A rail line (the former Canadian National Nashwaak subdivision) and Route 8, both important links from southern to northern New Brunswick, were built along the river's shore.[when?]

A walking trail makes use of the right-of-way created by a short rail spur that used to followed the river on its east bank from Barkers Point to the Marysville Cotton Mill.

[citation needed] In the past, the river was known for its abundance of salmon but fish numbers have decreased due to farming in various locations along the Saint John and in the Bay of Fundy.

Fish raised in these hatcheries do not tend to migrate along their natural predecessors' routes up the Nashwaak as they once did due to the removal of a biological memory system developed over the ages to ensure their survival and propagation.

Notable achievements of the organization include the coordination of the removal of the 1919 Campbell Creek dam, and the replanting of, and designation of, the Marysville Flats as a conservation easement.