Source for the Eightmile River Wild & Scenic Watershed

PUBLICATIONS

Watershed Management Plan

What is the Watershed Management Plan?

The Watershed Management Plan is a non-binding, advisory only document that identifies the actions that should be implemented to achieve the goals and criteria for the long-term protection and enhancement of the watershed's outstanding resource values.

Why Do We Need a Watershed Management Plan?

There are many reasons why we need a plan:

1. Completion of a Watershed Management Plan is one of the three requirements for completing the overall Study. We must prove to Congress that there is a plan in place to protect and enhance the watershed's outstanding resource values and that the local communities and the state are committed to being a partner in its implementation.

2. Completing the management plan prior to any potential Wild & Scenic River designation provides the communities a clear description of how the watershed would be managed if designated.

3. The watershed's outstanding resource values are threatened. A strategy is needed to protect them. The communities of East Haddam, Lyme and Salem combined make up 90% of the Eightmile River Watershed. Over the last decade all have experienced substantial growth pressures. Incremental and poorly planned growth pose the greatest threat to the special qualities of the river system. Fragmenting forests and habitats, poorly managing storm water runoff, and paving over important groundwater sources all slowly degrade the features that make the Eightmile River Watershed such a unique place.

Developing the Watershed Management Plan

The most important role the communities of the Eightmile River Watershed take during the Wild & Scenic Study process is to participate in the development of a locally created management plan for the Eightmile River Watershed. The locally-led Eightmile River Wild & Scenic Study Committee has been working for over a year on developing the watershed management plan.

The development of the Management Plan is guided by three fundamental principles:

1. Resource conservation and protection should be fully integrated with traditional patterns of use, ownership, and jurisdiction, relying on existing authorities.

2. Management of the Eightmile River Watershed should be based on a cooperatively developed plan that establishes resource protection standards and identifies key actions accomplished through cooperation among all public and private organizations with an interest in the river.

3. Any land conservation initiatives related to a Wild & Scenic designation will be based solely on voluntary willing seller arrangements. There will be no acquisition of lands through federal condemnation in conjunction with a Wild & Scenic River designation.

The process for developing the plan has involved the following:

1. Establishing a comprehensive understanding of the threats facing the watershed's outstanding resource values. A list of 26 threats has been compiled that identifies which ORVs are affected and how they are stressed. The four top threats include:

  • degradation of the riparian corridor (i.e. land right along river and stream corridors)
  • habitat fragmentation
  • increases in impervious surfaces (e.g. roadways, rooftops and parking lots)
  • polluted stormwater runoff.
  • For a summary of these top threats see "Top Threats.pdf".

2. Identifying the ways in which the outstanding resource values are currently managed and protected. A comprehensive review of local, state and federal regulations and policies was completed.

3. Identifying protection goals and the related attributes and criteria for measuring successful achievement of those goals for each ORV. This has been completed for the four key natural resource ORVs: water quality; hydrology; unique species and natural communities; and the watershed ecosystem. For more information on ORV goals see "ORV_Goals_Final.pdf".

4. Determining gaps in the current levels of protection for each ORV. This has been completed for the same four ORVs mentioned above.

5. And finally, the development of possible tools local communities could implement to ensure the long-term protection and enhancement of the watershed's outstanding resource values. The final tools, as determined by the local study committee in cooperation with local land use commissioners, landowners and other key stakeholders, will form the basis of the recommended actions in the Eightmile River Watershed Management Plan. This process is well underway. A joint summit of all land use commissioners from the three watershed towns met on March 31 to discuss the plan. Meetings are ongoing with key staff and land use commission members in each town. Additional meetings with the full land use commissions are planned for late July, August and September.

Who Implements the Watershed Management Plan?

If a Wild & Scenic designation occurs, the Watershed Management Plan would be implemented by a locally led stewardship council with the support of the National Park Service. Funds from the National Park Service may become available as a result of a designation that would support the plan implementation activities.

Use the links below to learn more about specific aspects of the Management Plan:

Official Executive Summary: Web page or PDF File (9 pages in new window).

Back to Management Plan Main Page (Complete Management Plan downloadable sections)