Natchaug Healthy Watershed Project
With input from a local stakeholder group, ECCD created the Natchaug Healthy Watershed Protection Plan in 2020 with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant funding administered by CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). This is the first EPA-funded “healthy watershed” initiative undertaken in Connecticut and is a way to reduce threats from non-point pollution sources, focusing on preventing pollution before it happens. Healthy aspects of the watershed include the high amount of forest cover (about 75%), good riparian vegetation along stream channels and a large amount of protected open space.
As a next step, ECCD has been awarded funding to create and facilitate a Natchaug Healthy Watershed Advisory Board (NWAB) for the 8 watershed towns, consisting of municipal representatives, government agencies, non-profit organizations, lake and outdoor recreational groups, local businesses and other stakeholders. The Board will create workgroups (forestry, agriculture, open space, healthy residential landscapes & septic systems, riparian wildlife corridors & pollinator pathways, cold water stream habitat & connectivity, municipal land use officials education, etc.) and representatives will provide progress reports on meeting the Plan’s milestones and implementation schedule. NWAB meetings will focus on Plan implementation, including both successes and obstacles, identifying stressors that may degrade resources as well as evaluating progress and making Plan revisions as needed.
We look forward to working with our partners in a cooperative effort to restore and protect the watershed’s natural resources through non-regulatory, cost effective means. We value your input, so if you’re a resident of one of the towns interested in participating in a workgroup, please reach out to Maura at maura.robie@comcast.net.
Final Draft of the Natchaug Healthy Watershed Protection Plan
