Lake Winnipesaukee. They placed an outline of Big Pea drawn to the same scale and placed it in one of the tiny bays in Lake Winnipesaukee to show the size comparison. Connie then read a poem about the beauty and tranquility on Pea Porridge Pond. With the committee’s recommendation, the legislature passed the law outlawing internal combustion engines on our pond.
Sometime later Charlie Burnham noticed something in the law had been transcribed incorrectly, so the group was off to Concord one final time which resulted in a correction.
It's hard to imagine how different Pea Porridge Pond would be today if this legislation had not been passed. It takes people and efforts like this to protect what we have for the future.