The Eightmile River

Wild & Scenic Study Committee

Meeting Minutes - Oct 28, 2002, Salem Town Hall

Meeting called order at 5:35 pm by the Chair, Anthony Irving

Present: Study Group members Eric Belt, David Bingham, ,Jamie Fosburgh, Nathan Frohling, Anthony Irving, William Koch, Linda Krause, Susan Merrow, Peter Sielman, Walter Smith, David Tiffany, Maureen VanDerStad.  Representing Charles Frechette: Sally Snyder. Pending staff assignment: Kevin Case. Speaker: Chuck Barsch

Absent:  Jonathan Morris,.

Hiring status. 

Jamie Fosburgh introduced Kevin Case, who has been hired to assist the Study Group and will begin work 2 days weekly on 11/8/02.

Housekeeping:

Nathan Frohling provided a new large-scale map of the watershed, for use at meetings.

He distributed an updated "working document" for the Study Group, with changes suggested at the last meeting.

A "Forest Conservation" document was also distributed for educational purposes.

New Study Group member Walter Smith, who works for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, was introduced. He hopes to have everyone feel free to communicate with him. His phone is 860-871-4040.

Speaker:

Chuck Barscz is the National Park Service staff member assigned to the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River project. He was raised in CT and was a Town Planner in Wilton, CT. He worked with the study group that proposed the WCC be named as a Wild and Scenic River, and went through the process by which the river accomplished the study and achieved designation.

He noted that each study and river is unique, although the approach to that study was the first to encompass the entire watershed, as has been proposed here (all second order streams and higher were studied, and he felt it would not be inappropriate to study even first order streams).

He noted the kinds of mapping that were produced, including a "critical areas" map for areas of special concern (environmental and historic).

A major concern there is water supply, resulting in a major focus in the management plan, which also addresses protection of floodplains, wetlands and riparian areas, forest fragmentation, decreasing biodiversity, and suburban and urban sprawl. A "watershed initiative" helps obtain federal funding and assistance in reaching their objectives, although the management plan specifically notes that federal acquisition of land is not sought, and local management will prevail.

100 foot riparian buffer zones are designed to protect the river, and the plan includes areas prioritized for biodiversity corridors, open spaces, agriculture, and recreational use.

The plan anticipates a comprehensive strategy for resource protection with local adoption of guidelines as provided by a "Watershed Advisory Committee."

He noted that federal involvement in local planning may be less intrusive if the actual "Wild and Scenic" designation is more limited in scope in terms of the portions of the river system that are designated, but that a watershed-wide planning approach can help obtain federal assistance in achieving the objectives of the management plan.

It is important for the Study Group to fully understand the implications of  federal review of future projects in the Wild and Scenic designated area, and Jamie Fosburgh suggested that a full meeting be devoted to the subject in the near future (but he will not be at the Nov. meeting).

Note that the WCC study took 8 years, but the recommendations were approved by all of the local, regional and state entities involved.

Vision:

Irving noted that there was not much more response to the list of questions that he had posed that the study group should consider.

Sielman noted that the interesting and unique geologic features of the watershed could form a unifying theme to build the study on, and suggested a talk by the state geologist on the watershed focusing on its special characteristics.

Bingham suggested a unifying theme which might be built on the unique geology is that it has resulted in a large number of interrelated habitats which has made the Eightmile River watershed "an oasis of outstanding biodiversity," drawn upon by mankind for centuries and remarkably resilient, but threatened by suburban sprawl, invasive species, diversion of water, pollution, etc. To make this case, we will need to carefully document the diversity and the habitats that exist, calling on all of the expertise we can muster.

Frohling noted that while there are a lot of "pieces" to this puzzle, it is important to emphasize the coherent whole of this particular watershed.

The Study Process:

Structure of the study group and committees will be discussed at the next meeting.

Old business:

The bridge replacement (Jones Hill Rd) over the Eightmile in East Haddam was reviewed, and questions that were raised will be brought to the DOT. It may be too late in the process to have much effect, but concerns will be reviewed. Future projects on the river will have to be addressed before they reach their final phases

Next meeting in Lyme, Town Hall, 5:30pm on Monday, Nov 28.

David Bingham, Sec'y Pro Tem