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.
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NRWA’s Watershed Approach: Protecting Water and Land
The NRWA uses a watershed approach to protect our natural resources because we understand the connection between water and land. We know that what we do on the land impacts water quality and quantity, and the quality and quantity of our water impacts the quality of life in our communities. Our watershed is made up of 32 cities and towns connected by water, and a diversity of natural ecosystems that are impacted by human actions. The NRWA’s 2020 Plan provides an overarching vision for our work, while the Sub-basin Plan for the watershed provides an assessment of the natural resources and challenges facing each of our sub-basins and communities.
Our water monitoring program has been collecting and analyzing data on water quality and stream conditions for two decades. This scientific information is provided to appropriate agencies in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and is used to identify areas of concern and to define suitable actions. We also work on site-specific projects to track sources of bacterial contamination, work on issues of low flow in local streams, reduce the spread of invasive plants, and improve fish and wildlife habitat through stream restoration.
Our vision to create a riverside greenway along both banks of the entire Nashua River and its major tributaries is intended to provide a first line of protection to our waterways, acting as a buffer zone between water and the activities on the adjoining land. Many times, greenways can also provide the public with recreational access to our rivers and streams. Working to protect forestlands also serves to protect our water. Clean water is one of the most important by-products of our extensive woodlands. And working with landowners to encourage land stewardship helps them to plan and manage their properties in the way that protects natural resources and preserves wildlife habitat in harmony with their working farm or forest property.
Protecting and stewarding our land protects our water, and protecting our water protects life.
What Does the NRWA Do?
The Big Picture
The Nashua River Watershed Association protects our water, our land, and our communities. Our geographic area of work is defined by the boundaries of the Nashua River watershed—all land that drains into the Nashua River and its tributaries—an area that involves 32 communities in north central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. And the term “watershed” also defines our approach to our work, addressing natural resource protection through both water and land protection programs. We have the dual advantage of being regional, with the ability to cross state and municipal boundaries, and local, with a professional staff that understands the local landscape. Our goal is to protect the Nashua River watershed now and for the future.
The Close-up
The NRWA works to protect both water and land resources, one of the only organizations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire that has this dual focus. We work to protect drinking water supplies, monitor river water quality and quantity, and create riverside greenways. We participate in collaborative projects to protect forests and farm lands, encourage land stewardship, and help our communities use sustainable land-use tools in their planning processes.
Environmental education is a key strategy we use in our work to protect our natural resources. We provide educational opportunities for all ages because well informed citizens make better decisions, and today’s children are tomorrow’s stewards. Our signature River Classroom® program takes groups of youth out on the river for a full day of hands-on science adventure. Our Scientist in Residence and Schoolyard/Classroom programs are tailored to the individual needs of each class, and the Massachusetts and New Hampshire standards for science and technology. We also offer Eco-Adventures, outdoor science-based programs for families and youth, including vacation programs and weekend workshops. We encourage youth to connect with nature, a relationship we hope will last a lifetime. We seek to expand the reach of our education programs by educating the educators and other community leaders and professionals, through seminars for teachers, land-use planners, and foresters.
Other strategies to achieve our goal include advocacy for resource stewardship, resource-based community planning, and working together for co-operative watershed management.
As a result of our work, our region is home to beautiful rivers and streams, an abundant diversity of flora and fauna, and an extensive array of recreational opportunities. The Nashua River watershed is a wonderful place to live, work, and play!
We invite you to join us and become an active part of the NRWA story of restoration, protection, and a sustainable future for our region.
Protecting Land Protects Water
"Water is the most critical resource issue of our lifetime and our children's lifetime. The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land." —Luna Leopold
We work to protect forests and other priority lands for the prime purpose of protecting the quality and quantity of our water resources. While all land is conceivably worthy of protection from inappropriate development, the limit of time and finances creates the need for a triage system that ranks land available for protection based on these criteria.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, the conserved forests in the Nashua River watershed, and the Merrimack River watershed of which we are a sub-basin, are among the best in the country for providing clean drinking water, and are first on the list as the most threatened in the United States. View the "Forests, Water and People: Drinking water supply and forest lands in the Northeast and Midwest United States" report.
Forests provide essential "natural benefits" such as: filtering air, reducing floods and erosion, sustaining stream flows and aquatic species, ensuring watershed stability and resilience, absorbing rain and naturally filtering runoff which refills wells, streams, and groundwater aquifers. And, properly managed forests provide the economic value of wood and pulp, and the less tangible, but still highly desired, physical benefits of scenic views, places for recreation, and places for quiet contemplation.
NRWA participates in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Legacy program, both as a project partner and as the sponsor for all funding applications in our region. Our collaborative large-scale Forest Legacy projects have protected thousands of acres of forestland to date. The NRWA is also leading a multi-year USDA-funded Forest Redesign project focused on identifying priority lands for protection using GIS mapping technology. The NRWA is a partnering organization in the Wildlands and Woodlands Partnership, an informal network that is collaborating on a 50-year vision to preserve New England's forests; the North Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership which works to protect and enhance open space in the North Quabbin region (parts of the western reaches of our watershed); and the Nissitissit Souhegan Highlands working group protecting land in some of our New Hampshire communities.
It has been NRWA's decision to date not to hold land in fee or seek Conservation Restrictions (Conservation Easements in NH); however, we are not prohibited from doing do. According to our Conservation Restriction Policy, we consider Conservation Restrictions specifically in those cases of last resort where no other eligible conservation entity will do so.
In addition to our work on land protection projects, the NRWA also leads efforts to encourage thoughtful land stewardship and land use planning that balances development with environmental protection. NRWA also provides free education programs for adults on topics relevant to water and land protection.
If you are a landowner (forest, farm, or other) interested in learning more about options to protect your land, we offer our FAQs for Landowners. For any Land Protection question, please feel free to contact Al Futterman, NRWA's Land Programs Director at (978) 448-0299, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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