• TANKERHOOSEN WATERSHED STUDY PARTD TANKERHOOSEN WATERSHED RECREATIONAL RESOURCES March 31, 2007 • • • • Prepared by the • Hockanum River Watershed Association • • • • •.L!:::======================:::!I • TANKERHOOSEN RIVER WATERSHED RECREATIONAL RESOURCES 1. Public Recreation Areas Opportunities for recreation abound along the Tankerhoosen River and it's adjoining watershed lands. Activities include fishing, swimming and limited boating on ponds. The river does not have sufficient flow for boating. There are both town and state lands that are preserved for parks, wildlife sanctuaries and rails-trails. The town parks and the rail trail are managed by Vernon Parks and Recreation Department. Passive recreational activities include hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, ice skating, nature observation, and aesthetic enjoyment. Attachment I (Tankerhoosen Watershed Recreation - Eastern) and Attachment 2 (Tankerhoosen Watershed Recreation - Western) show the location ofcenters for recreation and access points. These centers and the activities they support are described in this section. Walker Reservoir East is a 13-acre Town ofVernon park located on Reservoir Road near 1­ 84 interchange #67. It is a headwater waterbody for the Tankerhoosen River. The area include the following resources: • Parking area for more than 30 cars with a scenic view ofthe reservoir and its shoreline. • Handicap-accessible fishing pier. The State ofConnecticut DEP stocks the reservoir for fishing. • Trail around the reservoir that is marked with yellow blazes and is 0.8 miles long. • The Shenipsit Trail passes by the park. It is part ofthe 700-mile trail system that is maintained by Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA). It is marked with blue blazes and goes from the commuter parking lot on Reservoir Road through Vernon, passing through other recreational areas. • Ice skating, picnicking, and bird watching are other favorite activities. There are many gulls, ducks and geese in the area. The fall colors in this scenic area are often photographed. Belding Wildlife Management Area is a 280-acre parcel owned by the State ofConnecticut Department ofEnvironmental Protection.. It was gifted to the State by Maxwell Belding about 25 years ago and will be managed in perpetuity through a generous endowment by the Maxwell Belding family. The area is located on Bolton Road and Valley Falls Roads. The confluence ofRailroad Brook and the Tankerhoosen River is on this property. The area features the following resources: 2 • • Parking for more than 5 cars on Bread & Milk Road. Unofficial roadside parking for 5 cars on Reservoir Road. • Scenic pond on the Tankerhoosen River with darn, picnicking, fishing. • This was the first Class I Wild Trout Management Area in Connecticut. In addition to the native trout, the State stocks the Tankerhoosen River. Catch-and­ release trout fishing is allowed. • The CFPA blue-blazed Shenipsit Trail passes through the property and passes the pond. The Belding Path is a yellow blazed trail which allows loop hikes in conjunction with the blue trail and various woods roads. • Cross-country skiing, nature viewing (82 species ofbirds, 18 species ofmammals and 31 species oftTees have been documented), picnicking, and photography are other favorite activities. • Historic Old North Bolton Cemetery on Bamforth Road abuts this property. Valley Falls Park is a scenic and historic I83-acre park on Valley Falls Road. It is managed by the Town of Vernon. Railroad Brook, a major tributary for the Tankerhoosen River, flows north from Bolton through this park. The area features the following resources: • Paved parking lot for more than 50 cars. • Scenic 4-acre pond wi th dam, pavi Iion, and falls. Vernon Parks and Recreation every spring sponsor an annual fishing derby. There is a beach with lifeguards in the summer. A parking fce is charged in the summer. • CFPA blue blazed Shenipsit Trail passes through the park. • Vernon Rails-to Trails is accessible from the park via the Shenipsit Trail. • Network ofblazed, scenic trails in the park, including a braille trail. • Summer educational and recreational children's programs. • Historic ruins listed in the National Historic Register. Ruins remain ofa trout hatchery owned by Christian Sharps, the inventor ofthe Sharps rifle. Other ruins remain for a site used variously for a saw mill. flaxseed oil mill, and textile mill. • Picnicking, cross-country skiing, ice skating, photography, and nature observation are other favorite activities. Rails-To-Trails consists oftwo connected linear trails that are abandoned railroad lines. They were re-graded by the Connecticut National Guard - 242nd Engineering Battalion and covered with stone dust by the Town ofVemon to provide a very popular multi-use greenway trail. It consists ofthe Hop River Linear Park Extension that stretches 5 miles from Bolton to Manchester. It continues south from Bolton to Willimantic. The trail is on the railroad line that was once the Hartford. Providence and Fishkill Railroad. The other section. the Rockville Spur, splits from the Hop River trail at Warren Avenue and heads north for 4 miles to historic Rockville, a former mill tovm on the Hockanum River. The rail trail system e features the following resources: e • On grade parking for more than 6 cars on Church Street with an informational e kiosk. picnic tables and historic ruins ofa locomotive turn table. • • Scenic pedestrian bridge across the Tankerhoosen River on the Rockville Spur. el!:::::::=====================!J• 3 .. • Access from on-grade commuter lot on Rt. 30 at Sacred Heart Church. • Access trail climbing from parking on the south side ofthe Keystone Arch Historic Tunnel on Tunnel Rd. The historic tunnel was constructed for the railroad, is 108 feet long and contains 30 keystone arches. • Access on the CFPA Shenipsit Trail that climbs from Valley Falls Park on Valley Falls Rd. • Access from the commuter parking lot on Rt. 44 in Bolton Notch. • Hiking, biking, horse back riding, cross-country skiing are very popular. • Only emergency and maintenance vehicles are allowed. Phoenix Mill Park is a small five-acre scenic park at the corner of Phoenix and Maple Streets. Two acres are located at the darn site, and 3 acres are located just downstreanl ofthe dam. The Park is owned and managed by the Town ofVernon and overlooks a darn and Tankerhoosen Lake. The area features the following resources: • Parking for more than 10 cars. • Area to launch portable boats. • Scenic view ofdam and State owned 8-acre Tankerhoosen Lake. • Fishing, picnicking, nature observation and limited boating are enjoyed. Ducks and geese are usually observed. •A walking trail along the river downstream of the dam. DobsODville Pood is a 6-acre State-owned pond created by a scenic, high dam ofthe Tankerhoosen River at Dobson RdlWashington Street near 1-84. There is no public access at this time. Ruins ofthe Dobson Mill remain below the dam on private property. Talcottville Pond is a 7-acre State owned pond created by a dam ofthe Tankerhoosen River on Main Street in the Talcottville section ofVernon. Main Street crosses the Tankerhoosen River by means ofan historic wrought-iron lenticular truss bridge. Public access is currently only available with permission ofthe abutting landowner. Nearby is the Talcott Mill building. The confluence of the Tankerhoosen and Hockanum Rivers is located on Routes 30 and 83 near Vernon Circle and 1-84 at Connecticut Golf Land. This is a privately owned recreation area that is open to the public and features par-three golf, go-karts, inflatable boats, and a batting cage. It is the starting point for the annual Manchester Canoe and Kayak Race that goes downstream on the Hockanum River from this point. The Hockanum River flows through Manchester and East Hartford to the confluence with the Connecticut River just upstream from the Charter Oak Bridge. 4 • 2. Threats to the Recreational Value of the Watershed Vernon and Rockville exist primarily because of the waterpower contained in the Hockanum and Tankerhoosen Rivers. The construction oftextile mills precipitated the growth in population. As was shown in the previous section, the aesthetic and recreational aspects of these rivers now add significantly to the quality oflife for the current population. Some constructions in the past, however, have caused effects that are now known to be harmful or undesirable. Unless future constructions are managed carefully, these effects could be increased to a dangerous or unacceptable level. Governmental agencies and commissions are the front lines in this battle. The threats are listed in this section. Water pollution by introduced chemicals. • Chemicals which are listed as hazardous in Federal, State and Town regulations must be prevented from entering either the ground water or the aquifers within the watershed. • Town governments should exert every effort to clean-up sites that have been contaminated in the past. The goal is to prevent future spread ofthe contamination. • Town Planning and Zoning (P&Z) and Inland Wetland (lW) Conunissions should ensure that regulations prevent future contamination by these chemicals. • Conservation organizations must make citizenry aware ofthe harmful effects on the watershed caused by careless or excessive use of some ofthe chemicals used for lawn and landscaping care. Storm Water Regulation • Governments, commissions and citizenry need to make every effort to ensure that storm waters do not carry materials such as road salt and sand into the streams. • The runoff from the impervious surfaces ofroad, driveways and parking lots must be controlled to prevent flooding and erosion. Impervious Surfaces • Studies have shown the creation of impervious surfaces near streams will alter the flow by increasing the volume and speed of runoff. Town Planning and Zoning (P&Z) and Inland Wetland (lW) Commissions should ensure that regulations prevent the creation ofexcessive impervious surfaces near the rivers, and particularly headwaters region ofthe Tankerhoosen River. This region is an area of high water quality (Class A) and is key to the downstream health ofthe River. 5 • • Regulations should require adequate buffering areas along the rivers.