Citizen Action: Local Greenway Committees and Friends Groups

Protecting and managing the watershed’s riverfront lands continues to be a key aspect of the NRWA’s overall watershed management plan. Volunteers are helping the Greenway grow through community outreach, landowner assistance, and improving the management of Greenway lands. Local land trusts in Massachusetts and New Hampshire partner with the NRWA to protect riverfront greenway, as does the Nashua, Squannacook, and Nissitissit Rivers Wild and Scenic Stewardship Council. There are also volunteers who directly assist the NRWA, and, in some communities, have formed local groups with which the NRWA works closely. Several Greenway committees, some established by local governments and some by citizen volunteers, work to complete the protection of the Nashua River and its tributaries, including:

Fitchburg Greenway Committee in Fitchburg, MA

The NRWA has been a key participant in the Fitchburg Greenway Committee (FGC) from its inception. The FGC evolved directly from the Fitchburg Stream Team, initiated by the NRWA, which was active in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, and includes many of the same core members. The Stream Team produced two shoreline surveys inventorying existing conditions in and alongside of the entire seven mile stretch of the river throughout the City. A report addressed most pressing issues and the most likely opportunities for improvement, including the cleanup of a massive riverside illegal dump along West Street, which the Team successfully undertook. That site is now Fitchburg’s new Gateway Park and loop trail, a collaborative project that involved many partners including Fitchburg Greenway Committee, the NRWA, the City of Fitchburg, the MA Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs, The Trustees of Reservations, North County Land Trust, and WDC Construction, Inc. Today’s FGC is active in several areas including riverfront open space protection; Riverfront Park modifications resulting in greater access to the river, as well as improved in-stream habitat and flow conditions; updating of the city’s wetland ordinance; and numerous educational events. The Trustees of Reservations named the Fitchburg Greenway Committee as its Conservationists of the Year in 2010.

Groton Greenway Committee in Groton, MA

The Groton Greenway Committee was established in 1989 at the request of the Nashua River Watershed Association. The Committee sponsors nature walks, canoe trips, river cleanups, water chestnut pulls, and also a semi-annual river festival. Its official charge is to:

• protect river and stream frontage in Groton, particularly along the Nashua and Squannacook Rivers;
• complete a buffer along these waterways to prevent pollution and provide flood protection, recreation, wildlife habitat, trail connectors, and scenic beauty;
• educate townspeople to the environmental and financial importance of protecting riverfront lands;
• seek gifts of land or easements along the riverways; and,
• seek the opportunity to purchase frontage.

View the Groton Greenway Committee’s “Completing the Vision” slideshow. 

Shirley Greenway Committee in Shirley, MA

The Shirley Greenway Committee if officially charged to:

• Conserve and enhance waterfront land to protect and preserve Shirley’s river, stream, and pond resources, and coordinate with other greenway efforts in the Nashua River Watershed

• Work with Town Boards, Commissions, and Departments in the implementation of the Town of Shirley’s Open Space and Recreation Plan 

• Work with the Board of Selectman, Conservation Commission, and landowners for the acquisition of land for conservation and recreation purposes, and other purposes protected by Article 97 of the Massachusetts constitution

View "Keeping Shirley's Waterways Clean" a video produced by Girl Scout Troop 73497. 

Lancaster Friends of the Nashua River in Lancaster, MA 

Lancaster Friends of the Nashua River was a chapter of the Nashua River Watershed Association formed in 2011. The Friends group defined its mission and goals for work in Lancaster -- raising consciousness among Lancaster residents and promoting environmental education -- deliberately designing its activities to dovetail with and support the mission and goals of the broader NRWA. The group raised funds and implemented projects to improve trails at the Cook Conservation Area and held annual river festivals for a number of years.

Monoosnoc Brook Greenway Project in Leominster, MA

The Monoosnoc Brook Greenway Project was a partnership between residents and businesses of Leominster formed in 1987, as part of the Nashua River Watershed Association, to provide stewardship for the Monoosnoc Brook watershed. The project responded to the concerns of local businesses and City officials who noted the neglect and deterioration of the brook which had become littered with garbage. Through cleanups, site work, education and other events, the MBGP has been successful in restoring the beauty of the brook, and walking trails and small park areas have been established. MBGP has provided hundreds of free programs to school children in Leominster, has installed rain gardens and outdoor classroom spaces at Fall Brook Elementary School, and conducted an Annual Cleanup of the brook for over 25 years.

For more information about greenway groups and NRWA’s work to protect riverside greenway, please contact Al Futterman, NRWA Land Programs Director, at (978) 448-0299, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Protecting the Nashua River Greenway

The Nashua River Watershed Association acts as advocate and advisor for the establishment of the Nashua River Greenway. Conservation of the river’s edge is a priority, as expressed in our founding vision of “sparkling blue water with a ribbon of green alongside it.” NRWA encourages a permanently protected open space corridor along both banks of the Nashua River, its main tributaries, and its smaller streams as well. In rural areas, this Greenway can be a natural buffer (ideally 300 feet wide) to filter pollutants, prevent soil erosion, provide floodways, protect wildlife habitat, and offer outdoor recreation, like riverfront trails. In urban areas, the Greenway can conserve water supplies, increase the value of land adjacent to the Greenway, stimulate downtown revitalization, and provide riverside parks for recreation and public access to the river.

The Association has chosen not to acquire land itself, and has passed a Conservation Restriction Policy. We do work closely with local Greenway committees, landowners, communities, conservation groups, and public agencies to help them protect and improve riverfront lands.

In its first three decades, the Greenway expanded from 2 miles of protected riverfront to 84 miles. In the past decade, that figure has more than doubled to over 174 miles of shoreline that are dedicated to open space. The environmental and economic benefits of the Greenway are being realized. While much has already been accomplished, there is much to be done. View Nashua River greenway map and greenway statistics.

To conserve land along the Nashua River and its tributaries, the NRWA promotes the purchase or donation of riverfront lands, conservation agreements with private landowners, and land use controls (zoning, wetlands protection, and low impact development). In addition to promoting Greenway protection, the Association encourages appropriate uses and improvements for lands along the river, such as agriculture, forestry and wildlife management; canoe launches and picnic areas; hiking trails, walkways, and bikeways; and parks and riverfront design in urban areas. To encourage these improvements, the NRWA offers assistance on design projects and management plans for Greenway lands.

A considerable public and private investment has made clean-up of the Nashua River a reality. The Greenway protects this investment while it enhances the use and enjoyment of the river. As water quality continues to improve and as more riverfront conservation lands are connected, the Greenway becomes an increasingly important asset to our communities.

If you have Greenway property that you are interested in protecting, or if you would like more information about NRWA’s work to protect our Greenway, please contact Al Futterman, NRWA 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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Marion Stoddart Greenway Fund

Protecting greenway has been a lifetime passion of Marion Stoddart, one of NRWA’s founders. In 2013, to honor Marion on her 85^th birthday, the Marion Stoddart Greenway Fund (MSGF) was created. 

The Marion Stoddart Greenway Fund is dedicated to the Nashua River Watershed Association's programs and activities to expand, promote and permanently protect greenways along the rivers, streams, and wetlands in the Nashua River watershed; to increase awareness of the role of greenways in protecting water quality and in providing habitat and corridors for wildlife; and to encourage the use where appropriate of greenways for education and recreation.

Support Marion’s greenway vision, contribute now to the Marion Stoddart Greenway Fund.

Wild & Scenic Rivers: Protecting Outstanding Waterways

An effort is underway to explore whether sections of the Nashua, Squannacook, and Nissitissit Rivers could be designated as Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers.

The Nashua River Watershed Association brought the opportunity to explore such a designation to the attention of the communities through which these rivers flow: the Boards of Selectmen in Ayer, Dunstable, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Shirley, Pepperell, and Townsend all endorsed pursuing a Study.

Congresswoman Niki Tsongas filed the bill H.R. 5319, the "Nashua River Wild and Scenic River Study Act".  To announce the introduction of the legislation, the Congresswoman held a press event at NRWA’s RiverResourceCenter in Groton. 

NRWA's Executive Director, Elizabeth Ainsley Campbell, submitted testimony in favor of HR 5319 and spoke at a legislative hearing held at the Longworth House Office Building in Washington, D.C. by the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest and Public Lands.

The National Park Service conducted a Reconnaissance Survey that confirmed "that the Nashua River and its tributaries have all the ingredients for a successful Wild and Scenic River Study: highly significant natural, cultural and recreational resources; capable and committed local partners; and local communities with a demonstrated track record of support for conservation of the River," said Jamie Fosburgh, the New England Team Leader for Wild and Scenic Rivers.

On June 23, 2014, the bill passed unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives.  It now awaits Senate approval.  NRWA will post updates on this page and our News page.

View Frequently Asked Questions about the proposed Nashua River Wild & Scenic River Study and designation.

For more information about the Wild & Scenic Rivers program and the potential Study of the Nashua and its tributaries, please contact Al Futterman, NRWA Land Programs Director, at (978) 448-0299, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..