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A few months ago, CRC shared a milestone update  on the 12-years-and-counting hydropower relicensing process for 5 facilities on the Connecticut River – the Vernon, Wilder, and Bellows Falls dams in VT/NH, and the Turners Falls dam and Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Station in MA.   Since then, our focus has turned to the next phase in the process, which are the 401 Water Quality Certifications (WQC’s).    401 Water Quality Certification refers to the Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) in which a federal agency (in this case the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission - FERC) may not issue a license to hydro facilities unless the state or authorized tribe issues a Section 401 water quality certification verifying that the discharge and hydro operations will comply with existing water quality standards.     States can deny, waive, or issue a 401 Water Quality Certification with or without required conditions.  Anything the states require as a condition in this certificate will automatically be included in the final FERC license.    ​ Great River Hydro applied for their 401 Water Quality Certifications  in April 2024. The State of VT (Department of Environmental Conservation) held public information sessions on:     Wilder Project: August 7, 2024   Bellows Falls Project: August 8, 2024   Vernon Project: August 6, 2024     The VT DEC requested any additional data, sharing concerns, and submitting informal comments on the application for the state of Vermont be submitted to them by October 1st to consider as they draft the Water Quality Certification . You can read CRC's comments here. Below is a summary of our concerns about the application.   Through outright lack of data as well as vague and contradictory statements, Great River Hydro has failed to demonstrate how  their project proposals meet Vermont WQC's in the following critical ways:     1. Improve shoreline undercutting and erosion; monitor for impacts of peak flows under new flex operations; and manage sediment transport, including the protection of aquatic habitat and limiting the release of legacy nutrients;   2. Protect rare, threatened, endangered or otherwise protected species of concern such as   shortnose sturgeon , dwarf wedge mussels , tiger beetles, Fowler's toad, and protected plants under proposed operational changes;  3. Protect water quality, aquatic habitats and species in the face of increased flooding and   subsequent drawdowns;   4. Provide for appropriate and equitable access to the river for designated recreational uses;   5. Reduce impacts to water quality and aquatic habitat by managing aquatic invasive species ;   6. Protect and monitor historical and archaeological resources;   7. Timely install fish passage upgrades;   8. Provide financial assurances regarding the funding of eventual decommissioning;  9. Provide real time data on flows for recreational access, improve education about and access to fish passage, communicate about recreational access areas, and provide periodic reports regarding ecological concerns; and   10. Address numerous local concerns regarding erosion, access, aesthetics, habitat, and aquatic invasive species.     Because the applications are woefully incomplete as well as vague and contradictory, GRH   provides no assurance that the projects will comply with Vermont’s water quality standards.   What’s Next?     CRC will submit similar comments to the NH Department of Services staff in the coming month to share our concerns.    Vermont , New Hampshire , and Massachusetts  will each issue draft 401 Water Quality Certifications sometime between November 2024 and February 2025. In each case there will be a formal public hearing and opportunity to comment.    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will issue a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) covering all five hydro projects in December of 2024, will hold a public meeting in January of 2025, with a formal comment period on the EIS in February of 2025.    FERC EIS Notice for FirstLight   FERC EIS Notice for Great River Hydro     Anyone interested in further updates can sign up for our newsletters related to hydro  and the state you are most interested in.

The Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) is spreading the word about a valuable resource for teachers and other education organizations. CRC is happy to announce that our EnviroScape® Watershed/Nonpoint Source Model is available for loan to classrooms throughout the Connecticut River watershed in Vermont and New Hampshire. The model is a valuable tool for teaching elementary and middle school students about the water cycle and how it is impacted by pollutants, demonstrating how our lakes and rivers become polluted by human actions. This kinesthetic model is a powerful tool to engage students in ecological topics and consider real-world applications of what they’re learning. Teachers can borrow the model and incorporate it into their lesson plans, or a member of the CRC team—a river steward or ECO AmeriCorps member—can provide presentations in schools or at other educational/community events.     “We recently brought along the Enviroscape to the Vermont Wildlife Festival,” says Clare Wangard, the ECO AmeriCorps member serving with CRC. “It was a great tool to engage children of all ages in the challenges associated with watershed conservation. Many kids came up to our table asking questions, and they were fascinated by the demonstration of how water may become polluted. It was helpful to have something dynamic and tangible to address their curiosities and facilitate a learning opportunity.”     Kathy Urffer, CRC’s Director of Policy and Advocacy and Vermont River Steward continues, “It is valuable for us as an organization, or for anyone who teaches about watersheds, to use this tool to connect with community members around these concepts. Many of the students and families we engage with fish, swim, or paddle in our rivers and this tool helps to make a visceral connection between how our surface waters become polluted. And it helps to illustrate the work being done to protect and restore our rivers and streams.”     Kate Buckman, the River Steward in NH agrees, “Having a physical model to interact with can really enhance understanding of how our actions as humans can influence what is happening in our rivers, in both negative and positive ways, by simplifying complex concepts into something more visual, tactile, and hopefully easy to remember.”    Any teachers or schools interested in borrowing the Enviroscape model or who are interested in having a presentation done at their school can fill out a request form .     CONTACT:               Clare Wangard , ECO Americorps Member, Outreach, Education and Restoration Assistant  cwangard@ctriver.org (314) 736-2955   Kathy Urffer , Director of Policy and Advocacy, Vermont River Steward  kurffer@ctriver.org (802) 258-0413  ___________    The Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) restores and advocates for clean water, healthy habitats, and resilient communities to support a diverse and thriving watershed. CRC has been a steward of the Connecticut River and tributary streams since 1952. Their programs include advocacy, aquatic invasive species management, dam removal, habitat restoration, migratory fish surveys, recreation, trash cleanups, and water quality monitoring. Together through community engagement and education, they’re dedicated to ensuring equitable access and healthy rivers for all. Learn more at ctriver.org .     ECO AmeriCorps is a program administered by the VT Dept. Environmental Conservation. The program   consists of 24 members serving statewide with partner organizations dedicated to improving Vermont’s water quality and climate resiliency, and minimizing the amount of waste entering landfills. For more information about ECO AmeriCorps, visit www.ecoamericorps.vermont.gov .      AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal   agency for service and volunteering. CNCS annually engages more than five million citizens in service at   more than 60,000 locations in 8,500 cities across the country through AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and other programs. National service participants address the most pressing challenges facing our cities and nation, from educating students for the jobs of the 21st century and supporting veterans and military families to preserving the environment and helping communities recover from natural disasters. For more information on AmeriCorps, visit www.americorps.gov .      This material is based upon work supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Opinions or points of view expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of AmeriCorps or the Corporation for National Service.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wilmington, VT [12/19/23]: The Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC), in collaboration with a private dam owner, the Town of Wilmington, the State of Vermont, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), recently completed a dam removal project on Beaver Brook in Wilmington, VT. The project will improve water quality, restore native Brook trout habitat, and bolster flood resiliency in Beaver Brook, a vital tributary to the Deerfield River. CRC received funding for the dam removal from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation through the Dam Removal Design and Implementation Block Grant administered by Watersheds United Vermont. Additional funding was provided by Vermont’s Flood Resilient Communities Fund, the Vermont Watershed Grant Program, Deerfield River Enhancement Fund, VT Rural Fire Protection Dry Hydrant Grant Program, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Thanks to a truly collaborative effort, Beaver Brook is now a free-flowing river with updated infrastructure benefiting the ecosystem as well as the human community! Important funders, landowners, restoration experts, and fish biologists all came together to make this project happen.” – Rebecca Todd, Connecticut River Conservancy’s Executive Director. In addition to removing the old mill dam, CRC and project partners removed a town-owned culvert on Hall Rd. and installed a new bridge, and also upgraded the Town’s dry hydrant at the site. The US Fish and Wildlife Maintenance Action Team removed the undersized culvert and installed the new 40-foot bridge, which improves flood resiliency and emergency access to Hall Rd. CRC hired local contractor Joe Saladino to remove the privately owned dam – which resulted in lowering the flood elevation level by 7 feet – and to install the new dry hydrant. CRC and USFWS will be back on site next spring to finish the restoration of the site by planting more than 130 native trees and shrubs along the stream to restore the riparian area along Beaver Brook. Over time the trees will help keep the stream cooler, reduce erosion, and increase habitat. More information about the Beaver Brook Dam Removal can be found HERE . Several key members of U.S. Fish & Wildlife staff were recognized as Connecticut River Conservancy’s Restoration Partners of the Year for their incredible work on this project. Pictured in the center photo from left to right above are Ron Rhodes, CRC’s Director of Restoration; Dave Sagan from the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program at U.S. Fish & Wildlife; Phillip Herzig and Julie Butler from the Fish and Aquatic Conservation Program at U.S. Fish & Wildlife; and Becky Budd, CRC’s Restoration Program Manager. This project wouldn’t have happened without USFWS funding and their staff expertise in implementing river restoration projects like this. Vermont’s Watershed Grant Fund mentioned above supported this project thanks to conservation plates like these! The Watershed Grant Fund assists local efforts related to stewardship and enjoyment of our water resources.

Every year the Turners Falls Cabot Station drains their canal for maintenance purposes, which leaves thousands of juvenile sea lampreys and other fish stranded without water and exposed to harsh elements. Connecticut River Conservancy organizes volunteers to find and rescue as many as possible. Thanks to the 30 volunteers who joined us this year, the results of 2024's sea lamprey rescue were the following: 1,000 juveniles (transformers) 2,000 larvae (ammocoetes) 500-1,000 other fish species A very impactful outcome in just a few hours! CRC partnered with the USGS S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Laboratory to rescue larval and juvenile sea lamprey in coordination with FirstLight Power (owners of the hydropower facility). Some of the ammocoetes and juveniles were taken to the Conte Lab for research while others were released below the dam after the event to continue on their journey. This effort will support ongoing migratory fish research for sea lamprey, as well as conservation science and advocacy in the Connecticut River watershed. Sea lamprey are an important native, migratory fish of the Connecticut River . Our local sea lamprey are not invasive in the Connecticut River like they are in the Great Lakes. Adult sea lamprey migrate up the Connecticut River and tributaries from the ocean every year to spawn (reproduce). Once they've reached the ideal habitat to lay their eggs (shallow moving water with rocks they can move to build their nests), their lifecycle comes to an end, leaving a carcass full of rich nutrients our ecosystem thrives on. The lamprey babies, called ammocoetes, grow in our freshwater systems and take 4 to 5 years to migrate to the ocean and grow into adults. It is at this stage when the ammocoetes and juveniles begin to move downstream that some of them end up in the canal. Volunteers play a crucial role in supporting the life of this species, both through nest surveys in the spring , and with the sea lamprey rescue in early fall. It is also worth noting that unnatural infrastructure and hydropower facility operations create these issues for migratory fish in the first place. FirstLight, the company that owns the power canal, currently has no legal responsibility to rescue any of the thousands of fish that die while they drain the canal for maintenance, nor do they have any financial responsibility to support our rescue efforts. This is why Connecticut River Conservancy is actively engaged in the hydropower relicensing process  to ensure that the new license better protects our rivers, habitats, and communities. You can learn more at migratoryfish.org , and sign up for our newsletters to be alerted the next time there are volunteer opportunities for community science.

Connecticut River Conservancy's print newsletter, Currents & Eddies is back with a summer/fall 2024 edition arriving in mailboxes for members, volunteers, and event attendees. If you did not receive a physical copy there could be a variety of reasons, so we're providing the full digital version here to ensure that anyone interested has access! Having trouble with the digital flipbook above? You can also get it as a PDF here .

Connecticut River Conservancy’s (CRC) 28th annual Source to Sea Cleanup is back this September 27th – 28th , with flexible opportunities for individual groups. The goal is to remove as much trash as possible from waterways, riverbanks, and communities to reduce the impact of pollution across the 410-mile Connecticut River watershed, including the tributaries that feed the mainstem river in NH, VT, MA, and CT. What began in 1997 with a small group of student volunteers dedicated to clean water and healthy habitats has grown to a massive community action trash removal event. Brought together by a shared passion for trash-free waterways, countless communities, businesses, nonprofits, and families now participate throughout the Connecticut River watershed. Group leaders organize cleanup events at various trash sites based on areas of high need, while volunteers donate their time and effort to haul and clear tons of waste. Local municipalities support by providing dumpsters, waiving disposal fees, or collecting the trash from locations after the volunteers have completed their cleanups. CRC invites registration for the Cleanup on their brand-new platform: SourceToSeaCleanup.org .   Trash tallies are also gathered after each cleanup, contributing to CRC’s long-standing database which is used to inform the nonprofit’s work in advocacy to reduce future pollution, support river restoration, and inform the public and policymakers of issues affecting the environment. This event often includes participation from local legislative leaders. Last year’s cleanup included 126 groups and over 1,200 volunteers throughout four watershed states, who collectively removed 34.2 tons of trash from rivers and riverside areas. A wide variety of waste was collected by volunteers, including many bottles, cans, and cigarette butts, fishing equipment, food packaging, tires, appliances, mechanical objects, and even a hot tub. Over 9K beverage containers and over 13K lbs. of scrap metal were tallied in 2023 alone. Since data collection began in 1999, over 1,107 tons of trash has been removed from the watershed. Below are some photos from 2023 Source to Sea Cleanup groups. “The Fort River Watershed cleanup has been an all-community event since 2019, bringing together people from all walks of the watershed to help make it a cleaner and healthier place for critters and people! We are looking forward to another year of connection around this common cause” said Brian Yellen, founding member of Fort River Watershed Association and research professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, specializing in water resources and coastal processes. CRC promotes #RiverWitness to help people connect with each other online through their shared concern for and appreciation of our rivers. Take a photo or video when you are at the river, participating in the Source to Sea Cleanup, or enjoying time outside. Or make art inspired by river beauty or river pollution. Share on Instagram, include #RiverWitness and tag @ctriverconservancy. “The Source to Sea Cleanup is a fabulous opportunity to roll up your sleeves, work with others in your community, and clean up our waterways and city streets,” says CRC’s Cleanup Coordinator, Stacey Lennard. “When you pick up trash you are diverting that waste from going down storm drains and into the river system, which eventually flows into the ocean. You are ensuring that we keep this debris out of our rivers and oceans.” Group leaders who need help finding a c leanup site can check out CRC's map of adoptable trash sites. Or they can choose a site of their own by submitting a “Report a Trash Site” form. Parks, city blocks, boat ramps, and neighborhood hangouts are typically great spots to clean. Trash travels, so even picking up litter off a city sidewalk can help protect wildlife and communities that depend on clean waterways. Leaders are encouraged to scout the site out beforehand to determine if it’s suitable for their group. A handy Group Leader Guide is available for download on the Source to Sea website and provides all the necessary information and forms for running a successful cleanup. Connecticut River Conservancy would also like to thank the following sponsors for supporting this initiative – in some cases for many years! Lead sponsors in 2024 are The Walker Group, Eversource, USA Waste & Recycling Inc., and All American Waste. With additional support from Hypertherm HOPE Foundation, AFI Furnishings, Connecticut River Gateway Commission, Enterprise Holdings, Great River Hydro, LLC., Greenfield Savings Bank, GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., Savings Bank of Walpole, Ashuelot River Hydro, LLC., Chroma Technology, Florence Savings Bank, Fuss & O’Neill, Guilford Savings Bank, Jamrog HVAC, King Arthur Baking, Rare Forms, Inc., Reynold’s Boats & Reynold’s Subaru, SLR, SWCA Environmental Consultants, and Walmart Northampton & Hadley. For more information, visit CRC’s cleanup info page . To sign up as a volunteer or group leader, view the Cleanup Sites Map here . For any questions about getting involved, contact Stacey Lennard at cleanup@ctriver.org .

For Immediate Release:   Environmental DNA (eDNA) Analysis Confirms the Presence of Shortnose Sturgeon in the Connecticut River Between Turners Falls MA and Bellows Falls VT   [Aug 29, 2024, Alstead, NH/Greenfield, MA] An ongoing investigation led by the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) has for the first time detected DNA from the endangered shortnose sturgeon ( Acipenser brevirostrum ) in the Connecticut River between Turners Falls, MA, and Bellows Falls, VT/Walpole, NH. The study was initiated by CRC’s River Steward for New Hampshire, Dr. Kate Buckman, in partnership with James Garner, a PhD candidate at the University of Massachusetts with expertise in environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques.   In this investigation, CRC used existing research by Micah Kieffer, a sturgeon biologist at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center S.O Conte Research Laboratory, as well as information from Annette Spaulding of Rockingham, VT, and Joseph Graveline of Northfield, MA, regarding sturgeon behavior and previous sightings of this rare fish. This helped Buckman and Garner narrow down the stretches of river to target for eDNA sampling. Critical to the sampling efforts was the involvement of numerous volunteers who provided field support to conduct the work. The first round of samples was collected in June and July, with positive “hits” detected in water collected in Northfield, MA, Vernon, VT, and Westmoreland, NH.   Shortnose sturgeon are a federally endangered species, and it is illegal to intentionally target, catch, or disturb them. Historically, shortnose sturgeon would have been found throughout the Connecticut River watershed as far north as Turners Falls, and possibly as far north as Bellows Falls. However, the presence of numerous dams on the mainstem, habitat degradation, and commercial fishing have negatively impacted populations of this fish, as they have for many native migratory species.   “While a breeding population of shortnose sturgeon is known to exist downstream of Turners Falls, from a regulatory standpoint, shortnose sturgeon do not exist upstream of there,” noted Dr. Buckman. “Community members have reported anecdotal sturgeon sightings in New Hampshire and Vermont waters, but to date, only two of those observations have ever been verified in photographs,” continued Dr. Buckman. “This means that management actions to protect the species and their habitat have not been implemented north of the Turners Falls dam. These initial eDNA results are the first hard evidence supporting these anecdotal observations and are an important step in ensuring that shortnose sturgeon receive the protection they deserve in the more northern reaches of the Connecticut River.”   UMass Amherst PhD Candidate James Garner adds, “Our results demonstrate that there are detectable levels of shortnose sturgeon DNA at multiple locations within the reaches of the Connecticut River upstream of the Turners Falls and Vernon dams. The strength of the hits relative to our positive controls signals to me that these endangered fish are present throughout these upstream reaches, but likely at lower numbers than where they exist farther south. This collaborative project demonstrates the power of a wonderful team and a well-designed use of eDNA techniques for the monitoring and conservation of endangered species.”   eDNA techniques are particularly useful in detecting rare species, as they require less intensive time and people investments than traditional netting or fishing efforts. Put simply, if a fish is active in a water body, it is shedding genetic material contained in slime, excrement, scales, etc. That DNA is collected as part of a water sample which is filtered, and the DNA extracted from the material retained on the filter. Special probes that are designed to bind only to DNA from the species of interest (in this case shortnose sturgeon) are used in a reaction called qPCR that amplifies the targeted DNA strand and makes multiple copies of it. How quickly the copies accumulate in the reaction can be measured and the strength of the signal correlates with how much DNA was initially present in the water. Lots of fish lead to lots of DNA and a very early (strong) signal in the qPCR reaction. Image captions: #1: James Garner hands a collected water sample to a colleague on the boat. Photo credit Kate Buckman. #2: James Garner works in Dr. Jeremy Andersen’s insect lab at UMass Amherst to extract DNA from filters. A fish-free space is ideal for keeping low concentration samples uncontaminated. Photo credit Kate Buckman. #3: Dr. Kate Buckman uses a YSI to collect water quality data at a sample site while volunteer boat support Julian Burgoff looks on. Photo credit James Garner. “It is still remarkable to me that using this technique we can detect sturgeon DNA in a river the size of the Connecticut River by sampling only two liters of water, but we can, and we did,” says Dr. Buckman. Equally important is ensuring that the ecology of the species of interest is considered when designing a sampling strategy. Shortnose sturgeon are typically benthic fish, so Buckman and Garner focused their efforts on sampling water from the bottom of the river, something that was not done in an eDNA survey six years ago with no positive hits.   What remains unknown is how the shortnose sturgeon got above Turners Falls, given the prevalence of dams on the Connecticut River since the 1800s, or how long the fish have been there. There are many possible routes through which sturgeon could have accessed these upper reaches, but Buckman and Garner are content to let that remain a mystery. For now, providing preliminary but compelling evidence that shortnose sturgeon are there is exciting enough.   Sampling efforts will continue over the fall and winter. While the positive results from water samples taken earlier this summer indicate shortnose sturgeon presence in the Connecticut River in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts waters upstream of Turners Falls dam, additional positive hits throughout the year will provide even more robust evidence that these fish are living north of Turners Falls year-round. “I am extremely grateful for James’ enthusiasm and knowledge in implementing this project, as well as to our funders and volunteers. The work we have done so far and what we plan to continue doing would not be possible without their support,” Dr. Buckman added.   This ongoing work was funded by generous grants to the Connecticut River Conservancy from the Lucy Downing Nisbet Charitable Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee  and the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation. Lucy Downing Nisbet Charitable Fund provided funding that allowed for planning discussions and project design, purchasing supplies, and the initiation of field sampling and qPCR analysis. This and additional support from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation will allow for the continuation of the sampling and analysis efforts into 2025.   For additional Information please contact:   Kate Buckman River Steward, NH Connecticut River Conservancy kbuckman@ctriver.org 603-931-2448   Diana Chaplin Director of Communications Connecticut River Conservancy dchaplin@ctriver.org 413-834-0079   James Garner PhD Candidate UMass Amherst Environmental Conservation Department (ECO) JGGarner@umass.edu

On breezy, sunny summer days there is nothing better than getting the chance to get out on the water. The Connecticut River Conservancy is no stranger to hosting kayaking and paddling events for volunteers and children’s programs, which is why we have had a partnership for a number of years with the Compass Youth Collaborative . The Compass Youth Collaborative is a Hartford based organization dedicated to providing high-risk youths aged 16-20 with the tools they need to create sustained behavior change and transition successfully into adulthood.  Through our partnership, these youths have the chance to kayak, many for their first time, in Wethersfield Cove. Kayaking can be a great experience for many youths as it can foster a relationship with nature and spark a new hobby or interest in their lives. The collaboration in the summer spans from July to August every Wednesday and we paddle around the cove and sometimes out onto the Connecticut River!  Our staff helps the youths get situated with life vests, water shoes or flip flops, and we provide our foldable kayaks for them to use. The Compass Youth Collaborative staff doesn’t shy away from joining us out on the water either! It is a few hours of great fun and conversation as the youths learn how to paddle and navigate the water, frequently led by Tim Lewis, avid paddler and CRC Trustee, and Barry Gorfain, an Appalachian Mountain Club instructor. Volunteers from the Great Meadows Conservation Trust also join us to help with boat safety and to ensure a positive experience.  One of the highlights of the summer was when the weather and water level were just right, and the youths felt that they wanted to kayak further than the cove. Tim led the way along with our staff and we set out onto the river and had a blast showing the youths another environment to kayak in.  Rhea Drozdenko and Ava Gandhi have helped strengthen the partnership this summer by communicating with the Compass Youth staff and ensuring that this activity is as safe and fun as it can be. We are looking forward to another successful summer next year!

Join your CRC River Stewards to learn about the next stage of the relicensing of five hydroelectric facilities in the heart of the Connecticut River. As part of their effort to get a new license, under the Clean Water Act, the owners of the Wilder, Bellows Falls, Vernon and Turners Falls dams, and the Northfield Pump Storage facility are required to apply for a 401 Water Quality Certification from Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) states that a federal agency (in this case the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) cannot issue a license to hydro facilities unless the state verifies that the operation of the facilities will protect existing water quality standards. Watch this livestream recording to learn about the basics of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act and how it is currently being implemented in this relicensing process. This webinar will help to prepare the public to engage in upcoming Public Information Sessions and a subsequent public comment opportunity. Go to ctriver.org/hydropower to find out more.

Volunteers for the Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) collect samples of the Connecticut River weekly from thirteen locations in Massachusetts and eight in Connecticut. Volunteers from the Putney Rowing Club also collect samples six times a year from one location in Vermont. Sampling usually occurs during the peak recreation season from the first week of June through sometime in September. The sampling season in 2020 was delayed until July and ran through the end of October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These sites were all selected as points of recreational interest; they are samples from boat ramps, docks, or at popular swimming holes. Most of the sites are directly on the mainstem of the Connecticut River. The Oxbow and Wethersfield Cove sites are located in semi-separate bodies of water that represent a mix of the main tributary to that body and the Connecticut River. Sample results are classified as having been sampled after either wet or dry weather. A sample is classified as wet weather if more than 0.1 inch of rain has fallen in the previous 48 hours. This indicates whether a sample result is being influenced by the presence of runoff. Runoff is rainwater or snowmelt that enters directly into the nearest body of water without being filtered through groundwater systems. The more impervious surfaces like asphalt and concrete there are in a given location, the more runoff is created there during a rain event. Runoff carries with it pollutants, including bacteria, from the land into the receiving water with it. Throughout the season, results are uploaded to Is It Clean?/¿Está Limpio? as they become available alongside other results from throughout the Connecticut River watershed. Why E. coli ? Escherichia coli is a coliform bacteria found in the guts of all warm-blooded animals (including mammals, birds, and humans) that is excreted when they poop. Not all E. coli is pathogenic (illness causing), but some strains can be extremely harmful. It is used an indicator organism for fecal contamination of rivers and lakes. Because it is found in the gut, abundant E. coli numbers in water mean there is a higher likelihood that the water is contaminated with human or animal waste and that there is an increased risk of waterborne illness. This could be from one of the harmful strains of E. coli or other pathogenic organisms that are often found in human or animal waste but are much more difficult or costly to test for. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made water quality recommendations for levels of E. coli to determine suitability for recreation. These are broken down into primary and secondary contact recreation. Primary contact means there is a high likelihood of accidentally ingesting water due to being fully immersed in the water such as during swimming, water skiing, or surfing. Secondary contact means there is a lower likelihood of accidentally swallowing water due to water spray or brief unintended immersion such as boating, fishing, or wading. In this report and throughout CRC’s sharing of bacteria data, “swimming” is shorthand for primary contact and “boating” is shorthand for secondary contact. Results The average of all results from the last five years on the Connecticut River have been pretty good. All sites were suitable for all types of recreation during dry weather, and most were on average suitable during wet weather as well. The few sites that were not suitable for swimming were still suitable for boating. The Connecticut River is a large river and carries a lot of water compared to its tributaries. Because of this, runoff is easily diluted and results in generally lower bacteria numbers for the length sampled. The cluster of three sites with the highest numbers in southern Massachusetts (Medina St, Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club, and Pioneer Valley Yacht Club) are all impacted by combined sewer overflows in addition to increased runoff from urbanization. As mentioned above, Wethersfield Cove is a semi-separate body of water from the mainstem and so is more easily affected by local runoff. How often is the river swimmable and boatable? Each brick on the chart above represents one sample collected and is colored by which standards it is or isn’t meeting. This shows the difference between the numbers of wet and dry weather samples collected each year as well as how the weather affects the sample results. Overall, most of the samples collected meet the standard for swimming and boating in either wet or dry weather, and a majority of the samples that are either boatable only or unsuitable for recreation were collected during wet weather. Results by Sample Date and Location The sites are ordered on the chart from upstream to downstream from top left to bottom right. Sites that were not sampled in a year do not appear on the chart. To see the data for years 2019-2022 and the interactive version of the graphs visit this page . Conclusion Reviewing five years of E. coli data collected from the Connecticut River shows that after dry weather, the Connecticut River is usually swimmable and boatable. Even after wet weather, many sites tend to maintain their good water quality. Working to improve stormwater infrastructure and remove CSOs will continue to improve the water quality in the Connecticut River. Complete Results Please visit this page to browse the complete results used in this report.

The 45th annual New England Paddlesports Championship (NEPC) and Community Challenge brought dozens of competitive and recreational paddlers to Hinsdale/Brattleboro on July 28th for an event hosted by Connecticut River Conservancy and community partners. Racers launched from Norm’s Marina on the Connecticut River, participating in 5-mile recreational and 12-mile competitive races. The 12-mile marathon race is one of the longer “marathon” courses in New England, with both earning paddlers points in the New England Canoe and Kayak Racing Association (NECKRA) Flatwater Point Series. 41 individuals and 32 vessels (18 singles; 9 doubles; 5 SUPS) competed in the races, and an additional 3 boats/6 individuals in the 1-mile Community Challenge. Some of the first-place finishers include Pam Browning from Athol, MA in the K-1 Rec Course, Karen Delury of Killington, VT in the SUP Competitive, and Del Cummings and Vikki Cummings of Meriden, CT in the C-2 Mixed 50+. Local long-time Brattleboro racer Michael Fairchild took first place in his single class this year having won in 2022 in C2 with regular partner Peter Heed of Keene, NH. All of the winning results are available here. “We received some incredibly positive feedback about the races” said Gabriél Chevalier, Connecticut River Conservancy’s Recreation and Restoration Program Manager who designed the racecourse. “This event was all about celebrating the Connecticut River, the recreation community, and the many ways healthy rivers enrich our lives, so I’m thrilled that we were able to accomplish that.” The event was made even more exciting with the presence of a Brattleboro Community Radio DJ team playing riverside jams. The WVEW 107.7 FM volunteers David Longsmith and Ian Kiesel kept the racers energized and provided commentary on the mic. Food trucks from J&B Curbside Café and Frisky Cow Gelato were also on site. Racers were celebrated with an awards ceremony and prizes, and spectators were entertained by an inflatable costume relay race, lawn games, and demonstrations including fly-casting by Trout Unlimited and a stream table by the Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District. Rescue, Inc. provided on-water safety with multiple safety boats and even members of their swift water rescue team. As with all successful community events, the NEPC, Community Challenge, and riverside activities were made possible by the generosity of local sponsors and volunteers. Event sponsors included the Savings Bank of Walpole, NorthStar Vermont Yankee Decommissioning, 802 Credit Union, Berkley & Veller Greenwood Country Realtors, Reed & Reed, Brattleboro Food Co-op, Richards Group, Brattleboro Savings and Loan/Park Place Financial Advisors, George’s Field Shopping Plaza, Hamshaw Lumber, Integrated Solar, Brattleboro Area Realty, and others. Additional community partners included Brattleboro Community Television, Brattleboro Community Radio, Brattleboro Reformer, Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, Rockingham Recon, The Marina Restaurant, and event hosts Norm’s Marina. Lapping the Brattleboro-Hinsdale Island is a special feature of hosting the event and showcases an area of the local landscape that will change next year after traffic shifts to the new General John Stark Memorial Bridge. By next summer, the existing bridges and island will be free of traffic. Landscaping at the bridge landing on the NH side overlaps the entrance to Norm’s Marina and is scheduled to be completed by June 2025, just in time to welcome people for an even better NEPC and riverside activities in late July. CRC looks forward to working with the communities and local partners to make this a premiere summer event for the towns and region. According to local champion and CRC’s Director of Development Brett Morrison,"The river is a long-underutilized asset. The race is a great opportunity to bring people to the area, to connect the local community to this amazing river resource, and to support CRC’s ongoing work to increase free public river access, improve habitat, and restore resiliency.”

“A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself.” -Laura Gilpin On June 8th, 2024, I completed a solo kayak through paddle of the Connecticut River. The journey took 11 days and was completed 1 day earlier than planned. Here's my story. Origins: Well, I guess this story starts a year and a half ago but in truth, I’ve always toyed with the notion of attempting a through paddle. More to the point, the idea of doing the Connecticut River wasn’t even mine! The Connecticut River first came to my attention while on an annual kayaking trip with a bunch of friends from High School and College. And like all plans hatched around a campfire we had a whole crew ready to tackle the Connecticut together. However, as the realities of carriers and kids began to set in it soon became apparent that I was going on a solo trip. “You can, you should and if you’re brave enough to start, you will” -Steven King Preparation and Training: Before I even started doing the actual planning for the trip I knew I needed to get myself into better physical shape which, in truth, was something I desperately needed to do regardless. Like most people, leaving my 20s meant leaving my metabolism behind as well. Having a fairly sedentary job only compounded the issue. With that in mind, I identified 2 major areas I need to overhaul before ever dipping a paddle into the Connecticut. 1. Endurance/Cardio: From what little research I had done up until this point it was fairly obvious that to do 300-plus miles I needed to really up my endurance and cardio game. I was, by my own admission overweight, I could barely run a mile without stopping to catch my breath. To that end I started running every other day, at first it wasn’t even a full mile due to the hills in my area but I slowly progressed to 3 miles and then to a full 10k or 6.2 miles. This was, without a doubt, the hardest part of the whole journey. At the start it felt like I couldn’t breathe, I developed shin splints and when I would finish a run I felt terrible the rest of the day. I was seriously thinking about quitting at this point. Thankfully my partner Anna and my father were super supportive, plus knowing a physical therapist didn’t hurt either. 2. Core/Upper Body Strength: One of the unintended consequences of the pandemic is that Facebook marketplace is flooded with hardly used and more importantly inexpensive workout equipment. As a person who was never a “gym guy,” this couldn’t have worked out any better. I was able to find a set of weights and a bench for a fraction of what it would’ve cost new. From there I consulted the almighty YouTube and built myself a small workout routine consisting of crunches, push-ups, arm curls, and shoulder shrugs amongst others. Roughly halfway through my planning and training, I started to have serious concerns about the condition of my back. Could it hold up to the day-in and day-out stress paddling was going to put on it? In my early twenties, I was rear-ended and my back had never been quite right since. If my body was going to let me down it seemed apparent that it was going to be my back. To combat these concerns I started adding an evening yoga class a few times a week. It was great and I’m totally hooked at this point. I think that’s the thing I loved the most about preparing for this trip, it brought me other activities that I wouldn’t have engaged in. In regards to the actual planning, that was the fun part. Every evening as my Mets played another woeful season on the TV, I read and watched everything I could. A lot of the books I got were unfortunately fairly out of date. For example, many of the breached dams that caused dangerous rapids have been cleaned up to the point that they are mostly bits of quick water or class I rapids. That being said, River Days by Michael J Tougias was incredibly helpful in understanding the history and cultural importance of the Connecticut River. For the real nuts and bolts of navigating the river, I found the Far Out app and the two waterproof Connecticut River Paddlers’ Trail maps to be superbly accurate and up to date. It was nice having both on the trip because if there was anything that I found unclear I could cross-reference with the other. Additionally, the Connecticut River Kayakers group on Facebook was an invaluable resource, their members were always super helpful and polite. In the end, I determined that it made sense to launch sometime during the middle to back end of May, based on past years the water level would still be high enough from the spring thaw and I wouldn’t get completely cooked the further south I went. The big trade-off for launching at this time of year was that the water was still pretty cold at the top of the river making hypothermia a concern. It came down to threading the needle between air temperature, water temperature, and water level/flow rate. With all that in mind, I figured I could accomplish my goal in 12 to 14 days barring any major setbacks. Also, the fact that I couldn’t take any more time off from work played a major part. I still remember what my boss said when I told him my plan. “Better not go the wrong way Jess or you’re going to need your passport” -Sal Travis Launch Day: The day of an adventure is one that always finds me a bit out of sorts. Especially in the packing department, every trip into the outdoors has its own beats and rhythms and even though I’ve packed and repacked my kayak numerous times to find the right Tetris arrangement it’s still an unnatural motion. Not yet the mechanical second-nature ritual that this process would soon become. As far as gear goes, my philosophy has been pretty simple, if it’s lightweight and durable enough for a backpacking trip, it’s good enough for a kayaking trip. But there are some paddling-specific items that I’ll go over now. The boat - an older Eddyline Fathom I  picked up years ago in pretty bad condition. Water had gotten into the bulkheads, freezing over the winter and blowing out chunks of the hull. I was just out of college at the time which meant I couldn’t afford such a boat in good condition but being just out of college also meant I had a lot of time on my hands to figure out how to repair it and it’s been a smooth reliable ride ever since. Tent-wise, I chose to go with the Haven hammock tent system because it can easily convert from a lay-flat hammock to a traditional tent which would give me a lot of options depending on what the primitive campsites had in store. I also brought two paddles, a standard straight shaft, and a bent shaft, I started out using my standard paddle first but after a day or two I switched to the bent shaft. I never really got the hype around bent shaft paddles, especially because they tended to be significantly more expensive than their straight shaft counterparts (I got mine used off Facebook marketplace) but I totally get it now, if you plan on doing 20-plus miles a day for multiple days it’s worth it. The big challenge on my first day of paddling was going to be Lyman Falls. In the days and months leading up to my launch, I spent a lot of time researching Lyman Falls, Sumner Falls, and Wyoming Dam rapids extensively, this is where I felt my communications with the Connecticut River Kayakers group on Facebook really paid off, not only was I supplied with a plethora of first-hand accounts of what to expect but some members had even filmed their own decent through the tougher parts which helped me visualize what to expect. Based on where I was launching from, just below the Canaan Dam portage, I estimated that I should be hitting Lyman’s just after lunch. However, the current was moving a whole lot quicker than anticipated. I was flying down the river. It was just after ten-thirty when I realized that I was barring down on Lyman, I knew I wanted to run it to the left but I wanted a little time to prepare, time that I didn’t have. Cutting hard to the left to avoid a particularly churned-up bit of water I overcompensated and grounded my kayak into a shallow section. I tried wiggling my hips while pushing off with my paddle but that only exacerbated the problem. Within a matter of seconds, my kayak pitched sharply to the side, if I didn’t have my skirt on the boat would’ve swamped right then and there. “Well this trip is off to a flying start Jess,” I thought to myself. Gingerly and with a fair amount of cursing I was able to dislodge the kayak by reaching my bare hands under the hull, slowly lifting and sliding myself back. It was quite a stretch and bend. Those hours spent contorting my body at the yoga studio were already paying off! The rest of the day went off without a hitch. The current stayed strong with bits of quick water thrown in here and there. My original plan was to camp at the Maine Central Railroad Trestle but seeing as how quickly I was moving I figured I’d shoot for the Samuel Benton Campsite an additional seven miles down the river. It was a gem of a site, a perfect spot to spend my first night made only better by an appearance of a rainbow after a brief evening shower. I took it as a sign I was on the right path. “The path of the paddle can be a means of getting things back to their original perspective” -Bill Mason A Gauntlet of Portages: Let’s just say off the bat, no one likes portages. I’ll amend that, no one likes portages in the moment but everyone likes to talk about portages they’ve done. They’re basically the definition of type II fun. When plotting out this trip I only really planned, in detail, the first five days. Over the possible two weeks I thought it would take to complete the Connecticut River there were too many variables that could render a more detailed plan useless. I came to this conclusion based off a single twenty-five-mile stretch. The problem was that this stretch included five dams with five accompanying portages: Gilman Dam, Moore Dam, Comerford Dam, McIndoe Falls, and Dodge Falls. These portages alone could cause things to go sidewise quickly destroying any semblance of a plan in the early days of the trip. No matter how I sliced it there wasn’t a great way to split up the portages. Luckily the quick current had put me ahead of schedule resulting in me being able to knock off Gilman Dam at the end of the previous day. Four portages sounds better than five but either way, it was shaping up to be one of the hardest days of the trip. I woke up early and banged out most of Moore Reservoir before the sun could creep above the tree line. When the current eased to an eventual standstill I figured I was getting to my first portage of the day. Leading off with the Moore Dam portage was great. Steep? Yes, but I was able to use my kayak kart from beginning to end. Now the Comerford Dam on the other hand? The toughest portage of the whole trip. How I didn’t end up completely covered in poison ivy is a minor miracle. At one point I tied a rope to the back of my kayak to slowly lower it down a steep embankment. The whole time I kept envisioning my beloved kayak careening away and smashing on the rocks below. When I took a break to collect myself before navigating the final pitch I looked back up at the dam only to see a handful of workers watching intently, I guess I was good entertainment for them. The Mclndoe portage had a steep set of stairs with some logs and rocks to drag over at the launch but it was a super short portage. Plus there was a country store just up the hill and ice cream makes everything better. I hit Dodge Falls by five pm and I was shot. The takeout was a bit precarious and it wasn’t entirely clear where to go, probably the trickiest takeout of the five portages. I stayed at the campsite along the portage trail that night and was asleep before the sun went down. The next morning I was flung awake by a fury of shrieks and caws coming from the river banks, a bald eagle and two ospreys were fighting and continued to do so for the next few minutes. The coolest animal experience on the trip. “The storms come and go, the waves crash overhead, the big fish eat the little fish, and I keep on paddling.” – George R. R. Martin Storm Dodging: Rain never bothers me when I’m out on the water, I’m usually hot and stinky so a nice shower is a good respite. Even windy and choppy water can be fun in so much as it makes the whole experience feel more epic. As white caps wash over the front of my kayak I start to imagine I’m on an old masted ship crossing the ocean. I bark orders to my crew “Batten down the hatches!” “Keep her stead Mr Cromwell, the sail will hold.” By the middle of the trip I had begun to find my rhythm, my paddling was dialed in, and setting up and breaking down camp was becoming second nature which was good because the weather couldn’t seem to make up its mind. This daily dance would happen where I’d sort out the next day's paddle based on portages, estimated mileage, and of course weather, and by the time I was hitting the water, I was just keeping an eye on the forecast and winging it. This meant that my daily mileage goals were being thrown all out of wack, some days I was barely hitting twenty miles while others I was pushing forty-five miles just to stay on track. Looking back I was a little too focused on the milage aspect of the trip and I wish I would’ve been a little more zen about the whole thing. For my birthday I was given a Garmin inReach and the detailed weather reports I could download were invaluable. I felt like I was doing a fairly decent job dodging thunderstorms as I rolled through Springfield. I had been playing it cautious, making sure I was off the water well before a severe weather band was passed over. Which only made it more alarming when I started to hear the roll of thunder in the distance. I knew there was severe weather coming through in the late evening but I thought I could get a solid amount of paddling in before then. I quickly scanned the horizon, everything was overcast but nothing looked like what my ears were telling me. Flipping through my Garmin and weather apps on my phone was no help. A few days before by Bellows Falls there were a bunch of small weather cells in the area so I assumed that’s what it was and proceeded with caution but the thunder only continued to grow. That all changed when I rounded a bend revealing a massive roller coaster. Moral of the story, you can’t outrun the weather and you can only dodge storms for so long…unless those storms are amusement parks. “The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing.” – John Muir An Early Goodbye I knew I was close as I settled in for what I thought was my second to last night, if the wind blew just right I swore there was a hint of salt in the air. My body, not without its aches and pains, was holding up remarkably well. The only real physical issue I ran into was my hands, even with gloves they’d become so dried out and callused that I had problems opening bottles but in the middle of the trip I was fortunate to meet a trail/river angel who gave me a lift to CVS to pick up some hand salve. My food supplies were still good though the options were limited. The plan was to paddle out to the last string of campsites on the Connecticut River and then have a relatively short paddle the next day as I made my way out into the sound. I pulled into the first Selden Neck campsite mid-afternoon, a nice soft beach that led to a picnic table and fire pit, it was perfect. This all changed when I saw a sign with a QR instructing me to reserve the site. I knew I had screwed up immediately. I saw in the FarOut app that you could reserve these sites but it was difficult to make a reservation through the app on top of that I wasn’t too sure what day I was going to be there. I figured there’d be some first come first serve sites along the way too but as I stopped at each campsite only to be greeted by a QR code my heart sank further and further. By the time I hit the last campsite, the writing was on the wall; I was going to have to grind out the rest of the trip today. A wave of deep sadness swept over me, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the Connecticut River yet. I was feeling wistful for a journey that hadn’t ended yet. Regardless of your beliefs, if you spend that much time paddling, drinking from, sleeping next to any body of water you form a special connection with it. The last few hours of paddling were great which weirdly only made my heart grow heavier. Just thinking about what the river looked like from the start in New Hampshire to now was a great experience. But nothing beats the feeling of getting out onto open water. For the whole trip I was surrounded by trees, and now in front and to either side of me was nothing but the open ocean. Before paddling back to land I just floated out there for a few minutes. I wanted to say thank you and goodbye. And as my dad and I were loading my kayak onto the car a brief rain shower crossed over leaving behind a beautiful rainbow, it felt like the river was saying goodbye back.  You read all the time about people conquering Everest or taming the Zambezi River but I don’t feel that way about the Connecticut River, in truth I feel like I made a great friend and I’m really going to miss them now.