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Mill River Watershed
Assessment Project
In the summer of 1997, the Smith College Environmental Science Program initiated an
interdisciplinary pilot study of the Mill River sub-watershed system through funding
from the Sylvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge and the Clark Science Center
Summer Student Research Program. The Mill River system is a 31,000-acre located in the
Massachusetts townships of Conway, Deerfield, Whately, Hatfield, Williamsburg, and Northampton.
Assessment of the Mill River Watershed ecosystem is slated to include an integrated analysis of:
hydrology and water chemistry, a biotoxicological evaluation of in-stream fauna, a population and
genetic variation survey of Alasmidonta host fish species, vegatation and riparian corridor survey, and land use.
Research is spearheaded by an interdisciplinary team including a hydrogeological chemist,
ecotoxicologist, fish geneticist, riparian vegation ecologist, project leader, and students from
Smith College and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. More detailed information on the overall
project is available here or by contacting
the project leader.
This research is supported with funds from
the Department of Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
the Krusos Foundation, Inc., and the W.M. Keck Foundation.
Students arriving at Smith College for the Keck Geology Consortium-funded research this summer should look at the Keck Geology Consortium page for more information on their part in the overall project.
Just one small portion of the overall project is the gathering of water chemistry data from various sample sites in the watershed.
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