Ashuelot River outreach sessions
On May 17 and 18, 2022, the NHDES Instream Flow (ISF) Program conducted outreach sessions during two datalogger deployments on the Ashuelot River. As one of the 19 designated rivers in New Hampshire, it is undergoing a Protected Instream Flow Study. Protected instream flows are criteria that define the stream flow pattern to maintain the flows needed for public use and aquatic wildlife, and to meet water quality standards. Stressors that range from droughts to dams, land development, and drinking and irrigation use change the dynamics of the rivers, and knowing the baseline helps to protect the vital flows. The ISFP deploys temperature, conductivity and water level dataloggers from late spring through fall along the 65-mile reach to evaluate baseline habitat parameters.
After the seasonal flows necessary to support the natural ecosystems and human uses are determined, the ISFP works with water users and dam owners to maintain the protected flows. Currently, the Lamprey and Souhegan rivers are actively managed under the program, the Cold River’s protected flows have been established, and studies on the Ashuelot and Warner rivers are underway.
On May 17, during ISFP’s deployment of a temperature datalogger in the Ashuelot River in Surry, approximately 15 individuals joined us. Among them were a master’s student from Antioch University, members of the Army Corps of Engineers, teachers from Keene High School’s science department, members of the Ashuelot River’s local advisory committee (LAC), and others. We saw how the river changed its course over the last year, almost completely switching its flow to a different channel, and identified some wetland plant species alongside a member of the Ashuelot River LAC. It was a beautiful day to walk through the Surry Mountain flood control land.
The next day we met in Swanzey with Hinsdale High School’s environmental science class, two members of the Ashuelot River LAC, and a few others for a short presentation and discussion of the previous year’s data collected on the Ashuelot, and to deploy a second temperature datalogger. One of the students pointed out several trends in the temperature data over the last year including the slightly cooler temperatures and higher water levels from last summer resulting from the higher-than-average precipitation rates. The students asked questions about the deployments, such as if we see poison ivy a lot (yes!), and if the dataloggers are ever stolen or tampered with (occasionally), and how that affects our data set. If you see equipment in the river, please leave it there. However, if you see equipment on the bank or out of the water, please call the phone number on the datalogger to let us know.
We would like to thank all those who joined us for these sessions for their curiosity and questions! We enjoyed sharing our work and how we help to protect New Hampshire’s designated rivers.