A Mt. Wachusett stream in winter - Photo by Mary Marro

Wildlands and Woodlands: Vision and Action

The Nashua River Watershed Association is a collaborator in the Wildlands and Woodlands Partnership (W&W), an informal network of organizations and individuals dedicated to the Wildlands and Woodlands Vision. The W&W Vision calls “for a 50-year conservation effort to retain at least 70% of New England in forestland, permanently free from development. Ninety percent of these protected forests would be ‘Woodlands,’ conserved by willing landowners and sustainably managed for multiple uses, from recreation to wood products. The remaining ten percent would be ‘Wildland’ reserves, identified by local communities and shaped only by the natural environment.”

To achieve this goal, the rate of protection must be radically increased. Partners will be collaborating on many levels to move conservation activities ahead with a focus on working with thousands of interested private landowners who wish to protect their land.

The NRWA advances the Vision principally through our land protection work enabled in part by the 2009 -2012 Forest Service Redesign grant in which we prepare municipal commissions to accept and steward conservation restrictions; assist town board members in landowner outreach and conservation project management; and engage foresters and their clients in land conservation initiatives. Our work with Forest Legacy projects has also advanced the W&W Vision through the permanent protection of 1,000s of acres of forestland in the watershed.

For more information about Wildlands and Woodlands and NRWA’s work to support the Vision, please contact Al Futterman, NRWA Land Programs Director, at (978) 448-0299, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..