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Housatonic River Watershed: It Is with Great Pleasure That I Present You with the 5-Year Watershed Action Plan for the Housatonic River Watershed

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Housatonic River Watershed: It Is with Great Pleasure That I Present You with the 5-Year Watershed Action Plan for the Housatonic River Watershed Executive Office of En vironmental Affairs HOUSATO NIC RIVER 5-Year W atershed Action Plan 2002-2007 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs 251 Causeway Street, Suite 900 Boston, MA 02114-2119 Mitt Romney GOVERNOR Kerry Healey LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR Tel: (617) 626-1000 Fax: (617) 626-1181 Ellen Roy Herzfelder or (617) 626-1180 SECRETARY http://www.state.ma.us/envir June 30, 2003 Dear Friends of the Housatonic River Watershed: It is with great pleasure that I present you with the 5-Year Watershed Action Plan for the Housatonic River Watershed. The plan will be used to guide local and state environmental efforts within the Housatonic River Watershed over the next five years, as well as implement the goals of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. These goals include improving water quality; restoring natural flows to rivers; protecting and restoring biodiversity and habitats; improving public access and balanced resource use; improving local capacity; and promoting a shared responsibility for watershed protection and management. The Housatonic River Watershed Action Plan was developed with input from state and federal agencies, Regional Planning Agencies, watershed groups, former watershed team members, and with extensive public involvement throughout the reaches of the watershed. This unique approach helps us focus on the problems and challenges that are identified with stakeholders and community partners in each watershed, rather than being decided solely at the state level. The priority issues and action strategies identified in the plan include: • Ensure the Remediation and Restoration of the Housatonic River • Work to Improve Water Quality and to Mitigate Accelerated Eutrophication of Lakes and Ponds • Enhance Environmental Education and Natural Resources Stewardship • Support Environmentally Sustainable Growth • Protect and Increase Biodiversity Conservation I commend everyone that was involved in this endeavor. Thank you for your dedication, perseverance, and commitment. If you are not currently a participant, I strongly encourage you to become active in the Housatonic River Watershed restoration and protection efforts. Regards, Ellen Roy Herzfelder TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 - Introduction.................................................................................................................. 1 The Housatonic Watershed......................................................................................................... 1 Recent Accomplishments in the Watershed ............................................................................... 3 Chapter 2 – Action Plan.................................................................................................................. 8 The 5-Year Action Planning Process.......................................................................................... 8 Chapter 3 - Goals and Objectives ................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 4 – Action Strategies ....................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 5 – Action Matrix ............................................................................................................ 24 Chapter 6 – Conclusion................................................................................................................. 35 APPENDICES Appendix A – Members of the former Housatonic Watershed Team…………………..…..…...40 Appendix B – Housatonic Watershed Maps………………..……………………………………41 Any reference to ‘Massachusetts Watershed Initiative (MWI)’ in this document pertains to a program that existed at the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs from 1993-2003. Any reference to a ‘Watershed Team’ refers to a multi-stakeholder team, facilitated by a ‘Watershed Team Leader’ that existed from 1998-2003 as part of the MWI. Housatonic River Watershed Action Plan i Executive Office of Environmental Affairs June, 2003 Chapter 1 - Introduction This document is the 5-Year Action Plan (5YAP) of the Housatonic Watershed. It is not an exhaustive, detailed analysis of the state of the watersheds, nor of all the activities and actions ongoing or planned. It is a document that describes the most critical and highest priority actions. The primary goals are: ° Healthy Ecosystems and Biological Diversity ° Clean and Plentiful Water for People and Wildlife ° Protected Open Space ° Improved Public Access and Balanced Resource Use ° Shared Responsibility for Watershed Protection and Management These broad goals are incorporated into watershed-specific goals and priorities, which are outlined and described in Chapter 2. The goals and objectives contained in this document are the product of several detailed plans and assessments, and are based on the best available scientific data. In order to continually prioritize these goals, cultural, economic, and political factors associated with the specific issue or location must be factored, and energy devoted to those that have the highest chances of successful resolution. As such, this plan should be considered a working document that is frequently updated and augmented as time and circumstances necessitate. The Housatonic Watershed The Housatonic River Watershed is located in southwestern Massachusetts and is bordered by the watersheds of the Hudson River to the north, the Westfield River to the northeast, and the Farmington River to the southeast. The Housatonic River begins at the confluence of the West and Southwest Branches of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield. From this point, the river flows south for 150 miles until it empties into Long Island South in Connecticut. Other major tributaries of the Housatonic in Massachusetts are the Williams, Green, and Konkapot Rivers, and Hubbard Brook. The Housatonic River Watershed exhibits variable hydrology with swift streams, a meandering river, productive aquifers, extensive wetlands and 119 lakes and ponds. The watershed has four distinct seasons with more than half of its 45 inches of rainfall occurring in the warmest 6 months of the year. The calcareous substrate and variability of terrain and climate gives rise to a prolific biological community with 117 rare plant and 33 rare animal species as well as the occurrence of 18 significant natural communities. Eighteen towns and one city in Berkshire County lie wholly or at least one-third in the Housatonic River Watershed. These municipalities, Alford, Dalton, Egremont, Great Barrington, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, New Marlborough, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, West Stockbridge and Windsor had a total Housatonic River Watershed Action Plan 1 Executive Office of Environmental Affairs June, 2003 FLORIDA NORTH ADAMS WILLIAMSTOWN ADAMS NEW ASHFORD New York Hudson SAVOY HANCOCK CHESHIRE !"7 LANESBOROUGH WINDSOR !"9 DALTON PITTSFIELD HINSDALE PERU WOR RICHMOND LENOX WASHINGTON MIDDLEFIELD WEST Westfield STOCKBRIDGE LEE STOCKBRIDGE BECKET CH ALFORD TYRINGHAM ,-.90 OTIS GREAT BARRINGTON MONTEREY BLANDFOR EGREMONT Farmington SANDISFIELD MOUNT SHEFFIELD TOLLAND WASHINGTON NEW MARLBOROUGH Housatonic Connecticut Housatonic River Watershed Action Plan 2 Executive Office of Environmental Affairs June, 2003 population in 1990 of 94,144. Over half (48,622) reside in the City of Pittsfield. US Census estimates predict that the population of the Housatonic River Watershed towns will increase overall, but with a marked loss in the City of Pittsfield. The distribution of that population has and will continue to change from being concentrated in urban centers to dispersal across the smaller towns in the county. Human uses of the riparian areas in the Housatonic River Watershed include industrial, agricultural, recreational and wildlife management. Historically, industrial uses along the Main Stem of the river contributed to excessive levels of pollutants, levels that were reduced dramatically post-1970’s. Perhaps the greatest impacts to the Housatonic River and its watershed were the intensive industrial uses by technology manufacturers, and the numerous paper mills. These industrial users dammed the river, affecting its hydrologic regime, and disposed of industrial waste in the river, affecting the river’s health. Also, these industries were the major employers of the region and drove the settlement patterns along the main stem of the river. In the past few decades, the major manufacturing sector of the local economy declined considerably, eliminating jobs and stimulating emigration from the area. Currently, the employment scenario in the region is diverse with service professions and retail providing more than 50% of the jobs in all of Berkshire County (1990 Census). The entire drainage basin of the Housatonic lies in Berkshire County, and is categorized by two distinct land uses. The upper third of the River Basin is urbanized, with Pittsfield serving as the core city. The remaining two-thirds of the River Basin are rural in character and possess large amounts of forested land. The traditional economic base of the region, the tourism and paper manufacturing industries, has utilized the environmental quality of the area. The Hudson River Watershed and the Housatonic River Watershed face similar issues and both fall within the boundaries of Berkshire County. Both watersheds (as well as parts of the Farmington, Westfield, and Deerfield River Watersheds) share the services of a regional planning
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