U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas unveiled new legislation at the Nashua River Watershed Association River Resource Center in Groton on May 2, to help designate the Nashua River as a Wild and Scenic River. This classification would help preserve and protect this historic waterway while making it eligible to receive federal funding for further conservation efforts, Tsongas says.
According to Tsongas, the Nashua is considered a strong candidate for this designation because the river previously ranked among the nation’s most polluted, and while significant progress has been made in cleaning up the river, threats to water quality and biological diversity from polluted runoff are still present.
Tsongas’s legislation would authorize the National Park Service to conduct a study on the Nashua River and two of its tributaries, the Squannacook and Nissitissit rivers, to determine their eligibility for designation as Wild and Scenic Rivers. During the study process, the National Park Service would work with state and local governments, conservation groups, and concerned residents to develop a conservation plan for the river in order to protect water quality and conserve open spaces.
Should the study favorably determine the Nashua River’s eligibility as a Wild and Scenic River, legislation to officially designate the river and implement the conservation plan would then be introduced in order to clean up polluted waters around the river, keep drinking water supplies clean, and protect the river for a variety of uses.
The bill, H.R. 5319, “the Nashua River Wild and Scenic River Study Act,” has been endorsed by all seven towns through which the Nashua River runs in Massachusetts: Lancaster, Harvard, Shirley, Ayer, Groton, Dunstable, and Pepperell. The Nashua River would join the Concord, Sudbury, and Assabet as rivers in the Fifth Congressional District that have been designated as Wild and Scenic.
