Whitney Pond Dam Removal & River Restoration Project: Ashburnham
Under a grant from the MA Division of Ecological Restoration (DER), the NRWA is helping to lead outreach and information efforts in Ashburnham in regards to the town's decision to remove the Whitney Pond Dam. The NRWA views dam removal on a case-by-case basis. Each dam, community, and waterway has its own unique set of circumstances that need to be fully understood in the decision-making process. In the end, the decision to repair or remove must be made by the dam owner, in this instance the Town of Ashburnham. Learn more about this project including information about the Whitney Pond Dam, videos of community meetings, plans and permitting documents, and benefits of removal and restoration.
Dam Removals Across New England
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.
Protecting Our Communities and Our Natural Resources through Land Use Planning
Land use planning is the process by which communities decide how their land should be used, both in the present day and in the future. By planning for development, communities can protect their drinking water and other important natural resources and simultaneously guide their business and residential development to areas that are not environmentally sensitive.
In New England, most land use planning takes place at the municipal level through the oversight and guidance of Planning Boards, with state limits on the types of activities Planning Boards can regulate. Local land use planning should be guided by a central document, usually called the Master Plan or Comprehensive Plan, which takes the long view, from five to ten years or beyond. Once adopted, a Master or Comprehensive Plan can be used to develop zoning ordinances or bylaws—the code of requirements governing how land in a community can be used. View an example of a Master Plan—Town of Groton Master Plan. Strong limits can be placed on how environmentally sensitive lands, such as wetlands, floodplains, and steep slopes, can be used. Local Conservation Commissions often have a large degree of oversight on proposed uses of wetlands and floodplains.
The NRWA introduces its watershed communities to the more innovative, environmentally-friendly forms of zoning and regulations. Some of these planning tools come under the name of Smart Growth, which is a planning philosophy that seeks to minimize human impacts on the land while still providing for needed development. The NRWA also assists with Low Impact Development and Stormwater Management, Open Space Plans, and drafting of protective Bylaws, Ordinances, and Regulations. NRWA also offers professional workshops for land use planners, developers, engineers, and municipal officials to offer an opportunity to learn about the latest land use innovations and to network with colleagues facing similar development challenges.
For more information on NRWA’s land use projects, please contact Mark Archambault, NRWA Smart Growth Circuit Rider, at (978) 448-0299, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Fighting Invasive Water Chestnut Infestations
The exotic water chestnut (trapa natans) was first discovered in the Pepperell Pond impoundment on the Nashua River (on the Pepperell/Groton line) in the late 1990’s. At roughly the same time, the plants were found in the Nashua River upstream of Mine Falls Dam in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Invasive water chestnut plants create an impenetrable mat of growth that makes the river inaccessible to boating and fishing. Their growth replaces ecologically critical native plant species. When the dense mats die off in the fall, they sink and decay, which depletes oxygen levels vital to fish, destroying native fish habitat with resulting negative impact on fish populations.
As part of its work to maintain water quality, and to protect our waterways for habitat and recreation, the NRWA in early years of the infestation, helped to organize hand-pulling efforts from canoes and kayaks in Pepperell Pond. However, the exponential way in which water chestnut grows (each seed can produce up to 120 new plants) soon deemed hand-pulling ineffective in controlling its spread. By 2005, approximately 45 acres of the Pepperell impoundment were 100% covered in the plant. The NRWA and its partners worked to find funding.
In 2008, the Town of Pepperell contracted with the NRWA to manage a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to mechanically harvest the plants. During the summers of 2008 and 2009, approximately 2,780 tons of plants were removed from the river by a private contractor. Because seeds can exist up to 12 years in sediment, harvesting needs to take place continuously for approximately 5 years before the plants can finally be controlled by hand-pulling. Funding for mechanical harvesting has not been available since 2009. NRWA continues to seek sources of funding while hosting hand-pull events with volunteers to check the spread of the plant into new regions. View a slideshow of the 2012 volunteer chestnut pull created by Denise Hurt.
Water chestnut was first documented as scattered patches above Mine Falls Dam in Nashua, New Hampshire in 1998. By 2001, approximately 14 acres of the plant covered the area just upstream of the boat ramp at the dam. In 2012 and 2013, the City of Nashua contracted with Aquatic Control Technologies, Inc. to harvest the plants. Extensive harvesting during he summer months removed much of the standing growth. Since then hand removal by volunteers has kept the water chestnut plants in check.
For more information on water chestnuts or hand-pull events or NRWA’s work to control water chestnuts, please contact Martha Morgan, NRWA Water 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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