By Ted Hayes

Hand-painted onto the first floor of the Westport River Watershed Alliance ’s River Center at the Head of Westport is a huge map, nearly 30 feet long, that stretches from Freetown all the way south to Westport Point and Buzzards Bay. The land is shown in light green and through it snakes a blue line twisting, turning, narrowing and widening along its route, that represents the Westport River’s west and each branches and the huge watershed that feeds them.

One recent morning, four movable tables had been set up on top of the map and tucked under a chair was a tiny star positioned nearly as far from the map’s north end as from its south-facing ocean end.

“That’s the Head of Westport,” said Deborah Weaver. “A lot of people think the Westport River stops here. But it goes all

See Full Page