Second Report of TheNature Conservancy’s Saugatuck River Watershed Partnership BETHEL DANBURY EASTON FAIRFIELD NEWTOWN NORWALK REDDING RIDGEFIELD WESTON WESTPORT WILTON August 2008 Sally Harold, Project Director The Nature Conservancy Saugatuck River Watershed Project (203) 226-4991 x207 [email protected] Mission Statement The goal of the Partnership is to protect and enhance the health of the watershed by working collaboratively to link, maintain and restore habitats which support healthy populations representing the natural biological diversity of the watershed system. “When we save a river, we save a major part of an ecosystem, and we save ourselves as well because of our dependence - physical, economic, spiritual - on the water and its community of life.” Tim Palmer, The Wild and Scenic Rivers of America Table of Contents A Message from Sally Harold, Nature Conservancy Project Director . .3 The Saugatuck River Watershed Conservation Compact . .3 Brief Historical Background . .4 Influences on the Health of theWatershed . .4 Development Dams Stream Crossings Providing Opportunities for Fish and Eel to Move UpStream Land Management and River Health Public Outreach to Educate about Watershed Concerns Stream Flow and Water Use Assessing Water Quality – How Healthy is the River System? . .6 Riffle-Dwelling Benthic Macroinvertebrates Water Quality Monitoring Impervious Surface Riparian Buffers Stream Walk Surveys Other Efforts . .9 Protecting Eel Land Protection and Land Development Appeal for Support . .10 Financial Support . .10 Grant Funded Projects . .10 Our Past Efforts . .11 Outreach Efforts . .11 Presentations and various public outreach efforts, 2007 Public Workshops 2007 . .12 Volunteers . .12 2 We’re growing! Since our last report, issued in March of The Saugatuck River 2006, over 100 volunteers have helped us with projects Watershed Conservation across the watershed! Compact We secured federal grants totaling $114,000 and raised an additional $89,500 in required match. ($30,000 of We, the undersigned chief elected officials, on this is volunteer hours.) Additionally, private foundations behalf of our municipalities, recognize that: donated $55,000 in support of the Partnership and we 1. The Saugatuck River and its tributaries, received a $500 grant from Patagonia in Westport. including the Aspetuck and the West Branch, are respected and valued by the people who live around them. Federal, state, local and private agencies and citizens share a common interest in working to preserve the quality of the streams, their surrounding habitats, and the watershed basins A Message From Sally Harold that encompass them. Nature Conservancy Project Director 2. The watershed contains a rich diversity of aquatic and terrestrial habitats that support a wide array of plant and animal species, including some which are regionally rare. The area incorporates a ne might not expect to find ed official appointed a municipal 15,000-acre block of protected forest land such a healthy watershed representative who would serve as surrounding the Saugatuck and Aspetuck just an hour outside of New liaison at partnership meetings to Reservoirs, the largest such forest in southwestern O Connecticut. York City. The Saugatuck River represent the interests of their town 3. Land and water management practices through- Watershed is a Fairfield County while helping to direct the out the eleven watershed communities affect the jewel with nearly a third of its land Partnership’s efforts. health of the entire watershed system. Therefore, under conservation ownership. The The Saugatuck River Watershed uniform watershed management policies are necessary and mutually beneficial. Nature Conservancy initiated a year- Partnership also includes representa- 4. The ecological health of the watershed is vital long planning effort for the water- tives of the CT DEP, CT DPH, to the economic livelihood and social well-being shed in 2005 with funding from the USGS, USDA’s Natural Resources of those who live and work in our communities; it enhances property values, recreation and Long Island Sound Futures Fund. Conservation Service, the Southwest educational opportunities, and is integral to Federal, state, regional and local Conservation District, stakeholder sustaining quality of life. stakeholders were brought together groups including Trout Unlimited, Furthermore, we understand that: to develop a conservation action plan Sound Cyclists, Earth Place, Sasco 1. Land and water management are the key and forge a watershed partnership. Brook Pollution Abatement determinants of the watershed’s health. The partnership’s purpose is to pro- Committee, and interested others. 2. A healthy watershed ecosystem is consistent tect and enhance the health of the The Watershed Partnership engages with each municipality’s goals of promoting a watershed through collaborative volunteers from throughout the healthy community, preserving town character, fostering ecological integrity, and nurturing efforts to link, maintain and restore watershed and beyond in a variety of sustainable economic growth. habitats supporting healthy plant and projects, including summer stream Therefore, the towns of Bethel, Danbury, Easton, animal populations, natural commu- monitoring walks, fish trap and fish Fairfield, Newtown, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, nities and ecological processes repre- counter monitoring, macroinverte- Weston, Westport, and Wilton enter into this voluntary compact that acknowledges their senting the natural biological diversity brate collecting, project development commitment to work cooperatively to balance and healthy functioning of the water- and our monthly planning meetings. conservation and growth by: shed system. Planning meetings are open to the 1. Protecting and enhancing the water resources of the watershed, including the quality of the water, In April 2006, the chief elected public. They are usually held at the the integrity of normal stream and groundwater officials of the eleven municipalities Weston Town Hall on the 4th flows, and the flora and fauna of these aquatic in the watershed signed the Tuesday of the month, from 9:00- ecosystems. Saugatuck River Watershed 11:00 am. We work together to 2. Supporting efforts to link and maintain habitats Conservation Compact, which develop and implement projects that and rural landscapes throughout the watershed. 3. Working to ensure the long-term environmental acknowledged the economic, social protect and improve the health of health and vitality of the watershed and thereby and environmental value of the land- our watershed system. Agendas are enhancing the social and economic vitality of the scape, and indicated their commit- available in advance by contacting watershed communities. ment to work together across town Project Director Sally Harold at The Signed by the Chief Elected Officials of the Saugatuck River Watershed’s towns; Signed on the boundaries to help protect the health Nature Conservancy, (203) 226-4991 6th of April, 2006. of the river system. Each chief-elect- x207, [email protected]. 3 sediment and change water temperature Brief Historical which may create intolerable conditions Background for some species dependent on cooler Saugatuck literally means, “river flowing water or riffles rather than ponded habi- out.” Long before the “European inva- tats. The Saugatuck River Watershed con- sion”, American Indians lived along the tains over 110 dams. river’s banks and fished its waters. There Healthy fish populations depend on were smelt, sea lamprey, Alewife, having access to habitats necessary for all Blueback herring and American shad. In stages of their life. Diadromous fish an 1828 edition of The Saugatuck Journal depend on both fresh and saltwater habi- it was described as “the river of little fish- tats, but all fish need a variety of habitats es” because of the many smelt. for spawning and feeding. Some depend Colonists eager to take advantage of the on swift moving cold water, while others country’s growing economy harnessed the need warmer, calm waters. river’s power to fuel mills, forges and The abundance of many fish species other industry along its banks. Later, larg- has declined quite rapidly and these er industries were established, particularly declines have affected the health of other in the lower watershed. Ultimately this species that prey on fish. Scientists often polluted the waters and the variety of and are unable to pinpoint the exact cause of abundance of species declined. these species’ declines. It may be the With the advent of the Clean Water Influences on the Health cumulative affect of multiple environmen- Act in 1972 and increasing environmental of theWatershed tal changes such as change in water tem- awareness, industries cleaned up their Development perature, loss of access to spawning habi- operations and since then, in this water- Development can cause fragmentation tat, or change in existing habitat, overfish- shed, most have moved away from the of habitats and the loss of natural vegeta- ing, pollution and increased predation by river. Point source pollution has been sig- tion and forested areas. Development another species. Scientists have found nificantly reduced, and efforts to improve increases the amount of impervious sur- that restoration of habitat and restoration habitats, water quality and species diversity face which in turn can increase the speed of access to historical habitats can help are increasing. and volume of storm water runoff, improve the viability of certain