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The Missing Fens: a Rare Wetland Also: Durham Says Goodbye to a Tree

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The Missing Fens: a Rare Wetland Also: Durham Says Goodbye to a Tree CONNECTICUT Woodlands MAGAZINE CFPA’S CONSERVATION INSIDE AGENDA for 2017 THE MISSING FENS: A RARE WETLAND ALSO: DURHAM SAYS GOODBYE TO A TREE. COVERTS PROGRAM HELPS FOREST OWNERS The Magazine of the Connecticut Forest & Park Association Spring 2017 Volume 82 No. 1 The ConnectiCuT ForesT & Park assoCiaTion, inC. OFFICERS PRESIDENT, ERIC LUKINGBEAL, Granby VICE-PRESIDENT, STARR SAYRES, East Haddam TREASURER, JAMES W. DOMBRAUSKAS, New Hartford SECRETARY, ERIC HAMMERLING, West Hartford FORESTER, THOMAS J. DEGNAN, East Haddam DIRECTORS STARLING W. CHILDS, Norfolk R. RICHARD CROCE, Killingworth RUTH CUTLER, Ashford CAROLINE DRISCOLL, New London PETER KNIGHT, Bloomfield MICHAEL LECOURS, Farmington SCOTT LIVINGSTON, Bolton JEFF LOUREIRO, Canton ANTONIO MAZZARA, Stamford TERESA PETERS LAUREN L. McGREGOR, ESQ., Hamden Limb by limb, the tree was taken down. Story on page 9. JEFFREY O’DONNELL, Bristol DAVID PLATT, Chester RAYMOND RADIKAS, Glastonbury HONORARY DIRECTORS GORDON L. ANDERSON, St. Johns, FL Connecting People to the Land Annual Membership HARROL W. BAKER, JR., Bolton RICHARD A. BAUERFELD, Redding Our mission: The Connecticut Forest & Park Individual $ 35 GEORGE M. CAMP, Middletown Association protects forests, parks, walking Family $ 50 ANN CUDDY, Ashland, OR trails and open spaces for future generations by SAMUEL G. DODD, North Andover, MA connecting people to the land. CFPA directly Supporting $ 100 ASTRID T. HANZALEK, Suffield JOHN HIBBARD, Hebron involves individuals and families, educators, Benefactor $ 250 JOSEPH HICKEY, Wethersfield community leaders and volunteers to enhance JEAN CRUM JONES, Shelton and defend Connecticut’s rich natural heritage. Patron $ 500 EDWARD A. RICHARDSON, Glastonbury CFPA is a private, non-profit organization that Guardian $ 1000 L.P. SPERRY, JR., Middlebury SALLY L. TAYLOR, Mystic relies on members and supporters to carry out SIDNEY VAN ZANDT, Noank its mission. Life Membership $ 2500 Our vision: We envision Connecticut as a STAFF place of scenic beauty whose cities, suburbs, TRAILS STEWARDSHIP DIRECTOR, CLARE CAIN, Old Lyme and villages are linked by a network of parks, Corporate Membership FIELD COORDINATOR,TRAILS PROGRAM, forests, and trails easily accessible for all people COLIN CARROLL, New Haven to challenge the body and refresh the spirit. We Club / Non-profit $ 75 MANAGER OF EVENTS AND VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT, ELIZABETH FOSSETT, Meriden picture a state where clean water, timber, farm Sustaining $ 100 MEMBERSHIP & MARKETING DIRECTOR, fresh foods, and other products of the land make MARTY GOSSELIN, Durham Landmark $ 250 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ERIC HAMMERLING, West Hartford a significant contribution to our economic and EDUCATION DIRECTOR, EMMA KRAVET, New Haven cultural well-being. Stewardship $ 500 DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, JAMES W. LITTLE, Hebron Leadership $ 1000 DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR, KARA MURPHY, Guilford Connecticut Woodlands LAND CONSERVATION DIRECTOR, LINDSAY SUHR, North Haven Published quarterly by the FOREST & PROGRAM DIRECTOR, GOODWIN FOREST CENTER, BETH BERNARD, Woodstock Connecticut Forest & Park Association, OFFICE MANAGER, TERESA PETERS, Durham 16 Meriden Road, EDITOR, CHRISTINE WOODSIDE Rockfall, CT 06481-2961 BOOK REVIEW EDITOR, DAVID K. LEFF Indexed in the Connecticut Periodical Index, COPYEDITOR, ROBIN GOLD ISSN 00106257 GRAPHIC DESIGNER, KAREN WARD Telephone: 860-346-TREE Fax: 860-347-7463. Printed on FSC Certified Paper E-mail address: [email protected] from responsible sources Web site: ctwoodlands.org 2 | CONNECTICUT WOODLANDS | SPRING 2017 CONNECTICUT Woodlands The Magazine of the Connecticut Forest & Park Association Spring 2017 Volume 82 No. 1 CONTENTS FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 6 THE MISSING FENS: 4 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE. RARE AND GROWING RARER. Happiness as defined by Danish people. The latest in an occasional By Eric Lukingbeal. series on the state’s 13 imperiled ecosystems. 5 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE. By Jamie Tommins. When is your public land “protected”? By Eric Hammerling. 9 RIGHT TREE, RIGHT PLACE: AN ILLUSTRATION. 15-21 CFPA IN THE COMMUNITY. A Durham church straddles P CFPA’s Legislative Agenda for 2017. the emotional fence between P keeping a diseased giant copper FROM THE ARCHIVES. Connecticut State Library preserves beech and cutting it down. CFPA’s archives. By James W. Little. By Teresa Peters. P LAND CONSERVATION. 6 12 A TRIBUTE TO NORM SILLS, Amazing woman, amazing gift. APPALACHIAN TRAIL LEADER. A quiet Salisbury farmer led a 22 NEW ENGLAND TRAIL On the Cover: major trail relocation. POET-IN-RESIDENCE PROJECT. Poems by Amy Nawrocki. Rare and beautiful, a calcareous fen in the By Christine Woodside. Phillips-Lovdal Preserve in Southbury, a 23 ALMANAC. property of the Southbury Land Trust. 13 THE COVERTS PROJECT FOR FOREST LANDOWNERS. Spring at the singing ground: PHOTO BY KATHLEEN GROLL CONNOLLY It’s between you and me. The American woodcock. By Stephen H. Broderick. By Katherine Hauswirth. 24 FROM THE LAND. Quinnehtukqut cooking stories. By Jean Crum Jones. 26 BOOK REVIEWS. P Aldo Leopold’s daughter reflects on life in the Leopold shack. Reviewed by David K. Leff. P Martin Podskoch’s encyclopedic history of the Connecticut CCC camps. Reviewed by Robert M. Ricard. P On the Trail, a thoughtful history that nevertheless leaves out Connecticut. Reviewed by David K. Leff. P A British writer celebrates the many objects made out of ash trees. Reviewed by David K. Leff. P The bestselling Lab Girl, a scientist’s engaging memoir. Reviewed by Kathleen Groll Connolly. 30 ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE. Groundbreaking environmental journalist retires: Bob Wyss’s students at UConn wrote many articles for Connecticut Woodlands. By Terese Karmel. SPRING 2017 | CONNECTICUT WOODLANDS | 3 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Happiness as defined by Danish people BY ERIC LUKINGBEAL same 13 countries consistently make the According to Charlotte Higgins, writing in top of the rankings. The top 10 for 2016 the Guardian, hygge is “a feeling of calm ur Declaration of were, from 1 to 10, Denmark, Switzerland, togetherness and the enjoyment of simple Independence says Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Nether- pleasures, perhaps illuminated by the gen- that “life, liberty, lands, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden. tle flicker of candlelight.” Some have sug- O and the pursuit Based on these rankings, happiness seems to gested that the Danes invented the idea to of happiness” are inal- have something to do with physical activity, get through the long, boring, cold, and dark ienable rights. Happi- fitness, and good health. The Netherlands winters. Hygge can be part of nouns, verbs, ness is not defined, and reports the highest levels of physical activ- adjectives, or compound nouns. Hyggebuk- we all have our own ity on Earth. They are also the tallest peo- ser are pants you would never wear in pub- definitions. Most of us ple. Switzerland, which came in first in 2015, lic but which you secretly love. In general, would probably agree enjoys the lowest obesity rates in Europe. the Nordic countries do very well year after that the absence of unhappiness does not Taking a lot of saunas seems to help as well; year. Their societies have several things in result in happiness. Finland has 5.2 million people and 3.3 common: free university education, social So, what does result in happiness? And, is million saunas. security, universal health care, paid fam- happiness important? From an evolutionary How do other industrialized countries ily leave, and a minimum of one month’s standpoint, it is doubtful. Geoffrey Miller, stack up? The United States is number 13, annual vacation. an evolutionary psychologist at the Univer- Germany 16, United Kingdom 23, Japan According to Meik Wiking, author of The sity of New Mexico, observes, “Evolution is 53, Russia 56, China 83. Countries at the Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy good at getting us to avoid death, desper- bottom are from parts of the world with Living (William Morrow, 2017), the Danes ation and celibacy, but it’s not that good extreme poverty, very low GDP, and repres- are able to be happy because they recognize at getting us to feel happy.” Still, the right sive governments. that, “After our basic needs are met, more to pursue it is one of our most important According to the UN, seven key ingre- money does not lead to more happiness.” founding principles. dients lead to a country rating high on the Hygge’s essence, in my mind, is at the Happiness has been studied—a lot. A happiness scale. They are longer life expec- heart of a really good hike on trails through few years ago, the United Nations General tancy, social support, freedom to make life the forest. I think I understand the essence of that word at the end of a good trudge, Assembly invited countries to measure their choices, low perceptions of corruption, gen- after all of the effort, bugs, sweat, and mud national happiness. Using data from the Gal- erosity, experiencing less inequality of happi- are behind me. Then I rest, eat, and drink lup World Poll, information from more than ness, and a higher per capita GDP. with my companions. I feel a sense of peace 150 countries was collected. The relevant Denmark bears additional scrutiny because and satisfaction. data included real gross domestic product, it has finished first in three out of four years. healthy life expectancy, generosity, freedom A Danish word, hygge (pronounced HOO- Eric Lukingbeal is a retired environmental to make life choices (such as marriage), and ga), has no English equivalent but means lawyer who lives in Granby with
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