Nashua, Squannacook & Nissitissit Rivers
Massachusetts, New Hampshire
Located in north-central Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire, the Nashua River watershed covers 538 square miles, includes 32 communities, and supplies drinking water to over two million people. It is highly forested, abundant in water resources and open spaces, with thousands of acres of lands protected. According to the Nashua River Watershed Association, the lands are comprised of approximately 62% forested land, 13% residential lands, and 12% agricultural lands. The watershed area within Massachusetts is still rather rural but is under constant threat of development due to its proximity to the greater Boston area. Some towns within the region have seen significant growth, resulting in a loss of open space. The Nashua River and its major tributaries, the Squannacook and Nissitissit Rivers, boast outstanding natural, recreational, scenic, historic, and cultural resources.
Designated Reach
March 12, 2019. The mainstem of the Nashua River from the confluence of the North and South Nashua Rivers in Lancaster, Massachusetts, and extending north to the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, excluding:
- From 700 feet upstream of the crest of Ice House Hydroelectric Project Dam to 500 feet downstream.
- From 9,240 feet upstream from the crest of the Pepperell Hydroelectric Project Dam to 1,000 feet downstream.
The Squannacook River from its headwaters in Ash Swamp, Townsend, Massachusetts, extending downstream to the confluence of the river with the Nashua River in Shirley/Ayer, Massachusetts, excluding from 1,200 feet upstream of the crest of the Hollingsworth and Vose Dam to 2,665 feet downstream.
The Nissitissit River from its headwaters in Brookline, New Hampshire, to the confluence of the river with the Nashua River in Pepperell, Massachusetts.
Outstandingly Remarkable Values
Culture
The rivers’ abundant food sources and their usefulness for travel made them important to Native Americans, whose presence has been documented by numerous investigations of streamside archaeological sites. Due to the presence of prime agricultural soils in the large floodplains along the banks of ...Show More
Ecology
Biological and ecological diversity in the area can be measured by the sheer number of species and by the number of species assemblages (natural communities of plant and animal species that share a common environment and occur together repeatedly on the landscape). Abundant wetlands, grasslands, ...Show More
Fish
The Nashua River, which is heavily used by recreational anglers, supports a substantial warmwater fishery, including largemouth bass, chain pickerel, brown trout, fallfish, carp, blacknose dace, black crappie, common and golden shiner, brown bullhead, tesselated darter, yellow and white perch, wh...Show More
Recreation
High-quality water supports water-based recreation as well as the enjoyment of numerous greenway trails by the banks. The Nashua River, for the most part, flows relatively slowly, and so is generally appropriate for boaters, including beginners. The Nissitissit and Squannacook Rivers are widely r...Show More
Scenery
The rivers’ shorelines are remarkably undeveloped, and their scenery is exquisite. One of the most famous views in central Massachusetts is of the Nashua River valley from Prospect Hill at Fruitlands Museum—it looks much as it might have a century ago—and is listed in the 1982 Massachusetts Sceni...Show More
Wildlife
The Nashua River corridor provides breeding and migration habitat for listed bird species, such as king rail, pied-billed grebe, and common moorhen. It provides potential habitat for American and least bitterns, as well as the blue spotted salamander and the water shrew, both of which are depende...Show More