ORNISH, N.H. - With the Connecticut River and the Green Mountains serving as a pastoral backdrop, Vice President Al Gore put on his environmental hat yesterday and delivered $819,000 for 29 improvement projects along the 410-mile river that curves through four New England states.
And that was after he and Governor Jeanne Shaheen canoed 3.5 scenic miles through shallow waters, with friends, supporters, and reporters paddling in their wake.
Although the announcement was billed as an official event, rather than a campaign one, the environment is shaping up as a critical issue in both the Democratic presidential primary and the 2000 general election.
Former senator Bill Bradley is challenging Gore not only for the nomination, but for the green mantle as well. And the Democratic National Committee has already compiled material on Texas Governor George W. Bush's environmental record, contending that it is not very good.
Among environmentalists in New Hampshire, the decision of whom to support in the Democratic primary is not necessarily an easy one.
''It's not a done deal in the least,'' said Tom Elliott, a Hanover-area activist with the American Lands Alliance, concerned with preserving untouched areas of the forests. ''The environmental community is frustrated. We see a lot going wrong, a lot of things not being done.''
Despite Gore's longstanding concern for the environment and his authorship of ''Earth in the Balance,'' Ruth Cook of Franconia said she is disappointed in him. ''I wish I'd heard more, I expected to hear more,'' said Cook, chairwoman of the White Mountain School, which provides students with an environmental education. Cook said she is planning to support Bradley.
In an interview, Gore cited the Clinton administration's environmental accomplishments, such as the American Heritage Rivers program that brought him to Cornish, but blamed Republicans for obstructing progress in other areas.
''We've been constrained by a Republican Congress,'' he said, pointing to funding cuts for environmental programs and the Congress's refusal to pass initiatives against global warming recommended by the Kyoto international accord.
Gore had no sharp words, however, for those who complain about the Clinton-Gore record.
''People who say that are just like me - they want to see more done. And thank goodness they're out there pushing and fighting for even bigger changes, because we need them.''
Evelyn Huston of Keene is not disappointed, nor is she decided.
''I'm still in the listening stage,'' said Huston, a member of several environmental and conservation groups.
She said she likes Gore's focus on reducing sprawl because ''the things that are being paved over can't be reclaimed as open space.'' But she said she would like him to be more aggressive about curbing automobile and gasoline use, and she would like to hear all the candidates talk about protecting the forests.
Huston, an independent, said she finds Bradley's views on the environment ''acceptable,'' and she said she realizes that Gore can't do everything as vice president.
''I think he's very much limited and restricted in what he can do,'' she said. ''He isn't president right now, there are political realities he has to deal with, some of which I'm not even aware of.''
Gore has his ardent supporters among environmentalists, too.
''This is an area in which Al Gore has shown his courage,'' said Martha S. Solow, a state representative from Hanover and a longtime member of the Sierra Club and the Appalachian Mountain Club. ''He has not wavered in the need to show concern about the environment.''
Marcy Lyman of Manchester has worked on federal and state environmental legislation, as well as a program to reduce acid rain. She hosted a party at her home for Gore and plans to vote for him next year.
''I trust that he is working within the system in a way that he thinks best,'' Lyman said, ''and I would support him in those efforts and encourage him to do more whenever he can.''
In the interview, Gore said he will not yield to anyone when it comes to protecting the environment.
''This is one of my core commitments to the American people,'' said Gore. ''What you see is what you get. If you don't want a president who will be committed heart and soul to moving heaven and earth to clean up the environment in the right way, then vote for somebody else, because that is what I will do, and I want people to support me on that basis.''
