Protecting Priority Landscapes
Greenway Protection: Healthy Water Quality and Wildlife Habitat
From its inception, the NRWA has recognized that conserving riparian areas throughout the Nashua River watershed is critical to sustaining the river’s long-term health, and the fish and wildlife habitat it supports. During the historic cleanup of the Nashua River in the 1960s, NRWA founder Marion Stoddart envisioned a “ribbon of green” winding through the watershed; an artery of ecological and recreational vitality that would buffer our waterways from pollution, runoff, and erosion in perpetuity. To achieve this goal, Marion partnered with conservation organizations and volunteers to create a Nashua River Greenway by protecting land from development within 300 feet of the Nashua, Squannacook, and Nissitissit Rivers, as well as their tributaries and headwaters. Today, the NRWA continues to advance this goal through the Marion Stoddart Greenway Program.
For more information about the Nashua River Greenway, explore our “Protecting Rivers by Protecting Land” StoryMap.
The Marion Stoddart Greenway Program
After decades of dedicated efforts by the NRWA and conservation partners across the watershed, over 200 miles of the Nashua River Greenway are now permanently protected. See a map of this progress here. Through the Marion Stoddart Greenway Program, the NRWA continues to expand the Nashua River Greenway by:
• Partnering with conservation organizations, municipalities, land trusts, greenway committees, and state and federal agencies to advance land protection projects
• Providing technical support and financial resources to landowners and conservation partners to help eliminate barriers to success
• Engaging in outreach and education to share the importance of riparian areas and protecting the Nashua River Greenway
For more information on the NRWA’s land protection strategy and a full history of the Greenway Program, read the 2023 Marion Stoddart Greenway Protection Plan.
CONTACT US for more information
If you are interested in protecting your land, or if you would like more information about the Marion Stoddart Greenway Program:
Call 978-448-0299 or email:
Marisa Browning Kamins, NRWA Senior Land Protection & Restoration Associate
Marion Stoddart Greenway Fund
In 2013, to honor Marion on her 85th birthday, the Marion Stoddart Greenway Fund was established. 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. You can help to support Marion’s greenway vision, with a gift to the Marion Stoddart Greenway Fund.
