DEERFIELD — The National Park Service will conduct a reconnaissance survey on the Deerfield River to see if it is eligible to be designated as a National Wild and Scenic River.

A designation would protect free-flowing sections of the Deerfield River — meaning projects, such as dams, would be forbidden from being constructed there — and also would open up several federal funding streams designed to fund projects intended to enhance or protect the river.

In a November letter to the National Park Service, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., urged the agency to take on the initial study, which will cover the Deerfield River and all of its tributaries, including the Green, North and South rivers.

“An initial reconnaissance survey would provide critical information to understand which segments of the river are best qualified for designation and should be studied further,” Markey wrote in his letter. “The river is deeply tied to the culture and history of the region and parallels the Mohawk Trail, a critical Native travel corridor and a principal route for expeditions during the French and Indian Wars.”

In a response letter, National Park Service Associate Director of Park Planning, Facilities and Lands Michael Caldwell said the agency will conduct the requested survey, which will serve as an “initial assessment on whether congressional authorization for a Wild and Scenic River study may be warranted.”

“I write to inform you that the NPS will conduct the requested reconnaissance survey to provide a preliminary assessment of the eligibility and suitability of the Deerfield River as a candidate for a wild and scenic river designation according to criteria established under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,” Caldwell wrote.

He noted the Deerfield River study would likely have to wait until fiscal year 2025 due to the agency’s current workload and other congressionally authorized studies that are underway.

The National Park Service’s study follows the introduction of legislation by U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, in 2022 that would commission a Secretary of the Interior study of the river in southern Vermont and western Massachusetts. The initial announcement was made by McGovern on the Stillwater Bridge in Deerfield.

The bill was refiled in March 2023 by McGovern and Markey, along with support from U.S. Reps. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and Becca Balint, D-Vermont, as well as Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Peter Welch, D-Vermont, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.

Locally, towns along the Deerfield River endorsed the bill, as well as the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), the Deerfield River Watershed Association, the Connecticut River Conservancy and Trout Unlimited’s Deerfield and Connecticut River chapters. Towns and regional agencies in southern Vermont also have submitted letters of support for the bill.

In a joint statement, McGovern and Markey thanked the National Park Service for taking a step toward protecting one of the region’s most valuable natural resources.

“We applaud the National Park Service for heeding our calls to move forward with a survey on the Deerfield River and its tributaries, marking the first step toward a Wild and Scenic River designation,” McGovern and Markey said. “From swimming and rafting to canoeing and dry-fly fishing, the Deerfield River has been an invaluable and historic natural and recreational resource for families across Massachusetts. We must continue to safeguard this beautiful water for generations to come.”