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  1. What we do
  2. Land Conservation
  3. Regional Initiatives
  4. Merrimack River Watershed

News

  • Pick a Paddle This Summer: Tips for Exploring Local Rivers

    Anna Berry
    June 12, 2022

    Whether you’re taking part in this summer's Merrimack Paddle Challenge or are boating for the first time, experienced paddlers share their advice for getting out on the water.

  • Merrimack Paddle Challenge Returns

    Kelly Whalen
    June 7, 2022

    The do-it-yourself challenge runs from June 15 through September 30, 2022 along the Merrimack River and its tributaries.

  • Recreate Responsibly on the Water This Summer

    Anna Berry
    May 17, 2022

    Whether you're taking part in our Merrimack Paddle Challenge along the mighty Merrimack River or just planning to kayak in a local pond, it's important to recreate responsibly and safely this summer.

Merrimack River Watershed

A river at sunset winds past a former mill building in Lowell.

ABOUT THE WATERSHED

From its start in Franklin, N.H., the Merrimack flows through eight of New Hampshire’s ten largest cities, including Manchester, Nashua and Concord. The river continues into Massachusetts, running through Lowell and Lawrence to its mouth at Newburyport. The Merrimack River watershed — the land area that ultimately drains to the river — totals about 3,275 square miles or 2.1 million acres, divided almost evenly between New Hampshire (54%) and Massachusetts (46%). Despite being highly developed, the Merrimack Valley still contains critical terrestrial and aquatic habitats and contributes to the larger Gulf of Maine marine ecosystem. The watershed’s 2.6 million residents directly depend on the Merrimack watershed for drinking water, local food and forest products, and close-to-home outdoor recreation.

ABOUT THE MERRIMACK CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP

In 2010 the Merrimack River was identified by the US Forest Service as “one of the most threatened watersheds in the nation” in terms of projected loss of private forest land over the next twenty years. This designation inspired a broad partnership of environmental organizations and public agencies in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to embark on an ambitious effort to develop a conservation plan that would focus and accelerate land conservation in the Merrimack River watershed. Working together, the Merrimack Conservation Partnership developed a science-driven, consensus based, land conservation plan that integrates the best-available natural resource data with expert judgment to prioritize land protection in the Merrimack River valley.

ABOUT THE CONSERVATION PLAN

The Merrimack Conservation Plan is the final product of two years of effort by the Merrimack Conservation Partnership, representing 33 private organizations and public agencies in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In early 2012, this broad partnership committed itself to an ambitious effort to develop a conservation plan that would focus and accelerate land conservation in the Merrimack River watershed of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Working together, the group developed a science-driven, consensus land conservation plan that integrates the best-available natural resource data with expert judgement to prioritize land protection to protect water quality (especially drinking water supplies), preserve aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, conserve the region's working farms and forests, and provide recreational open space.

a map of the Merrimack River watershed conservation focus area

MORE RESOURCES

Maps

Conservation Focus Areas Map (conservation land not shown) (9.5 MB PDF)
Conservation Focus Areas Map (conservation land shown) (9.5 MB PDF) - see above

GIS shapefiles

Conservation Focus Areas (2.9 MB ZIP file)
Study Area Boundary (595 KB ZIP file)

Data tables

Population, Land Use and Conservation Status (171 KB ZIP file)
Water Supply Lands, Population Served and Conservation Status (50 KB ZIP file)

Merrimack Valley
Clean Water
Land Conservation
A winding blue river passes the small houses and red barns that make up Franklin, New Hampshire.
Franklin, New Hampshire, where the Pemigewasset River (Left) and Winnipesaukee River (right) converge to form the Merrimack River. (Photo: Jerry Monkman)
Blue river lined by trees on one side and gray buildings on the other.
A wastewater treatment plant on the banks of the Merrimack River in Concord, New Hampshire. (Photo: Jerry Monkman)
A river at sunset winds past a former mill building in Lowell.
A historic mill building on the Merrimack River in Lowell, Massachusetts. (Photo: Jerry Monkman)
A river runs underneath interstate 93 with mountains in the background.
I-93 crosses the Merrimack River in Hooksett, New Hampshire. (Photo: Jerry Monkman)

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Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests54 Portsmouth St.Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603.224.9945Fax: 603.228.0423info@forestsociety.org
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