3 Rivers
WATERSHED ORGANIZATION
FOR THE SUDBURY ASSABET & CONCORD RIVERS
Our Vision
A watershed with resilient streams and rivers that provide healthy wildlife habitat, water supplies, beauty, education, and recreational opportunities for all. OARS is the voice of the rivers, and is an effective, innovative, and inclusive science-based non-profit organization.
The Rivers
The quiet beauty of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord (SuAsCo) rivers in eastern Massachusetts provides an antidote to our modern lives. They form the 399-square mile SuAsCo watershed. The rivers flow north through mill towns and farms, small cities and suburbs, to pass through the Merrimack River in the City of Lowell. Sections were federally designated as Wild and Scenic Rivers in 1999 for their outstanding recreation, ecology, scenic, and historic resources and place in American literature.
Recognizing Indigenous Stewardship
We would like to honor all the ancestral stewards of this land including the Massachusett, Nipmuc, and Pawtucket Nations. We endeavor to be responsible stewards of their traditional and contemporary territories. We recognize their invaluable efforts by continuing the conservation legacy they started as caretakers of our watershed.
The name Assabet is likely from a Nipmuc word for the area’s marshes. The confluence of the Assabet and Sudbury rivers is named Musketaquid, where the waters flow through the grasses.
Diversity and Belonging
OARS is committed to the ongoing work of promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within our organization so that all may enjoy and benefit from these rivers.
Enjoy and help our rivers!
River Maps
Recreational guides for Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord rivers are available as a series of single-river maps and as an interactive online map.
RIVER MAPSDam Removal
Our watershed has over 160 dams. Many are old mill dams in disrepair and result in aquatic weed growth, flooding, warmer water, and degraded wildlife habitat. Learn more about our efforts to let our rivers run clean and free.
DAM REMOVALRiver Science
Read our latest findings on water pollution and work to build climate resilience.
UNDERSTANDING OUR RIVERS’ HEALTHReport & Pull Water Chestnut
Help us manage invasive water chestnut by using our reporting app to share where you have seen or pulled water chestnuts.
HELP COMBAT INVASIVESUpcoming Events
Fast Facts for 2023
In memory of Marty Moran of Hudson
Board member, steadfast volunteer, and lover of rivers. We are deeply grateful for all you have done for OARS. Your legacy gift, along with the generous support of the Sudbury Foundation, made the creation of this website possible.