WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate has approved a bill directing the Secretary of the Interior to study what portions of the Deerfield River and its tributaries could be incorporated into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

The Senate’s Dec. 18 approval sent Bill S.608 to the House of Representatives, where it was held at the desk, meaning it can be taken up for consideration by the full body of Congress when it is back in session. If approved in the House, it will be sent to the president for his signature.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-MA, filed the bill in partnership with U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, along with support from U.S. Reps. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and Becca Balint, D-Vt., as well as Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. The bill was first filed in 2022 and then refiled in 2023.

“The passage of these two bills represents an important step forward for our efforts to protect the Deerfield River and recognize the incredible history of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site,” Markey said in a statement, also referencing a bill that will redesignate the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. “I will continue to work with my colleagues in the House and the Senate to fight for these bills to be signed into law.”

The Secretary of the Interior study, which will take at least two to three years to complete, will consider the entire 76-mile length of the Deerfield River and its major tributaries, such as the Green and South rivers, to identify and recommend portions of the Deerfield River that meet the federal government’s criteria. After that, another bill will need to be brought before Congress to officially designate portions of the river.

If incorporated into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, those free-flowing sections would be protected, meaning projects such as dams would be forbidden from being constructed there, and numerous federal funding streams would be opened up for projects that aim to enhance or protect the river.

Additionally, in March of this year, the National Park Service announced it will conduct a reconnaissance survey on the river to assess whether it would be a candidate for inclusion under the Wild and Scenic River designation.

Locally, Franklin County 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.

This sort of designation would not be a first for western Massachusetts, as the Westfield River was designated as a National Wild and Scenic River in 1993. This designation brings in about $120,000 a year for various projects, such as building trails, improving access areas and public education outreach, according to Chris Curtis, vice president of the Deerfield River Watershed Association.

“This is something that we can do to help communities with their protection of the river and better management of the river,” Curtis said in 2022. Possible projects, he added, could include “public education and outreach, river access projects, things like that. Helping to manage the recreational traffic on the river, I think, is going to be a really big issue here.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.