Abiding River: Connecticut River Views & Watershed

Abiding River: Connecticut River Views & Stories is a photographic project about how a river shapes life. The 410-mile main stem of the Connecticut River gathers water from a 7.2 million-acre catchment basin. The river’s source lies near the Canada-U.S. border in Fourth Connecticut Lake. Fourteen miles later, the western bank’s low-water mark defines the boundary between New Hampshire and Vermont. Continuing south, it bisects Massachusetts, then Connecticut, and empties into the Long Island Sound. Over time, it has proved to be a resource for water, fishing, farming, transportation, manufacturing, waste disposal, and recreation. Writers have described it as the life artery or heart of New England and New England culture’s cradle.

Actress Katherine Hepburn described the river as “the world’s most beautifully landscaped cesspool” in the 1965 documentary The Long Tidal River. This film helped spark interest in the Connecticut River’s environmental fate when advocates for many U.S. rivers shared similar concerns. The Clean Water Act of 1972 provided a means for change, and industrial and agricultural pollutants decreased. Birds and fish returned, and today, the river is an environmental success story, although advocacy remains critical for maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

Despite over 30 years of landscape photography, a river project is new for me. A colleague asked: “how is it different from photographing a river.” My historical empathy method, looking for the places of intersection between nature and culture, informed by history and science, using archival materials to guide my search remains unchanged. The difference is the river itself, a steady presence in constant flux in the daily lives of those who live in its watershed.