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We’re currently in the midst of developing the Headwaters & Marine Stewards digital home. You may encounter a few broken links or empty pages as we migrate our data and refine our tools.

Want to get in touch?
We’ve moved our signup form to our main Contact Us page to keep things organized during the build. We’d love to hear from you there!

From Source to Sea: Protecting the Vital Cycles of the Seacoast.

Headwaters & Marine Stewards (HMS) is a data-driven monitoring network. We empower ‘Guardians‘ to track environmental stressors—from the mountain headwaters to the Piscataqua River—translating ‘sheesh‘ moments into scientific action.

Two women taking water samples from a yellow boat on a New Hampshire lake.

Our Strategy: Sentinel Stewardship

We track the Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Carbon cycles that sustain our region.

Two women and one man kneeling taking New Hampshire Seacoast shoreline samples. One woman with a tablet, the other with a microscope, and the man pointing to a boat 200 meters offshore.

Sentinel Surveys
(The Action)

Monitoring the Front Lines.

Through terrestrial patrols and boat-based reconnaissance, our team and volunteers track protein foam, cyanobacteria, and anthropogenic waste.We don’t just find pollution; we map its flow from the headwaters to the reef.

Teacher wearing a boonie hat, in a classroom, showing four children New Hampshire waterway science concepts on a large monitor. The Children are taking notes.

Ecological Literacy
(The Education)

Science You Can Use.

Understanding the ‘why’ behind the watershed. We provide the tools and training to help residents identify early indicators of ecosystem stress, turning recreational skiers and paddlers into active environmental scouts.

Five people kneeling, wearing waders, planting eel grass at low tide in a New Hampshire Estuary. A small yellow boat is anchored in shallow water 5 meters behind them.

Platinum Governance
(The Integrity)

Transparency in Action.

As a Candid Platinum-rated nonprofit, our stewardship is backed by rigorous Board-approved protocols and financial accountability. We ensure that every data point—and every dollar—serves the 52 towns of our watershed.

Path to Stewardship

Environmental guardianship begins with observation. When you see a thick layer of sudsy foam at a river bend or a discarded brand-name bottle in a mountain stream, that’s a data point.

Woman comparing a hand sample to a Headwaters & Marine Stewards Field Guide at a wooden railing overlooking a New Hampshire river with snow on its banks.

Identify

Monitoring the Front Lines.

Spot a stressor in our Vital Cycles.

Five people kneeling, wearing waders, planting eel grass at low tide in a New Hampshire Estuary. A small yellow boat is anchored in shallow water 5 meters behind them.

Log

Science You Can Use.

Use the HMS Field App to record GPS, photos, and context.

Analyze

Transparency in Action.

We move from observation to impact, helping municipalities and NGOs design targeted restoration strategies.