About the Project Boots on the Ground Key Messages

Reaching Out to Landowners and Communities in the Merrimack River Watershed

The Merrimack River watershed is the most threatened watershed in the nation based UNH Cooperative Extension Foresters working in the communities of the 4 subwatersheds Using the data gathered by the Merrimack River Watershed Council during their landscape on loss of private forested land. are conducting targeted outreach to landowners and communities. They provide technical analysis, we created watershed-specific outreach materials for landowners. We focused on assistance using local information and considering local issues to encourage forest these categories: This 3-year project—Expanding Riparian stewardship planning, improve forest management, and protect lands. Forest Buffers in Threatened Urban and • Actions of landowners Suburban Watersheds: A Precision Stormwater River Buffer Restoration and Protection: Merrimack River Drainage • Useful resources Northfield Tim Fleury, Merrimack County Gilmanton Approach—aims to protect the waters of the • Help is available

Extension Forester ! Canterbury Concord Merrimack River by helping landowners and ! • Watershed information, by the numbers Manchester ! Nashua ! Amesbury ! Lawrence ! Pittsfield communities care for the land within the most LoudonLeominster • General information about the watershed ! Worcester Targeting the Merrimack River ! Boston important subwatersheds. Boscawen Drainage (Concord tributaries) Call to Action Data-Rich Information We’re focused on 4 subwatersheds in New watershed: Canterbury, Loudon, Hampshire: Concord, Pembroke and Bow Chichester • Merrimack River Drainage (Concord Concord

Tributaries) Epsom • Lower Piscataquog River • South Branch Piscataquog River Hopkinton Pembroke • Powwow River

Allenstown Bow Main Roads

Rivers and Streams Dunbarton Lakes Merrimack Drainage Hooksett 1½ ¾ 0 1½ Watershed The Merrimack River Watershed Council identified the most important subwatersheds ¢ Miles Towns Candia through landscape analysis. They looked at:

• Impervious surface percentages by

HUC12 watershed and 100-meter Main Roads Allenstown Jon Nute, Hillsborough County Rivers and Streams Lakes Bow Lower Branch

buffer Piscataquog Watershed ! Extension Forester Concord Towns ! Manchester ! Dunbarton ! Amesbury Nashua ! • Projected population increases in the Lawrence ! Leominster ! Worcester ! Boston next 10 years Targeting the Lower Piscataquog Hooksett • Index of development threats to forests and South Branch Piscataquog Weare important to drinking water watersheds: Dunbarton, New • 303(d) water quality impairments Boston, Goffstown, Francestown, Landowners are encouraged to act to help Data from the landscape analysis helps • SPARROW modeling Lyndeborough, Mont Vernon, Goffstown protect the Merrimack River. to make the case for protecting the Manchester • Outstanding resource waters Manchester and Bedford watershed: • Forest blocks River Buffer Restoration and Protection: South Branch of the Piscataquog River 1. Call your county extension Main Roads Weare Rivers and Streams New Boston • Freshwater resilience Lakes forester for help • Total acres of land, including South Branch Piscataquog Watershed Towns • Cold-water fish ranking Goffstown 2. Set goals and develop a plan for forested and impervious cover • Numbers of threatened and Francestown Bedford your land • Numbers of known endangered

New Boston Amherst 3. Use best practices for managing and threatened plant and animal endangered species 1½ 0 1 Miles Mont Vernon ¢ • Regional conservation priorities Bedford your land species found in the towns of the

Greenfield 4. Look for invasive plants and subwatershed insects • Total acres of protected land

! Lyndeborough Concord ! Amherst Manchester ! Nashua Mont Vernon ! Amesbury ! 5. Plant native trees and shrubs Lawrence ! Leominster ! Worcester ¢1½ 0 1 Miles ! Boston along riverbanks, 100 feet or greater is best!

River Buffer Restoration and Protection: Powwow River Fred Borman, Rockingham Chester Fremont Brentwood Exeter Hampton

! Concord

! County Extension Forester Manchester ! Nashua Hampton Falls ! Amesbury ! Sandown Kensington Lawrence Danville ! East Kingston Leominster ! Worcester ! Boston Kingston Targeting the Powwow For more information, contact Karen Bennett and Alicia Carlson at Seabrook South Hampton (603) 862-3883 or [email protected]. watershed: Sandown, Danville, Hampstead SALISBURY Newton Hampstead,Plaistow, Kingston, East AMESBURY Funding provided by the Landscape-Scale Restoration Program of the U.S. Forest Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Kingston, Newton, South Hampton Plaistow MERRIMAC MainAtkinson Roads Rivers and Streams The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity educator and employer. University of New Hampshire, U.S. Department and Seabrook Lakes NEWBURYPORT Powwow River Watershed WEST NEWBURY 1½ 0 1 of Agriculture and N.H. counties cooperating. Salem Towns HAVERHILL Miles ¢