Natchaug River Conservation Efforts
The Natchaug
watershed is a big part of TNC’s
Quinebaug Highlands
project area. The Quinebaug Highlands Project Director, Holly Drinkuth,
has done much to protect the natural resources in this mostly forested
34,000 acre project area. In 2006, Holly successfully coordinated a 7
town effort to get the Natchaug River System designated a
State of Connecticut
Greenway. With
the help of a landmark $1,000,000 grant from the
North American Wetlands
Conservation Act
(NAWCA) in 2008, 1,100 additional acres in The Nature Conservancy
Quinebaug Highland’s Natchaug River Watershed will be protected.
Contact
Holly Drinkuth
for more information. Click
here
for more information about all The Nature Conservancy’s Connecticut
programs.
After a
cooperative effort coordinated by the
Naubesatuck Watershed Council,
with guidance from The Nature Conservancy and the
Green Valley Institute,
the Towns of Ashford, Mansfield and Willington jointly applied for CT
Greenway status for the Fenton River. At the same time,
Joshua’s Tract Conservation and
Historic Trust (JT)
applied for CT Greenway status for the Mount Hope River, located in the
towns of Ashford, Chaplin and Mansfield. This effort was also coordinated
by the Naubesatuck Watershed Council. As a result, all three rivers that
converge at Mansfield Hollow Lake were awarded Connecticut Greenway status
in 2006. More details about this
resource protection strategy
can be found here. Click
here
for a complete map of Connecticut greenways through 2007.
Funded by a
grant provided by the Patagonia Store in Westport, the
Naubesatuck Watershed Council
will be partnering with The Nature Conservancy, the
Green Valley Institute and
the Windham Region Council of Governments
in 2008 to work with major area stakeholders to identify shared conservation
goals and develop an action plan to implement them. The upcoming
Conservation Action Planning program for the Natchaug River Basin is based
on these shared views:
“The Natchaug River System is recognized by federal, state, local and
private agencies as a benchmark stream for water quality containing a rich
diversity of aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. The three mainstem
rivers of the Natchaug Basin, Fenton River, Mount Hope River and Natchaug
River make up the 114,000-acre Natchaug Basin - the largest public surface
drinking water supply watershed in Connecticut. The watershed supplies
approximately 22,000 residents in the city of Willimantic the majority of
the University of Connecticut (about 25,000 students, faculty and staff) as
well as about 18,000 residents dependent on private wells. The Natchaug
Basin is largely rural, more than 75% forested with very high water quality
valued for:
-
Drinking water
-
Wildlife habitat
-
Recreation
-
History
-
Beauty
Much of the land within the watershed is held by the State of Connecticut,
US Army Corp of Engineers flood control facility, private land trusts and
large private land owners. The natural ecological condition and ecosystem
services enjoyed by communities within the Natchaug River Basin are
dependent upon the continued high quality condition of the system. Although
the watershed is located in the “Last Green Valley” between Washington and
Boston there is significant urban and suburban development pressure from
these expanding cities threatening the ecological condition of these high
quality streams.”
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