The Lamprey River begins in Northwood, New Hampshire and travels 47 miles draining land from 14 towns before becoming tidal in Newmarket and then another three miles before emptying into the coastal estuary known as Great Bay. A large percentage of the land in the river’s corridor is undeveloped, creating extensive wildlife habitat and offering picturesque scenery. The Lamprey River is the largest tributary to the Great Bay Estuary. Due to this river’s valued resources and importance as a tributary to the Great Bay National Estuarine Reserve, the lower portion is recognized as Wild and Scenic by the National Park Service, one of only two rivers in New Hampshire to receive such designation.
History
The Lamprey River is rich in history. Early commercial and industrial growth centered around the use of falls on the river for saw and grist mills. The Wiswall Falls Mill Site in Durham has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of the extensive 19th century mill complex located at this site. On an island below Wadleigh Falls, archaeologists have documented artifacts over 8,000 years old that are among the earliest dated archaeological artifacts in New Hampshire.
Wildlife and Plant Resources
A number of endangered and threatened bird species have been sighted along the river which rely on the river habitat for food and shelter. Among these is the federally-listed threatened bald eagle which is known to forage in the river while wintering at Great Bay, an area noted to have the highest abundance of eagle activity in the State of New Hampshire during the winter. Also occurring along the Lamprey River are 12 endangered or threatened plant species, as listed by the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory. Two other notable species which inhabit the river are the state-listed threatened spotted turtle and endangered brook floater mussel.
The Newmarket Fish Ladder
The Lamprey River is also considered to be prime fish habitat for both fresh water fish and anadromous fish.
Members of the sunfish, catfish and pike families are common to the Lamprey, as are a variety of minnows, common white suckers, and American eels. The State stocks brook, brown and rainbow trout in the Lamprey River and its major tributaries. In the North River and the upper reaches of the Lamprey, brook and brown trout reproduce naturally.
River herring (alewives), American shad, and Atlantic salmon are the principal anadromous species found in the Lamprey River. The State’s management goals for these three species are: to provide a recreational fishery (salmon and shad) and to restore self-sustaining runs (shad and river herring), including restoration of river herring to their former abundance and distribution. Sea lampreys, parasites on other fish, also come upriver to spawn.
Mussels, crayfish, freshwater clams, hairy wheel snails, and other snails are part of the ecosystem. Mussels have been studied extensively as a pollution sensitive species and indicate that the quality of habitat in the Lamprey is average. Sedimentation, polluted runoff from impervious surfaces, and increases in water temperature threaten the quality habitat for all aquatic species.
Watershed Towns
| Barrington |
137 Ramsdell Lane
Barrington, NH 03825
Phone: 603-664-9007
Fax: 603-664-5179
Town of Candia
74 High Street
Candia, NH
03034
Phone: 603-483-8101
Fax: 603-483-0252
Town Office
8 Raymond Rd.
Deerfield, NH
03037-0159
Phone: 603-463-8811
Fax: 603-463-2820
Town Hall
15 Newmarket Road
Durham, NH
03824
Phone: 603-868-5571
Town Hall
157 Main Street
Epping, NH 03042
Town Clerk phone:
603-679-8288
Planning/Zoning phone:
603-679-1202
PO Box 120
Fremont NH 03044-0120
(603) 895-2226
Fax: 603-895-3149
Town Hall
7 Mast Road
Lee, NH 03824
Phone: 603-659-5414
Town Hall
182 Main Street
Newmarket, NH
03857
Phone: 603-659-3073
The Town of Northwood
818 First New Hampshire Turnpike
Northwood, N.H. 03261
Phone: 603-942-5586
Fax: 603-942-9107
Town of Nottingham
PO Box 114
Nottingham, NH 03290
Phone: 603-679-5022
Fax: 603-679-1013
Town of Raymond
4 Epping Street
Raymond, NH 03077
Phone: 603-895-4735
Fax: 603-895-0903
