The Eightmile River

Wild & Scenic Study Committee

Meeting Minutes – November 28, 2005, East Haddam Grange Hall

Present: Anthony Irving, Nathan Frohling, John Rozum Sally Snyder, Walter Smith, Eric Belt, Randy Dill.  NPS - Kevin Case, Jamie Fosburgh

Absent: Larry Reitz, Linda Krause, David Bingham, Roger Dill, Sue Merrow, Brad Parker, Bill Koch.

1. Call to Order 5:10 PM.

2. Acceptance of October 24, 2005 Meeting Minutes – Unanimous

3. Staff Transition

Case announced after the last Study Committee meeting that he is leaving the National Park Service after the completion of Town Meeting votes in January.  A process is under way to find a new staff person to support the committee and overall study efforts.  Due to timing and funding issues it was agreed the position would be a contract term position through September 2006.  A job description has been created and distributed.  Interviews of five candidates have already occurred and possibly two more in the next week.  The hope is to have someone started in the next few weeks to provide some overlap with Case. 

4. Remaining Activities
1. Final Management Plan Production – All final comments on the plan have been received, including from DEP. Case is working on incorporating final comments into the final version of the Management Plan and plans to have a final document by December 9^th.  
2. Obtaining Final Land Use Commission Endorsements – Requests have been made to  the land use commissions in the three towns to get on their agendas in December to achieve endorsements of the final plan.  So far meeting dates are confirmed in East Haddam and Lyme.
3. Drafting Wild & Scenic Study Report – This is a separate document from the management plan which reports to Congress on the study process, outcomes and recommendation.  It will be the first responsibility of the new staff person.
4. Town Meeting Votes – Town meeting votes are starting to be scheduled.  Lyme has confirmed for Friday, January 13.  Meetings are scheduled with the selectmen in East Haddam and Salem for the week of December 5 to confirm their dates.  Dan Hubbard and Wendy Goodfriend will be acting as support staff to assist with press and outreach leading up to the votes.  As well the Eightmile Coalition will be assisting with local outreach close to the vote dates.
5. Wild & Scenic Legislation – It is anticipated that if the three town votes are positive, that Congressman Simmons would move quickly to introduce legislation for designation of the Eightmile River as a National Wild & Scenic River.  There are some specific ideas on what should be included with the legislation that are discussed below in item 5.  We will be in close contact with the Congressman’s office over the next few months to strategize on the legislation’s content and timing.  
6. Remaining Role of Study Committee – The primary responsibilities of the Study Committee will be completed upon the conclusion of the town meeting votes.  There is a desire to maintain a constant presence in the Watershed and not disband the Committee until it is clear the new post-study committee as identified in the Management Plan (the Eightmile River Wild & Scenic Coordinating Committee) has been established and can begin operating as a Committee.
7. Establishing ERWSCC – See above. The new staff person will have the responsibility to coordinate the establishment of this important group. 
8. Pursuing Management Plan Implementation (esp. Tier One) – The new staff person will be responsible for leading this effort working with ERWSCC to support local town efforts to implement the tier one management recommendations as described in the Management Plan.  It is anticipated this wouldn’t begin until late spring or early summer. 

5. Proposed Designated Watercourses

      This was a continuation of the discussion which began at the previous study committee meeting on October 24 to determine what watercourses the Committee should recommend for Wild & Scenic designation.  At the last meeting questions were raised as to what designation specifically meant to a watercourse and discussion ensued regarding the role of the National Park Service in reviewing federally funded or permitted projects and the role of Army Corps of Engineer permits.  Since that meeting much work has been done to clarify these issues and a Q&A document was developed and distributed to all the land use board chairs and town staff as well as the Study Committee.  In addition a map was developed which depicts the stream orders as well as watercourses within the watershed which already have the same level of Army Corps oversight that would exist with a Wild & Scenic designation.  The Q&A and map are attached to these minutes.  It was reiterated that the challenge is to recommend watercourses that will be sufficiently consistent with the watershed based management approach as described in the management plan without causing an undo level of burden to landowners.  It was agreed that the primary source of protection for the watershed will be through the implementation of the watershed management plan. Designation would provide specific additional protections against activities below the high water line in the designated water courses that that would adversely impact the quality of the watershed’s outstanding resource values and require a federal permit or use federal funding.   

      After much discussion and review of the maps a motion was made by Irving, seconded by Snyder and approved by all present that “The Eightmile River Wild & Scenic Study Committee adopt for Wild & Scenic designation in the Eightmile River Watershed the mainstem and East Branch of the Eightmile River inclusive of third order tributaries such as Harris Brook, Beaver Brook and Falls Brook, as depicted on the Eightmile River Wild & Scenic River Study Stream Order map.”  See attached map for areas proposed for designation.

In addition it was recommended that we try and get the other main tributaries in the watershed listed in the Wild & Scenic Designation legislation language to recognize their importance in providing for an intact functioning watershed ecosystem.  They would not however be recommended to be formally designated components of the Wild & Scenic Rivers System.

6. Other Old Business  
1. Ongoing Research

                                                               i.      UMASS Flow Study – The Phase One Report is expected to be delivered in final form in the next few weeks.  The Phase Two work is still underway.  Field work was still being done as of two weeks ago.  It was anticipated a Phase II report would be completed in the spring.

                                                             ii.      Biodiversity Report – Final comments have been received on the draft document.  It is the strong desire of the Committee that this report be finalized by the end of December in order to be included as a final product in the Management Plan Appendices 

                                                            iii.      Water Quality Monitoring – Ongoing by Central Connecticut State University.  While not a formal component of the Study, this will add important information regarding overall water quality conditions in the watershed.   A report of findings is anticipated in late winter. 

7. New Business

There was a brief discussion of the desire to establish an Eightmile office in the watershed.  Everyone agreed it would be beneficial and is something to be pursued as the study wraps up and the Eightmile River Wild & Scenic Coordinating Committee becomes established. 

8. Next Meeting Date – Monday, December 19, 5pm, Salem Town Offices

Meeting Adjourned 7:00 pm.

Submitted K. Case