The Merrimack Conservation Partnership (MCP) announced the 2023 recipients of its seventh round of Environmental Science, Education and Outreach grants in the Merrimack Valley Watershed region of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In this round of grants, the MCP awarded grants totaling $15,000 to eight projects that will help fund environmental science, education, and outreach activities related directly to the Merrimack River or its watershed. Funds can be used for activities such as youth or public environmental educational activities, development of outreach and educational materials, river clean ups, water quality testing and monitoring activities, and other science, education, and outreach efforts.

In 2010, the Merrimack was identified by the US Forest Service as the most threatened watershed in the nation in terms of projected loss of private forestland over the next 20 years. The two-state region of the Merrimack Watershed spans a total of 2.1 million acres and 3,275 square miles, of which 54% is in New Hampshire and 46% in Massachusetts. The Merrimack River starts in Franklin, NH and flows through eight of New Hampshire’s largest cities, then continues into Massachusetts to its mouth at Newburyport.

Launched in 2012, the Merrimack Conservation Partnership is a collaborative effort of private organizations and public agencies working on land conservation in the Merrimack Valley Watershed. The partners share a vision of conserving (on a strictly willing-seller/donor basis) the region’s most ecologically significant forests and the key connections between them for wildlife passage and human recreation.

The 2023 Grant Award winners are:

Applicant: Upper Merrimack Watershed Association
MCP Grant Award: $2,250
Estimated Total Project Costs: $33,586

Summary:
Biological Monitoring in the Upper Merrimack River and Tributaries
Since 1994, the Upper Merrimack Watershed Association’s (UMWA) Monitoring Program has been a volunteer-administered program providing data to municipal, state, and federal agencies. Each winter, volunteers are trained to identify and enumerate benthic macroinvertebrates, providing a long-term assessment of river conditions. Funding granted will be used to purchase stereo microscopes to offer expanded opportunities for volunteers to participate and generate accurate data. Information gathered will be provided to the upper Merrimack community through MerrimackRiver.org, events, media releases, email marketing, blog/forum and social media.

Applicant:  Merrimack River Watershed Council
MCP Grant Award:  $1,125
Total Project Costs:  $3,125

Summary:
Urban Resilience Program Associate
The Merrimack River Watershed Council’s Urban Resilience Program Associate works on environmental issues in the watershed, especially in environment justice urban communities, including youth environmental education, trash clean-up events that mitigate the degradation of water quality, and water quality monitoring. This grant will help fund the program associate’s time to create educational materials, programs and activities; organize outreach materials and recruit volunteers to implement trash clean-up events; and conduct water quality monitoring activities with volunteers through 2024.

Applicant:  Rindge Conservation Commission
MCP Grant Award: $2,250
Estimated Total Project Costs: $8,228

Summary: 
Information about watersheds and their role in protecting water quality is not well understood in Rindge. In 2022, the town conserved 228 acres of mostly undeveloped land spanning both the Contoocook and Millers River watersheds in the Mattabeseck Wildlife Corridor. To increase public awareness of the important role of watershed protection, the Commission will use granted funds to develop and place eight educational signs on trails within the Contoocook watershed portion (approx. 100 acres) of the Corridor, which will include a map of the watershed and highlight key elements such as vernal pools, beaver ponds, wetlands, native vegetation, aquifers, and endangered species. Handouts based on the signs will be developed for the Rindge website and will be available at conservation events. Ongoing Commission-led hikes, including the Annual Hike and Paddle Series, will highlight watershed protection and benefits once the signage is installed.

Applicant: Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust, Inc.
MCP Grant Award: $2,250
Estimated Total Project Costs: $17,040

Summary:
Women in Stewardship
Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust (LP&CT) will offer a Women in Stewardship program series during 2024 that will build women’s and girls’ skills as environmental leaders and stewards. Staff will host programming for a cohort of women stewards who will implement community science and conservation projects in the city of Lowell, helping to monitor and preserve local plants, wildlife and water quality. These activities will ultimately help protect the Merrimack River watershed, build women’s confidence in the outdoors, and empower the next generation of environmental stewards. Program events will take place from March through November 2024.

Applicant:  Nashua River Watershed Association
MCP Grant Award: $1,512
Estimated Total Project Costs:  $4,408

Summary:
Nature Quest Program for Nashua Youth
City parks, along with Nashua’s waterways, provide a natural “classroom” for teaching youth about protecting land and water. One Saturday each month during January through May 2024, Nashua River Watershed Association (NRWA) staff will lead “Nature Quest” for children ages 6-13 and their families with an afternoon exploration at one local urban park with trails. Using original downloadable scavenger hunts, data sheets, and simple nature guides, families will explore the connections between water and land in each ecosystem including wetlands, ponds, rivers, forests, and fields. NRWA staff will lead each exploration. Participants’ species lists, photographs, and sketches will be curated for display at the Nashua Public Library Children’s Room and online.

Applicant: Groundwork Lawrence
MCP Grant Award: $2,250
Total Project Costs: $116,241

Summary:
Groundwork Lawrence (GWL), in collaboration with partners, has been developing the 3.3-mile Merrimack River Trail, a 3.3-mile riverfront path along the Merrimack River and its watershed. Focusing on the Trail as it passes through Riverfront State Park in Lawrence, GWL will improve the ecological function of the riparian zone through removal of invasive species and implementation of green infrastructure. Key to this work will be the involvement of our Green Team youth (Lawrence high school students) in developing a nature trail interpretive program and installation of signs along the boardwalk on the Trail to engage community in a better understanding of the river, trail and environmental landscape. Green Team youth will learn the importance of partnership and how collaborative efforts can aid the completion of large-scale projects. The ability to contribute to conservation and restoration efforts of an asset in their neighborhood is a notable outcome.

Applicant:  Ipswich River Watershed Association
MCP Grant Award:  $1,125
Total Project Costs:  $19,672

Summary:
Parker, Ipswich, Essex Rivers (PIE-Rivers) Partnership-based Water Quality Monitoring
The Ipswich River Watershed Association (IRWA) began the RiverWatch program to address water quality threats to the river. The PIE-Rivers Partnership was then created to increase collaboration around common restoration and water quality goals among regional stakeholders. IRWA will continue to provide training and materials to volunteers to perform monthly and bi-monthly river monitoring procedures. They will also continue to support monitoring outreach by maintaining the River Health webpage and producing infographics on monitoring programs. MCP funding supports staff time for volunteer recruitment training and implementation of monitoring and outreach activities. The goal is to provide routine, high-quality monitoring data to support water quality assessments by MassDEP and to communicate meaningful information on river health to the community.

Applicant: City of Haverhill
MCP Grant Award: $2,250
Estimated Total Project Costs: $8,500

Summary:
Little River Dam Removal Project Communications Plan
The Little River Dam is located on a tributary to the Merrimack River in Haverhill. Since its installation in the early 1800s, it has blocked aquatic organism passage, accumulated sediments, and backed-up water causing flooding upstream. The City has determined that dam removal is key both to flood resilience and to the climate adaptation benefits provided by restored tidal connectivity and fish passage. This funding will be used to create, design, print and disseminate materials to inform different constituents within the community about the history of the dam, its importance to the community in the past, the risks it poses today, and the plans to remove it. This project will engage various constituents within the community as it will provide an opportunity to provide the economically-challenged downtown area with walking trails, a canoe/kayak launch, a pedestrian bridge and fishing platform, and other recreational opportunities.

For more information about the MCP, please contact Brian Hotz at (603) 224-9945 or bhotz@forestsociety.org.  Information is also available at http://merrimackconservationpartnership.org.