About The Lamprey River Watershed

The Lamprey River begins in Northwood, New Hampshire, and courses 60 miles through six towns before becoming tidal in Newmarket and 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, becoming only the second river in the State of 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 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.

Recreation
Several towns in the watershed offer recreational areas in the river corridor with extensive trails for hiking, jogging and skiing, and public access to the whitewater for canoeing, swimming and tubing. Campgrounds located along the river provide facilities for seasonal camping.  The Lamprey River supports a significant fishery. Shad, alewife, and Atlantic salmon are found up to the impassable Wiswall Dam in Durham.  Naturally-reproducing species sought by fisherman include small and largemouth bass, chain pickerel, sunfish, American eel, and brown bullhead.  Fishing continues into the winter, with ice-fishing popular along the length of the segment.