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AnnuAl RepoRt 2008

Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District, Inc.

Providing Technical Assistance and Education for Natural Resource Conservation since 1946

Board of DirectorsThomas M. ODell, Westbrook, ChairAlison Guinness, East Haddam, Vice ChairMichael Lutz, Higganum, TreasurerCindy Gaudino, Middletown, SecretaryJim Costello, East HaddamGary Crump, ColchesterChristopher Holden, PortlandTimothy Myjak, East HaddamBrian O’Connor, ClintonDavid Papallo, HaddamMark Yuknat, Essex

StaffJane L. Brawerman, Executive DirectorWendy L. Goodfriend, Natural Resource Specialist Barbara A. Davis, Office AdministratorEric S. Mosher, Watershed Projects Coordinator Kenneth H. Geisler, Consulting GIS AnalystKathryn Woodruff, Watershed Projects Intern

PartnersAmerican Farmland TrustCT Association of Conservation Districts CT Council on Soil and Water Conservation CT Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)CT Resource Conservation and Development CouncilCT RC&D Environmental Review Team ProgramNational Association of Conservation DistrictsNonpoint Education for Municipal Officials Program (NEMO)UConn Cooperative Extension SystemUSDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)US Geological SurveyThe 26 District townsMany local organizations

The Mission of the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District is to promote the sound use and management of our natural resources through technical assistance and education. Our programs and services are provided to municipal staff, land use decision makers, environmental professionals, engineers, farmers, teachers, Realtors, civic groups, and the general public.

The District holds public meetings every fourth Wednesday, 7:00 pm at the deKoven House Community Center, 27 Washington Street in Middletown. All programs and services are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status or handicap.

The District serves the towns of Berlin, Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Cromwell, Deep River, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Hebron, Killingworth, Lyme, Madison, Marlborough, Middlefield, Middletown, New Britain, Newington, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Portland, Rocky Hill, Salem and Westbrook.

In an effort to conserve resources — and in keeping with our mission — we are pleased to present

a more streamlined annual report, focusing on several of our most notable conservation successes.

Not to suggest, mind you, that we have downsized our operations! Our small, dedicated and

hard-working staff has been busier than ever, working to assess and improve water quality,

reach out to and engage the public in conservation efforts, and promote more sensitive land

use and management practices.

A new approach in the Mattabesset River watershed helped us focus our efforts by identifying

areas with the best restoration potential. Also in the Mattabesset, we identified specific sources

of water quality impairments and restoration opportunities by conducting intensive stream

corridor assessments.

We extended our pollution prevention efforts to a local state park with our Give a Bark for

a Clean State Park campaign, designed to prevent swimming pond closures through pet waste

education and outreach. We also presented several workshops and produced new resources

to promote backyard conservation.

Last, but arguably most important, with a skilled eye for evaluating potential land use

impacts, we continued to ensure protection of natural resources through our core technical

assistance programs.

Looking forward, we are excited about the coming year’s activities. Along with many ongoing

initiatives we will launch a strategic planning effort for our flagship citizen monitoring program,

the Connecticut River Watch Program, strengthen our agricultural conservation programs,

and expand our successful pet waste management campaign to new areas.

As always, thanks to all of our conservation cohorts — partners, donors and volunteers —

without whom all of this would not be possible.

A Letter from the Executive Director

Jane L. BrawermanExecutive Director

printed on recycled paper

Environmental Professional: Kim O’Rourke, Recycling Coordinator, City of MiddletownMunicipality Award: The Towns of East Haddam, Lyme & Salem Teacher of the Year: Paula Courtemanche, New Britain High SchoolCooperator: Mapleleaf Farm, HebronCommunications/Media: Ken Simon, SimonPure Productions, Moodus

Special Merit Awards: Steve McLarty, Coastland Enterprises, KensingtonMiddletown BioBlitz 2007 Steering CommitteeCertificates of Appreciation:Larry McCulloch, Chamard VineyardsMark & Mindy Yuknat, CT River ExpeditionsGary Crump & Gloria Priam, Priam VineyardsJohn Dolishny, General Manager, Tanger Outlet CenterThomas D. Comer, CPA, Comer & Company, LLC

Recognizing Conservation Efforts: The Annual Awards Program Each year the District honors individuals and organizations whose efforts have exemplified and supported our mission. Conservation Awards were presented at the District’s 60th Annual Meeting on October 24, 2007.

tom oDell with BioBlitz Steering Committee members Valerie Marinelli, David Wagner, ellen lukens, Sheila Stoane, Ron Klattenberg and Katchen Coley.

Restore the Mattabesset! Recognizing that a piecemeal approach will not result in measurable water quality improvements in a watershed as large as the Mattabesset, we launched a new initiative to target efforts at a more workable geographic scale. As a first step, we conducted a Comparative Subwatershed Analysis (CSA) to prioritize small “subwatersheds” within the larger regional watershed based on their potential for successful restoration. We presented the results to watershed stakeholders as part of a multi-topic educational series, including workshops on restoration strategies, low impact development practices, sewer and septic system maintenance, and landowner stewardship. A CSA summary report and GIS data resources were provided to all watershed towns. This project was made possible with a Long Island Sound Futures Fund grant administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Tracking Down Pollution SourcesTo improve water quality one must first know where the pollutants are coming from. This time intensive job is being accomplished in the Mattabesset using a “one local watershed at a time” approach. We have now completed intensive stream corridor assessments, or Track Down Surveys, in six local basins in the Mattabesset watershed. The surveys locate andevaluate potential sources of pollution, including uncontrolled stormwater discharges, impacted stream buffers, stream erosion, sedimentation, and sanitary sewer or septic system failures. For each local basin we developed a restoration plan which includes a description of the pollution sources, recommended restoration strategies, and a suggested timeframeand budget for restoration. These efforts were funded by US EPA Clean Water Act Section 319 grants administered by the CT Department of Environmental Protection.

Give a Bark for a Clean State ParkHigh levels of bacteria in the brook and pond at Chatfield Hollow State Park result in periodic closure of the park’s swimming area. The park is popular with dog-walkers, and uncollected pet waste was identified as a likely source of the bacteria. To tackle this problem we initiated a pet waste pick-up campaign. Five “all-in-one” pet waste stations were purchased and installed in the park, and educational materials, including a postcard and poster, were developed and distributed. Personal contact was made with park visitors, who learned why it was important to pick up after their pets, and a website with campaign information and dog owner resources was developed. This project was very well received, and monitoring revealed a slight reduction in uncollected pet waste during the first summer of the campaign. This campaign was funded by a US EPA Clean Water Act Section 319 grant administered by the CT Department of Environmental Protection.

Balancing Natural Resource Protection & Appropriate Land UseEven during a period of slowing land development our technical assistance was requested by many municipalities and private individuals. The twenty-seven site development plan reviews, one Environmental Review Team evaluation, and eight on-site evaluations completed focused on reducing potential impacts and protecting natural resources. These activities were funded primarily by municipal contributions and the State of Connecticut Fee Bill (P.A. 92-235).

Promoting Backyard ConservationPublic outreach and education efforts continued to focus on promoting backyard water resource stewardship, and diversifying backyard landscapes. We developed a new educational publication, How to Create a Streamside Buffer Garden; sponsored rain garden and backyard wildlife habitat workshops filled with practical information and how-to tips; and continued to add new information to our website. And, for the third year, we worked with the City of Middletown to promote Project Green Lawn, a campaign encouraging healthy, safe lawns free of harmful chemicals. These programs were made possible with a grant from The Rockfall Foundation and general District funds.

IndividualsCharlene & David AmacherAndrea BakoledisSusan BementDeb & Ron BeaudoinKim & Jim BellamoBarbara BloombergDiana & William BoehningJane Brawerman & Brian StewartWilliam BridgewaterPatricia & James BrownMJ & Alan BrushKathryn & James BurtonLen CahillCarolyn & Donald CapellaroJeanne & Paul CarrollTina CatarinoJennifer & Robert ChaffiotteRobert A. ChangScott ChesterJerry Clark, Jr.Renee & Jim CostelloLinda & J.C. CourtneyJerry & Gene CroninDenis CunninghamLawrence CyrulikEileen & Lawrence DallasBarbara O. DavidEmilie & Raul de BrigardPatricia & Wayne DeVoeBarbara & David DicksonCarol Clark DowdBeth Emery & Tim RoaixJoe FazzinoShirley FeldmannHeidi & George FellnerJohn H. FordLinda FrankelMaryAnn FutiaCindy GaudinoLisa GauthierStephen GephardAnna & Joseph GiannettiDavid GodwinKathleen & Harvey Goodfriend

Wendy Goodfriend & John RozumEvan GriswoldAlison C. GuinnessAnn & Scott HadleyPeter J. HarderLisa & David HardingJane HarrisCharles HarrisTricia Heldmann & Cal DuFourCynthia & John HennessyKim & Chris HoldenAlan HurstEllie & Ed KeplerKristin & Brian LambertMark LanderLuella LandisMark LangtonSeth LermanAnn & Bob LetendreEllen & Lew LukensMichael LutzSydney MintzIola MonahanArnold Moore, Jr.Jodi MuenchIshita MukerjiBill NealeKristee NicholsCheryl & Henry NortonCarol & Tom ODellKim & James O’RourkeDeborah Palmer & Jim WallinDeborah ParillaPaul PetrieMary Ann & Thaddeus PiankaCarl PudemMarjorie & William ReidGail & Daniel ReynoldsLinda ReynoldsKimberley A. RicciLinda & Mark RobergeJoel RosanoEdwin A. RoscoeRichard Rossi

Denise Ruzicka & Paul HayesPeggy & Joe SchaedlerJohn SchroederDouglas A. ShomoJames SipperlyEdward J. SopneskiSandy SpringerCynthia StannardHarvey Thomas, Jr.Barbara & Vincent TomasiKris Treat & Richard SharonKaren & Douglas VanDykeFrances ViolanteLisa Wahle & Peter AusterAnn & Stanley WalonoskiEugenia WestMD WhiteheadDortha WillettsAdela WilmerdingCarol S. WoodKathryn WoodruffValerie & Steven Wyzykowski

CorporationsAetna Foundation, Inc.Chamard VineyardsClinton Nurseries, Inc.Comer & Company, LLCComputer AssociatesConnecticut River ExpeditionsConnecticut River Watershed CouncilFriends of Hockanum River Linear ParkOld Saybrook Shopping CenterPennyWise Oil CompanyPriam VineyardsPrides Corner Farms, Inc.Rhode van Gessel DesignRose’s Berry FarmStarbucks CoffeeSummer Hill Nursery, Inc.Sunny Border Nurseries, Inc.Wesleyan Environmental Organizers NetworkYoung’s Printing

MunicipalitiesBerlinChesterClintonCromwellDeep RiverDurhamEast HaddamEast HamptonEssexHaddamHebronKillingworthLymeMadisonMarlboroughMiddlefieldMiddletownNewingtonNew BritainOld LymeOld SaybrookPortlandRocky HillWestbrook

GrantsConnecticut Department of Environmental Protection,U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act §319

Five-Star Restoration Matching Grant Program

Long Island Sound Futures Fund

Quebec-Labrador Foundation/Atlantic Center for the Environment, The Sounds Conservancy Program

The Rockfall Foundation

Financial StatementJuly 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008

INCOME319 Grants $81,500River Watch Grants 14,760State Funds 58,668Local Funds 48,234Material Sales 35,493Long Island Sound Futures Fund 1,300National Park Service Eightmile Funds 992Rockfall Foundation Grant 1,500Five-Star Restoration Matching Grant 1,326The Sounds Conservancy Grant 1,000Workshops 1,160Interest Income 3,349Contributions 2,328Miscellaneous 516Total Income $252,126EXPENSESWages $161,006Professional Fees 500Postage 1,171Publications & Advertising 2,216Insurance 1,931Taxes 13,283Dues & Subscriptions 70Telephone 2,974Conferences, Meetings & Workshops 591Mileage 738Office Expense 1,678Rent 12,900Depreciation 1,091Grant Expenses 9,185Shrub Sale & Fundraising Expenses 22,526Equipment Lease & Maintenance 2,913403(b) Matching 4,678Total Expenses $239,451Excess (Deficiency) $12,675Compiled by Comer & Company, LLC, Certified Public Accountants

Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District, Inc. deKoven House Community Center27 Washington StreetMiddletown, CT 06457Phone: (860) 346-3282E-mail: ctrivercoastal@conservect.orgWeb: conservect.org/ctrivercoastal

even during a period of slowing land development our technical assistance was requested by many municipalities and private individuals.

This year’s Shrub and Seedling Sale, the 17th annual, was held in a new location, reaching many new people. A central goal of this fundraiser is to provide a single source for a large variety of Connecticut native plants, and to promote the beauty and utility of planting native species. Many thanks to old Saybrook Shopping Center for the generous donation of retail space, and to the many volunteers who made the sale such a success. n

Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District DonorsWe are grateful to the many Conservation District donors who support our important local conservation work. The following list reflects all individuals, municipalities, organizations, businesses and granting agencies that have supported the District from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.

Conservation Successes