The Great Meadows of the Connecticut River Glastonbury, Rocky Hill & Wethersfield, State of Connecticut A Review of Its Resources & Recommendations for Its Protection & Preservation Prepared for The Great Meadows Conservation Trust, Inc. by Thomas Devaney, Lynn Dupuis, Paul Foley, Juliet Hansel, Renee Kinchla, Regina Mahony, Qiongli Peng, Gretchen Roberts Graduate Students in the Master’s Degree Program Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning University of Massachusetts Amherst Edited by Juliet Hansel Supervised by Professor Robert Ryan September 2000 – May 2001 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was conducted by graduate students in the Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning programs under the direction of Assistant Professor Robert Ryan. The study was initiated and financed by the Great Meadows Conservation Trust. Additional support was provided by the towns of Glastonbury, Wethersfield, and Rocky Hill. The following graduate students contributed to the research component of this study: Thomas Devaney, Regional Planning (Natural Resources); Gretchen Roberts Regional Planning (Land Use); Regina Mahony, Regional Planning (Land Use); Paul Foley, Regional Planning (Public Use); Qiongli Peng, Landscape Architecture (Public Use); Lynn Dupuis, Landscape Architecture (Natural Resources); Juliet Hansel, Regional Planning (Agriculture); Renee Kinchla, Hampshire College (Historical Resources). The final report was prepared by Juliet Hansel and edited by Professor Ryan. Special thanks to the following people for their help and assistance in the research for this report: Robert Alvarado, Rocky Hill Engineering Technician; Vivian Bachteller, Rocky Hill Town Assessor; James Bennett, Director of the Glastonbury Historical Society; Jane Brawerman, Connecticut River Watch; David Cooke, resident archaeologist, Rocky Hill; Wesley Christensen, Wethersfield Historical Society; Ross Eddy, USDA Farm Services Agency; Vivian Felten, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service; Julius Fabos, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at University of Massachusetts Amherst; John Filchak, Executive Director of Northeast CT Council of Governments; Stephen Gephard, Supervising Fisheries Biologist, Connecticut DEP; Jim Gibbons, University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension; Katie Goldberg, Working Lands Alliance; Chester Hamlin, Assistant to Town Engineer in Glastonbury; Judy Harper, Connecticut Audubon Society; Tom Maloney, Connecticut Watershed Council River Steward; Tom Mocko, Environmental Planner, Glastonbury, CT; Stuart Popper, Town Planner in Wethersfield, CT; Peter Revill, Rocky Hill Historical Society; Kimberly Ricci, Town Planner in Rocky Hill, CT; Jeff Roller, GIS Administrator for Wethersfield; Linda Spencer, Connecticut Historic Commission; Elaine Todd Trench, U.S. Geological Survey; Casper Ultee, Connecticut Botanical Society; Cindy Walsted, Connecticut Farm Bureau. We would like to express our appreciation to the Great Meadows Conservation Trust for initiating this study. We acknowledge with thanks the support of the Board of Directors: its officers Ralph Moyer, Mary Carter, Gary Gagnon and Paul Stacey*, and directors Ingrid Boelhouwer*, Francine Bransfield, Clyde Brooks*, Neal Cox*, Joseph Hickey*, Peter Revill*, Pamela St. Jean and Donald Watson* and, also, members of the Operations Committee: Joyce Bauer, Thayer Chase, Judith Haddad, Anne Kuckro, John Lepper*, Larry Lunden*, Deborah McIntosh, Joan Mihm, Carol Millard, Charles Morgan, Elizabeth Olson, Eleanor Revill, Edith Schade*, Julianne Steffens*, Eleanor Wolf* and James Woodworth. In particular, we would like to recognize for their guidance the members of board and operations committee who served on the project subcommittee (indicated with *). i ii TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................ v TABLE OF MAPS AND FIGURES ....................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 5 Assessment.......................................................................................................................... 5 Existing Conditions....................................................................................................... 5 Areas of Concern .......................................................................................................... 8 Options for Further Management and Protection ............................................................... 9 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 12 2. LAND USE AND REGULATION .................................................................................... 15 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 15 Regional Trends................................................................................................................ 15 Economy ........................................................................................................................... 16 Growth and Development................................................................................................. 16 Town Open Space............................................................................................................. 17 Transportation................................................................................................................... 18 Zoning and Floodplain Management................................................................................ 18 Connecticut River Assembly ................................................................................ 19 Federal Flood Management .................................................................................. 19 Streambelt Protection............................................................................................ 20 Glastonbury................................................................................................................. 20 Rocky Hill................................................................................................................... 20 Wethersfield................................................................................................................ 21 Town Plans of Conservation and Development................................................................ 22 Glastonbury................................................................................................................. 22 Rocky Hill................................................................................................................... 22 Wethersfield................................................................................................................ 23 3. AGRICULTURE ................................................................................................................ 27 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 27 Farmland in the Meadows................................................................................................. 27 Economic Trends .............................................................................................................. 28 Farming Practices.............................................................................................................. 28 USDA Conservation Programs................................................................................... 28 Organic farming.......................................................................................................... 29 Direct marketing ......................................................................................................... 29 Farmland Protection.......................................................................................................... 29 Connecticut Farmland Protection Programs ............................................................... 29 Cause for Concern............................................................................................................. 31 Opportunities for Cooperation .......................................................................................... 31 4. NATURAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................. 33 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 33 iii Topography....................................................................................................................... 33 Geology and Soils............................................................................................................. 34 Hydrology ......................................................................................................................... 35 Water Quality.............................................................................................................. 36 Ecology ............................................................................................................................