Ipswich River Watershed Association https://www.ipswichriver.org/ The Voice of the Ipswich River Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:57:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://www.ipswichriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/cropped-lgo_315_hz_OPT-32x32.jpg Ipswich River Watershed Association https://www.ipswichriver.org/ 32 32 Meet our Inaugural River Hero, Harley Monteiro! https://www.ipswichriver.org/04/29/meet-our-inaugural-river-hero-harley-montiero/ https://www.ipswichriver.org/04/29/meet-our-inaugural-river-hero-harley-montiero/#respond Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:09:12 +0000 https://www.ipswichriver.org/?p=60167 About a year ago, IRWA began discussing ways to recognize the watershed’s unsung heroes, the folks and groups doing the quiet work in the background for nothing more than the love of the river and its ecosystem. We came up with the River Hero program, an award to highlight exactly these people and organizations. During […]

The post Meet our Inaugural River Hero, Harley Monteiro! appeared first on Ipswich River Watershed Association.

]]> https://www.ipswichriver.org/04/29/meet-our-inaugural-river-hero-harley-montiero/feed/ 0 Welcoming Sara Pedersen, Operations Manager https://www.ipswichriver.org/04/13/welcoming-sarah-pedersen-operations-manager/ https://www.ipswichriver.org/04/13/welcoming-sarah-pedersen-operations-manager/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2026 23:09:49 +0000 https://www.ipswichriver.org/?p=60114 Hi, my name is Sara and I am excited to be joining IRWA as the new Operations Manager. I have a passion for non profits, nature and operational management! I began my career in Texas as a Services and Program Director of a state-wide nonprofit and then transitioned to teaching. When my family moved back […]

The post Welcoming Sara Pedersen, Operations Manager appeared first on Ipswich River Watershed Association.

]]> https://www.ipswichriver.org/04/13/welcoming-sarah-pedersen-operations-manager/feed/ 1 Drip by Drip Adds Up: Fix Leaks During Drought https://www.ipswichriver.org/03/16/drip-by-drip-adds-up-fix-leaks-during-drought/ https://www.ipswichriver.org/03/16/drip-by-drip-adds-up-fix-leaks-during-drought/#respond Mon, 16 Mar 2026 14:07:26 +0000 https://www.ipswichriver.org/?p=60069 Did you know that household leaks can waste nearly 1 trillion gallons of water annually nationwide? (image below from: https://www.epa.gov/watersense/fix-leak-week)  That’s drinking water that has been pumped, treated, and transported into homes just to be wasted due to running toilets and dripping faucets! Fortunately, this can usually be an easy fix, which will not only […]

The post Drip by Drip Adds Up: Fix Leaks During Drought appeared first on Ipswich River Watershed Association.

]]> https://www.ipswichriver.org/03/16/drip-by-drip-adds-up-fix-leaks-during-drought/feed/ 0 Taking Back the Great Marsh https://www.ipswichriver.org/03/02/taking-back-the-great-marsh/ https://www.ipswichriver.org/03/02/taking-back-the-great-marsh/#respond Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:57:50 +0000 https://www.ipswichriver.org/?p=60039 Salt marsh once covered over 32 million acres of the globe’s surface, which is roughly equivalent to the area of the state of Louisiana. Today, there are just over 13 million acres left — over half of the global salt marsh has been lost.  The North Shore is home to the Great Marsh, which extends […]

The post Taking Back the Great Marsh appeared first on Ipswich River Watershed Association.

]]> https://www.ipswichriver.org/03/02/taking-back-the-great-marsh/feed/ 0 Searching for Fish Habitat https://www.ipswichriver.org/02/13/fish-habitat/ https://www.ipswichriver.org/02/13/fish-habitat/#respond Fri, 13 Feb 2026 18:14:40 +0000 https://www.ipswichriver.org/?p=59949 Here at IRWA, we talk a lot about fisheries restoration – especially for our unique migratory fish populations like river herring, American eel, and shad. One key component of fisheries restoration is habitat restoration. IRWA was fortunate to receive a Coastal Habitat and Water Quality grant from the MA Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) […]

The post Searching for Fish Habitat appeared first on Ipswich River Watershed Association.

]]> https://www.ipswichriver.org/02/13/fish-habitat/feed/ 0 Call for Nominations: River Hero of the Year https://www.ipswichriver.org/02/02/call-for-nominations-river-hero-of-the-year/ https://www.ipswichriver.org/02/02/call-for-nominations-river-hero-of-the-year/#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2026 13:23:21 +0000 https://www.ipswichriver.org/?p=59800 When you think of a river hero, who comes to mind? Maybe it’s someone quietly monitoring water quality from their backyard. A volunteer who always shows up for cleanups. A group raising awareness and educating their community. A town that has gone above and beyond to conserve water. Or someone who speaks up for the […]

The post Call for Nominations: River Hero of the Year appeared first on Ipswich River Watershed Association.

]]> https://www.ipswichriver.org/02/02/call-for-nominations-river-hero-of-the-year/feed/ 8 Where Did The Herring Go? https://www.ipswichriver.org/01/21/where-did-the-herring-go/ https://www.ipswichriver.org/01/21/where-did-the-herring-go/#respond Wed, 21 Jan 2026 15:32:09 +0000 https://www.ipswichriver.org/?p=59838 Over 10,000 years ago, the Ipswich River emerged from beneath the ice of a receding glacier, and life sprang up around it. The ancestors of the indigenous people of the Northeast would have seen much of the same wildlife that we see today. And, every spring, millions of fish would have swum into the Ipswich […]

The post Where Did The Herring Go? appeared first on Ipswich River Watershed Association.

]]> https://www.ipswichriver.org/01/21/where-did-the-herring-go/feed/ 0 Bacteria Monitoring Program Helps to Identify Threats to Water Quality https://www.ipswichriver.org/01/20/bacteria-monitoring-program-helps-to-identify-threats-to-water-quality/ https://www.ipswichriver.org/01/20/bacteria-monitoring-program-helps-to-identify-threats-to-water-quality/#respond Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:31:07 +0000 https://www.ipswichriver.org/?p=59833 Bacterial pathogens, such as fecal coliform and E. coli, are one of the main sources of water pollution, which can adversely impact recreational use of waterways and aquatic life. Sources of bacterial pollution include animal waste from pets or wildlife in stormwater runoff, failing septic systems, and possibly illicit sewer connections to storm lines. This […]

The post Bacteria Monitoring Program Helps to Identify Threats to Water Quality appeared first on Ipswich River Watershed Association.

]]> https://www.ipswichriver.org/01/20/bacteria-monitoring-program-helps-to-identify-threats-to-water-quality/feed/ 0 Mapping the Future: Wilmington Students Reimagine Their Town https://www.ipswichriver.org/12/08/mapping-the-future-wilmington-students-reimagine-their-town/ https://www.ipswichriver.org/12/08/mapping-the-future-wilmington-students-reimagine-their-town/#respond Mon, 08 Dec 2025 16:25:02 +0000 https://www.ipswichriver.org/?p=59589 During the first week of December, teachers at Wilmington Middle School hosted us in their science classrooms to pilot another module of our 7th grade Resilient Rivers program: Watershed Planners! Students teamed up to pore over large maps of Wilmington and deliberate which development projects they would allow in their town. Of the five proposals […]

The post Mapping the Future: Wilmington Students Reimagine Their Town appeared first on Ipswich River Watershed Association.

]]> https://www.ipswichriver.org/12/08/mapping-the-future-wilmington-students-reimagine-their-town/feed/ 0 The One Big Beautiful Bill Act: What It Means for Your Giving https://www.ipswichriver.org/12/08/the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-what-it-means-for-your-giving/ https://www.ipswichriver.org/12/08/the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-what-it-means-for-your-giving/#respond Mon, 08 Dec 2025 13:28:17 +0000 https://www.ipswichriver.org/?p=59585 To: Ipswich River Watershed Association (IRWA) SupportersFrom: Tracy Sopchak, Director of Development and Engagement THE ISSUE: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3) will bring the most significant tax code changes since 2017. In that year, the standard charitable tax deduction was doubled, resulting in the number of people who itemized their charitable giving on […]

The post The One Big Beautiful Bill Act: What It Means for Your Giving appeared first on Ipswich River Watershed Association.

]]> https://www.ipswichriver.org/12/08/the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-what-it-means-for-your-giving/feed/ 0