NRWA Dam Removals in Massachusetts Presentation PDF
Across New England, aging and unsafe dam infrastructure has led to an increase in dam removals. These dam removals can provide significant public safety and ecological benefits, from a reduced risk of flooding to restored river connectivity. Supported by the MA Division of Ecological Restoration, the Nashua River Watershed Association offered educational talks about dam removals in Massachusetts, covering a general overview of why and how unsafe dams are removed, and what changes you might expect to see in your community as a result. Presentations were made possible in part by a grant from the MA Division of Ecological Restoration. View NRWA 2024 Dam Removal Presentation slideshow PDF.
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Using Nature to Adapt to Climate Change in the Nashua River Watershed
The NRWA is working with the communities of Ashburnham, Fitchburg, Groton, Leominster, and Pepperell to understand local climate change issues and ways that we can use Nature-based Solutions to address those issues. Citizen input is key to the process as NRWA, town leadership, and consultants work to identify specific sites and solutions to help each community become more climate resilient. The concepts developed in these five communities will then be applied to create a Nashua River Watershed Nature-based Solutions Plan with tools accessible to all of our watershed communities. This project is funded by a Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant. Learn more about this project and Nature-based Solutions.
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NRWA 2022 Water Report
The Nashua River Watershed Association is pleased to share our 2022 Water Report. This new report analyzes the results of our 2022 water monitoring season covering topics such as: what do we study and why? what do the results tell us about the health of our waterways? what sections of rivers or streams are facing water quality challenges? The report is detailed and provides supporting images, graphs, and charts.
Thank you as always to our team of volunteer water monitors. In 2022, they collected 877 individual surface water samples. Their dedication makes our work to protect our waterways possible. This Report is dedicated to all of you.
Read the NRWA’s 2022 Water Report.
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NRWA 2023-2028 Strategic Plan
The NRWA is pleased to share its 2023-2028 Strategic Plan, a guide to our priorities for our next five years. The Plan is the result of months of conversations, partner listening sessions, and a survey of supporters. We asked for your input, we listened, and your feedback is reflected in this directional piece. We look forward to working with you to achieve these goals. View online. Download single page for print.
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Nashua River Watershed Association Statement on MassWildlife’s Proposed Oak Woodlands Restoration at Squannacook River Wildlife Management Area
The MA Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) has proposed an Oak Woodlands Restoration project on 215 acres at the Squannacook River Wildlife Management Area (SRWMA), which will result in altering the current forested landscape to an open woodland. The project would require significant clearing of the existing forest, periodic fire management, and herbicide applications. For a more detailed description of the goals of the proposed project and restoration activities, please see: mass.gov/info-details/oak-woodland-restoration-at-squannacook-river-wma.
The Nashua River Watershed Association (NRWA) has been closely keeping track of this proposed project and wishes to share the following significant attributes of the SRWMA project site, which MassWildlife has indicated would be Phase 1* of a multi-phase undertaking:
- Abuts ~2 miles of the federally-designated Squannacook Wild & Scenic River, which is also a state-designated Coldwater Fisheries Resource;
- Is within the state-designated Squannassit Area of Critical Environmental Concern; and
- Is a Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Priority Habitat Area.
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Meets MA DEP state-designated Outstanding Resource Water Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards [314 CMR 4.04(3)
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Is included in the Squannacook-Nissitissit Rivers Sanctuary Act (MGL, Part I, Title XIX, Chapter 123A, Section 17)
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Is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries “Essential Fish Habitat”
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Is a MA DFW Wildlife Management Area Reference Stream
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US Geological Survey (USGS) gage on the Squannacook River was used as a least impacted site to set flow policy for the state’s Water Management Act. The river is also used as a “clean water” least impacted site by MA DEP’s SMART monitoring program. Water quality information from this site was used in the development of statewide Water Quality Standards including nutrients and pollutant loading analysis.
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~50 acres of Shirley Zone 1 Municipal Wellhead Protection Area (a 1,000 foot zone extending from wellhead)
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Subject property partially overlays a medium yield aquifer ½ mile upstream from the W. Groton Water Supply District public wellheads.
This site has long been recognized as an area worthy of the highest-level protection and preservation for its existing outstandingly remarkable environmental resource values. Therefore, proposed alteration of the site should be subject to particularly rigorous analysis.
In February of 2022 the NRWA requested that MassWildlife consider at least a three-year moratorium on advancing the proposed project while MassWildlife, NRWA, and other partners:
- Identify alternate sites that meet MassWildlife’s state-wide goals for Oak Woodland Habitat;
- Undertake additional studies on SRWMA; and
- Assess the impact of the scale of the proposed project.
Through dialogue with MassWildlife, the NRWA understands that MassWildlife cannot agree to a moratorium. MassWildlife has communicated a commitment to transparency and to proceeding on a timeline with opportunities for site walks and public engagement.
In addition, public comment periods which are required as part of local and state permitting would precede any actual site work by MassWildlife. Opportunities for comments would occur at both Shirley and Townsend Conservation Commission meetings, and potentially be associated with an Environmental Notification Form (ENF) and Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) review. After reviewing forthcoming documents, the NRWA will offer detailed comments during the public comment periods as they arise.
* The NRWA notes that potential future Phases of the proposed project have not yet been described, but that the entire Squannacook River Wildlife Management Area encompasses a total of more than 1,300 acres.
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NRWA 50th Anniversary Video Series
In 2019, the NRWA celebrated its 50th Anniversary. As part of our celebration, we created a series of six short videos looking at where we began, where we are and where we are going in the future. We hope you enjoy this look at NRWA and what we accomplish together! Thank you!
Chapter 1: The Beginning (2:38 min.)
Chapter 2: Protecting Water (2:28 min.)
Chapter 3: Protecting Land (2:20 min.)
Chapter 4: Providing Education (1:55 min.)
Chapter 5: Supporting Recreation (1:49 min.)
Chapter 6: Looking Forward (2:31 min.)
Thank you to our 50th Anniversary Sponsors for making this series possible: Presenting Sponsor, Rollstone Bank & Trust, and Anniversary Sponsors, CanAm Machinery and Enterprise Bank.
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Controlling Invasive Water Chestnut
The NRWA has been working with the state and local entities, as well as volunteers to control the infestation and spread of invasive water chestnut in the Nashua River. Learn more.
View new video "NRWA Water Chestnut Pull: Volunteers in Action. (3:14 min) produced by Max McCormick of NorthPoint Productions.
Watershed Gallery
Our watershed is rich in natural and cultural history. We enjoy beautiful landscapes of woods, streams, and drumlins. Our communities are dotted with classic New England town commons, Shaker villages, and early industrial era mills. We hope you enjoy our Watershed Gallery. A special thank you to Elizabeth Ainsley Campbell, NRWA's Executive Director, for sharing her historic postcard collection.
If you have photos, postcards, or other images of the communities and landscapes in our watershed that you'd like to share, or if one of our photos stirs memory of a story you'd like to share, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We'll add your photos and stories to our Watershed Gallery.
Nashua River Watershed Statistics
Total Drainage Area: 538 square miles
Massachusetts Drainage Area: 454 square miles
New Hampshire Drainage Area: 74 square miles
Total Length of Nashua River: 56 miles
Massachusetts Total Length of Nashua River: 46 miles
New Hampshire Total Length of Nashua River: 10 miles
Major Tributaries: Nissitissit, North Nashua, Quinapoxet, South Nashua, Squannacook, and Stillwater Rivers
Total Forest Area: 62.6%
Total Residential Area: 13.3%
Total Agricultural Area: 11.9%
Approximate Surface Area of Lakes, Ponds and Reservoirs: 6,818 acres
Factoids
The main stem of the Nashua River flows north from Lancaster, MA (the confluence of the North Nashua River and the South Nashua River) to Nashua, NH where it joins with the Merrimack River to flow to the Atlantic Ocean.
An award-winning children’s story was written about the clean-up of the Nashua River, A River Ran Wild, by Lynne Cherry.
The name Nashua comes from the native word for the river “Nash-a-way” meaning “river with the pebbled bottom.”
Geology of Our Watershed
The bedrock underpinning of the Nashua River watershed is made up of two types of rock: granite and some other igneous types of rock, and metamorphic rock, primarily schist and gneiss.
Over ten thousand years ago, during the Pleistocene Epoch, the Nashua River valley was carved by moving glacial ice that was over one mile deep. The Nashua River itself was once Glacial Lake Nashua, an enormous lake that extended from Boylston, Massachusetts north to Nashua, New Hampshire. At this time, it flowed southward through the Worcester area.
Bedrock and a thin layer of glacial till “hardpan” dominate the higher elevations of the watershed, especially to the west and northwest, where the main tributaries to the river rise (Quinapoxet, Stillwater, North Nashua, Squannacook, and Nissitissit Rivers). These rivers all flow from the northwest to the southeast. The rivers meet the Nashua River at sharp angles, turning to join the Nashua River to flow in a northeasterly direction (except where the Quinapoxet and Stillwater Rivers enter the artificially created Wachusett Reservoir). The flow of the tributaries is a piece of the evidence that the Nashua River used to flow south. The river’s course was reversed as the edge of the last ice age glacier melted away, leaving Glacial Lake Nashua to drain to the north.
The central part of the watershed is dominated by sand and gravel deposits created by the valley’s history of glaciations. These deposits are the groundwater source for many of the watershed’s municipal water supplies.
To view U.S. Geologic Survey images of Glacial Lake Nashua features taken in 1906, click here, then enter Glacial Lake Nashua in the search box at the upper right of the page.
For a fascinating hike, take a walk at the Oak Hill Conservation Area in Harvard and Littleton, MA. There you can see Tophet Chasm, an ancient outflow of Glacial Lake Nashua. Lake water rushing out through a weak fault area in the hill, created a 120 foot waterfall and carved this deep chasm. The chasm is now dry, but still impressive. The area is the property of the Littleton Conservation Trust.
Our Flora and Fauna
The Nashua River watershed is made up of forests, streams, fields, wetlands, ponds, and other ecosystems that provide the perfect habitat for an abundance of plants and animals. Our watershed also contains less common habitat including old growth forest and peat bogs. The river channels, back cove areas, tributaries, and the riparian land along the river edge serve as host to thousands of plant and animal species. Below is an overview of flora and fauna in and along our rivers and streams.
The Nashua River and Its Tributaries
Flora:
Along the river and its tributaries, there is a healthy diversity of riparian trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. Many of the tree species found along the river can also be found in lowland forest throughout central Massachusetts. The towering white pine (Pinus strobus) is a tall pine tree often found growing with red maple (Acer Rubrum). In some locations, the swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) with its round-tipped leaves might be found. Black willow (Salix nigra) with small gray-green leaves and sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), with gray-brown mottled bark are typical river tree species. Yellow and white birch can be seen in sunny areas, and both with bark covered with large lenticels. Alnus serrulata or common alder is a shrub with birch-like catkins which bloom in mid-to late March. Vines such as poison ivy and wild grape can be seen on the shoreline in some locations.
In the river, one can find a variety of emergent plant-life like pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata L.), cattails (Typha latiflia) and many different sedges and rushes. Floating on the surface of the river, in calm areas, wolfia (Wolffia columbiana Karst) and duck weed (Lemns minor) can be seen. A curious person looking under the water will find common hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), a bushy plant often described as similar to a raccoon tail. A local carnivorous plant called common bladderwort (U. vulgaris)can be found thriving in the back coves and corners.
Go Botany created by the New England Wild Flower Society.
Fauna:
Birds
Baltimore orioles, red wing blackbirds, tree and barn swallows, belted kingfishers, and a variety of warblers join mallards, Canada geese, and other waterfowl as seasonal visitors or local residents of the Nashua River and its tributaries. Great blue herons, our largest birds standing four feet high, can be spotted hunting fish and frogs in the back coves and along the shallow edges. Birds of prey including red-tailed hawks, osprey, and bald eagles are frequently spotted along our rivers also.
Insects and Spiders
Rivers provide perfect habitat for the aquatic stages of many insects, and their presence helps us determine the health of our river. Water striders walk across the water with long legs and are easy to see. Whirligig beetles (Gyrinidae) are small black beetles that spin on the surface of the water, sometimes in large groups. Damselflies and dragonflies (Odonata) of many different species, are found resting on vegetation, flying above the water surface, or laying their eggs in the river. Their nymphs can be found lurking in the detritus or leaf litter at the bottom of the river. Stilt spiders (tetragnatha sps.) are one of many species that build their webs on river vegetation, and crayfish (Astacoidea) may be seen hunting along the river bottom or hiding in the rocky corners.
Mammals
Beaver (Castor canadensis), river otter (Lontra canadensis), muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), and mink (Neovison vison) are our most common mammals living along the banks of the Nashua and its tributaries. Beaver are large (35-60 pounds) and will smack their tail on the surface of the water to sound an alarm. Lodges, dams, and scent mounds, the structural signs of these amazing animals, are scattered throughout the waterways. Also, trees chewed by beaver are easy to spot with clear teeth marks on the trunks. River otter may be seen swimming or their “slides” may be located on the muddy banks. Muskrat build mounds made of cattail, which can often be seen in wetlands, and they leave their “scat” on floating logs.
Reptiles
Painted turtles and musk turtles, commonly found in the river, can be seen basking on logs along the river edges. Our largest resident, the snapping turtle, may be seen swimming, resting below surface in the shallow areas or basking on the muddy banks. The northern water snake, capable of reaching three feet in length, is a harmless but quick-tempered resident often spotted swimming in the river or warming in low branches along the river banks.
Fish
Sections of the Nashua River are renowned for large mouth bass and draw numerous fishermen to its waters. Sunfish, pickerels, and yellow perch set up residence in the back coves and trout can be found in the upper tributaries where the water stays cooler and more oxygenated. Bullhead catfish scour the river bottoms and minnows are seen schooling in the weed beds.
Be sure to visit our Nature Photo Gallery. And we’d love to have you share your stories of plants and animals you’ve seen, and be sure to include a photo if you have one. You can email your stories and photos to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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