Deerfield River Wild & Scenic Designation
- Chris Curtis
- Aug 14
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 17
The Deerfield River Watershed Association is inviting all residents and interested people to participate in a public meeting on “Protecting the Deerfield River.” The meeting will be held on Thursday, August 28, 2025 at 5pm at the Buckland Town Hall, 17 State Street, Shelburne Falls.
The Deerfield River Watershed Association (DRWA) will present a plan for potential National Wild and Scenic River Designation of the Deerfield River and its tributaries. The Deerfield Wild and Scenic River Study and Management Plan found that five reaches of the Deerfield River main stem and 15 major tributaries are eligible to be designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers. The DRWA is inviting audience questions, participation, and discussion. The forum is free and open to all.
There will be a second opportunity to hear about the plan at an online forum coordinated by the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) and DRWA on Thursday, September 4th from 12pm-1pm.
Update: the virtual info session recording is now available below.
The project consultants will also be meeting with the Selectboards and Mayors of all participating communities over the next two months to present the plan and seek votes of community endorsement for the plan and its recommendations. The Town of Shelburne Selectboard voted on July 28th to endorse the plan.
National Wild & Scenic River Designation
In 2024, the Deerfield River Watershed Association received a Woodlands Partnership grant to study whether the Massachusetts portion of the Deerfield River and many of its major tributaries qualify to become a National Wild and Scenic River. The DRWA coordinated a local Advisory Committee, comprised of representatives from the towns of Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Deerfield, Florida, Greenfield, Leyden, Savoy, and Shelburne, which met monthly over the past nine months to guide the study. Consultants Christopher Curtis and Wayne Feiden coordinated the work. The result was a completed Deerfield Wild and Scenic River Study and Management Plan, which concluded that five reaches of the Deerfield River main stem and 15 major tributaries are eligible to be designated Wild and Scenic.
This plan is an important step towards the long-term protection of the Deerfield River and its scenic qualities. We look forward to working with communities and our Congressional delegation to advance the designation of the Deerfield River as a National Wild and Scenic River" said Christopher Curtis, DRWA Vice President.
The plan concludes that the Deerfield River is an exceptional river resource for many reasons. These are the key Outstandingly Remarkable Values for the Deerfield River that make this river worthy of National Wild and Scenic River designation:
• With rapids from Class II-V, the Deerfield River offers perhaps the best whitewater boating and rafting in Massachusetts.
• It is an excellent trout fishery, with some of the best dry-fly fishing for wild trout in the East. It is one of the three best coldwater fisheries in all New England.
• The Deerfield River harbors a large portion of Massachusetts’ trout population, and the upper Deerfield River is arguably the premier wild trout stream in Massachusetts.
• The historically significant Mohawk Trail ran along the river and was a principal Native American travel route, and the modern Mahican Mohawk hiking trail parallels some of this route.
• Historic New England villages are strung along the river, including Historic Deerfield, one of the few authentic colonial villages in the US, preserving a 330-year-old western Massachusetts village with 18th and 19th-century houses and a nationally significant collection of artifacts.
• The watershed near the Deerfield River hosts old growth forest, including the tallest tree in Massachusetts and the largest collection of tall white pines in New England.
• Several tributaries, such as Cold River and Bog and Gulf Brooks, are wild free-flowing rivers, rare in New England.
“As both a resident of and in my role coordinating volunteer water quality monitoring program for the Deerfield River watershed, I am deeply familiar with what amazing resources the Deerfield River and its many beautiful tributaries are. Wild & Scenic designation is a wonderful opportunity to recognize this truly remarkable watershed” said Ryan O’Donnell, Water Quality Program Manager at the Connecticut River Conservancy.
This work is being done under a Woodlands Partnership grant from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. More information about the Wild & Scenic Study can be found here. You can also learn more about DRWA here.
For more information, contact:
Christopher Curtis, Vice President of the Deerfield River Watershed Association
413-522-5983, chcurtis89@gmail.com
Wayne Feiden, Director of UMass Center for Resilient Metro-Regions and principal of Plan Sustain, Inc.
414-695-2748
Amanda Major, Events and Outreach Coordinator at the Connecticut River Conservancy
413-253-6855, amajor@ctriver.org
About:
The Deerfield River Watershed Association (DRWA) is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the stewardship, protection, and restoration of one of Massachusetts' and Vermont’s most beautiful rivers. We engage in volunteer-assisted monitoring of water quality, river clean-up days, school programs and watershed education, mini-grants for school river projects, maintenance of the Mohican-Mohawk Trail, river restoration, advocating for responsible public use, and protection of the river from threats to its health and scenic quality. DRWA's newest projects include working with communities throughout the watershed to seek National Wild and Scenic River designation.
The Deerfield River Watershed Association (DRWA) entered into an Affiliation Agreement with the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) in 2017.