The Eightmile River

Wild & Scenic Study Committee

 

Meeting Minutes – February 24, 2004, Lyme Town Hall

Present: Nathan Frohling, Sally Snyder, David Bingham, Eric Belt, Sue Merrow, Randy Dill, Linda Krause, David Tiffany, Bill Koch, Larry Reitz; NPS – Kevin Case

Absent: Brad Parker Anthony Irving, Walter Smith, Jon Morris, Jamie Fosburgh

1)                  Meeting called to order at 5:05 PM

2)                  Minutes of January 26, 2004 meeting approved unanimously.

3)                  Outreach & Education Subcommittee –

a.      The subcommittee has entered into a $5,000 contract with the CT River Coastal Conservation District for support services.  The focus of the work will be coordinating the upcoming April Community Meetings, assisting with electronic newsletter development and distribution, and landowner communications.

b.      The April Community Meeting planning is well underway.   A draft agenda has been developed, that focuses the two-hour meetings in two subject areas (1) What we have found that makes the Eightmile River Watershed a special place and (2) What strategies are being considered to manage the long-term conservation of these special resources.  Ample time is also being given for community input and reaction to the presentations.  Congressman Simmons has been invited to attend.  Invites will be mailed to all households in the three towns. 

c.      Merrow is leading efforts on getting signs installed noting where people drive into the Eightmile Watershed on state roads.  Bumper sticker discussions are still going in circles.  Hale-Ray High School in East Haddam continues to work on an Eightmile video.

d.      The Eightmile Coalition is assisting the Subcmt. in identifying the landowners along the mainstem and east branch riparian corridors.  This information is important as the subcommittee begins planning outreach efforts directly to riverfront landowners.  The purpose of the outreach will be to provide landowners direct and personal opportunities to learn about the study process and what a potential Wild & Scenic designation may mean.   On a separate topic it was reported that each of the town’s land trusts are running articles in their spring newsletters on the study and each will mail their newsletters town wide.

4)          Cultural/Historic/Recreational Subcommittee –

a.      Ethan Carr at UMASS has identified a potential graduate student to perform a cultural landscape analysis for the Eightmile River Watershed.  The entire cost would be approximately $11,000 and would not come out of the existing Lyme Land Conservation Trust funds.  It is planned that Carr and the grad student will come down for a tour of the watershed this spring to finalize whether this is something the student is interested in, and we are interested in them doing.   Snyder noted she did not support the project at this time due to the cost and related usefulness of the resultant product.  Krause and Frohling both felt strongly the outcomes would be extremely helpful to the overall study and understanding of the watershed system from a cultural basis.  Bingham noted communities have been struggling to define what “rural character” is, especially in recent plans of conservation and development, and this may be very helpful in furthering that understanding.  Case noted he has spoken with Dave Wordell in Salem who is very willing to share his information and knowledge with us and serve as a reviewer of the draft cultural landscape write-up.

b.      The consultant archaeologist has provided a draft of his report to the subcommittee.  They will be meeting with him in a few weeks to review. 

5)            Management Subcommittee –

a.      Threats assessment is underway.  The committee has focused its last two meetings on determining the source of threats to the outstanding resource values, the stresses those sources cause to the resource values and the types of tools we can employ to understand how significant a threat the sources are. 

b.      NRCS is in the final month of work on the local regulation review.  The subcommittee should be receiving a draft for review in two weeks.

c.      East Haddam and Lyme planning & zoning commissions have been briefed on the work of the management subcommittee and are interested in providing input and guidance as the process moves forward.  Frohling will be meeting with Salem Planning & Zoning tomorrow night.

d.      Impervious surface and Buildout analyses are underway.   These are two of a host of tools being consider in assessing threats to outstanding resource values.

6)            Natural Resources Subcommittee –

a.      Draft geology section is complete.  Comments need to be incorporated and the piece finalized.

b.      The contract for the instream flow study has been finalized and sent to UMASS for final signature.  It is hoped there will be a kick-off meeting in the next month to launch the study.  Case will be asking the principal investigator of the study about phase two and the potential cost to begin the process of identifying potential funding needs for FY ’05.

c.      River Ecosystem/Biodiversity – Michael Klemens and Hank Gruner will be providing a draft write-up and maps in about two weeks for the committee to review and comment on. 

7)            Financial Report – A financial status report was distributed.  Currently, the Committee has a total of $49,600 available as uncommitted funds, $26,771 is allocated to specific subcommittees.  The remainder, $22,829, is unallocated at this point.   

8)            Other Old Business

a.      Lyme/Beaver Brook Gravel Pit Application – The Committee has submitted the exact same letter to the Inland Wetlands Commission as it did the first time this application was before IWC.  The local group opposing the project has asked the Committee if it would submit a summary of its research efforts to date to underscore to IWC the seriousness in which the Study is considering the outstanding resource values of the Watershed.  The Committee determined it did not want to increase its involvement with this project proposal, as it is not the mission of the study committee to do so, and asked that the local group be forwarded a copy of the article written for the Lyme Land Trust Spring ’04 newsletter summarizing our work to date.

b.      Colchester/Lake Hayward Subdivision Proposal – The Committee has been approached to comment on a subdivision proposal in the headwaters of Lake Hayward.  Again, the Committee does not feel it is their purpose to comment on land use applications across the watershed.  They agreed the same letter that was sent to the Lyme IWVC should be sent to the Colchester IWC.  Case will follow up.

9)           New Business – Krause distributed a new brochure on the Gateway Commission’s mission.

10)       Next Meeting date – March 22, 2004, Salem Town Offices

Meeting adjourned 6:10 PM

Submitted K. Case