by the Daily News
A group of elected leaders and members of the Merrimack River Watershed Council began their 117-mile trek kayaking down the Merrimack on Wednesday morning from its source in New Hampshire.
Dan Graovoac, president of the council's board of directors and organizer of the trip, was expected to be joined by Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera, state Sen. Diana DiZoglio, D-Methuen, and state Reps. Jim Kelcourse, R-Amesbury, Linda Dean Campbell, D-Methuen, Christina Minicucci, D-North Andover, and Andy Vargas, D-Haverhill.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Lowell, and Northern Essex Community College President Lane Glenn are also on the four-day trip, which began in Franklin, New Hampshire. They are expected to arrive off Plum Island on Saturday afternoon.
They call themselves the Merrimack River Valley Voyagers and are joining members of the Merrimack River Watershed Council. The trip is designed to bring attention to the river and the many concerns.