American Heritage Rivers Keystone Project

Connecticut River - 1

Connecticut River Watershed Riverine Habitat Restoration Initiative

Project Summary

The Connecticut River Watershed Riverine Habitat Restoration Initiative is an effort by three organizations - the Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC), Connecticut River Conservation District Coalition (CRCDC) and the Connecticut River Joint Commission (CRJC) - to restore and reconnect fragmented riverine habitat in the four-state, 11,260 square-mile Connecticut River Watershed in partnership with citizens, communities, state agencies and the New England Federal Partners for Natural Resources agencies.

Background

There are over 1,000 dams in the Connecticut River watershed - 16 on the mainstem, the rest on the 148 tributaries to the Connecticut River. While some still serve their intended purpose, most do not. On nearly all of the watershed's rivers, dams deplete fisheries, degrade river ecosystems, and diminish economically profitable recreational opportunities.

In addition to dams, eroding riverbanks (over 250 identified sites on the mainstem alone), unchecked runoff, and poor land-use practices have severely degraded the water quality and vegetated riparian ecosystems of the watershed.

Recognizing the profound ecological and economic effects of dams, erosion, and riparian ecosystem degradation in the Connecticut River watershed, nonprofit environmental organizations, local governments, federal and state agencies, and industry are pulling together to unplug, reconnect, and restore the riverine habitats of the Connecticut River Basin.

While their collaborative efforts have resulted in numerous successes, they lack the adequate resource and technical expertise to carry out the ongoing restoration work that will truly improve the quality of the Connecticut River ecosystem.

Vision - Leaving A Legacy of a Vital Connecticut River Ecosystem

A healthy ecosystem and a healthy economy go hand in hand. The Riverine Habitat Restoration Initiative is the long-term holistic process of investing in ecosystem restoration and protection. This strong public/private partnership will leave the communities of the Connecticut River watershed with a legacy that sustains the foundation of their economic and environmental vitality.

Project Benefit

Dam removals, fishway installations, and erosion remediation and riparian habitat projects result in meaningful benefits for water quality improvement, aquatic habitat and fisheries, public understanding of the environment and involvement in conservation, renewal of the ecosystem and enhancement of economic, community and historic preservation values.

In the case of fishways and dams, immediate benefits can be seen for fish, both migratory and resident species. Fish are able once again to reach historic spawning habitats that have been inaccessible for over 100 years or more. For example in Connecticut, fisheries biologists and citizens have counted tens of thousands of spawning alewives and blueback herring making their way up the fishways that CRWC and its partners have installed to spawn in the upper reaches of three tributaries. Long term, this "new" spawning habitat will increase the number of fish, which in turn improves the food web for all fish and wildlife in the Connecticut River watershed.

By removing dams, rivers return to a more natural state with improved flows, water quality, and riverine/riparian habitat. In Wisconsin on the Baraboo River where 4 dams have been removed within 18 months, fish counts done by the WI Department of Natural Resources in a location above one of the dams went from 11 species dominated by carp to 24 species dominated by small mouth bass. Additionally, the river itself went from high nutrient loading and low dissolved oxygen levels to much lower nutrient levels and high dissolved oxygen.

The cultural, recreational and economic benefits of fisheries restoration, habitat improvement, and erosion remediation are myriad. For public education and involvement, most of the projects partners will implement are hands-on, locally based projects that make a world of difference for people. Communities and local environmental groups take pride in and are galvanized by the cooperative effort. The projects, which are potentially controversial, provide an opportunity for people to come together, to discuss whether they want it in their town or on their property, and ultimately learn first-hand about the environment.

Cultural and recreational values are enhanced through riverine habitat restoration effort. Before each project is undertaken, there is an inventory of the historic and archeological resources to understand the impact on these resources and to comply with state and federal historic preservation laws. Communities often learn more about their history because the inventory and study of the project area sometimes unearth new information. Recreation is enhanced because dam removals and fishways increase the fishery and improve river flows, and erosion remediation and habitat restoration efforts improve water quality. Anglers and boaters benefit directly from these projects, providing an economic benefit through increased recreation. Those who love to swim, water ski, and boat the River can do it knowing they are safe from pollution.

Current Partnerships

Project Stage/Status

A strong watershed partnership of nonprofit, utility, corporate, federal, state, and local leaders continues to raise private funding to leverage federal resources to install fishways, remove dams, remediate erosion, control runoff, mitigate flooding, and restore riparian lands. They have:

• Inventoried, mapped, and assessed erosion and riparian habitat problems to identify the means of action and prioritize projects

• Installed 5 fishways and 2 eelways, removed 2 dams in the watershed and identified 15 additional fisheries restoration projects

• Published A Fishway for Your Steam, a citizens’ guide to providing fish passage around dams in the Northeast

• Opened up 1,200-river miles of habitat by installing fishways and removing dams

• Published a series of fact sheets about erosion and buffers – The Challenge of Erosion and Riparian Buffers for the Connecticut River Valley

• Developed a model for inventorying and prioritizing erosion and riparian habitat, and a method for periodically updating this information

• Drafted two citizens’ primers to spur local interest and action to inventory erosion sites and riparian habitat along rivers, and remove dams that are no longer economically viable

• Implemented three erosion abatement projects employing soft engineering techniques which will be completed this summer on the main stem Connecticut

• Carried out a five-year bioengineering program on a section of severely eroded riverbank in Massachusetts

• Completed a General Study for the VT/NH Connecticut River and identified 7 erosion remediation projects

• Embarked on a study to modernize mapping of the floodplain along the entire length of the Connecticut River using GIS

Cost Estimate

Current Funding Sources

Private sources: foundations, corporations, and utilities. To date the Community Partners have been very successful in raising the required matches to federal funding. We have worked closely with funders to develop the projects and to involve them in the process, which in turn have made them ready financial supporters of our efforts. Public sources: state and federal agencies, municipalities

Resources Needed

The Community Partners need the help and full support - funding and technical assistance - of the New England Federal Partners for Natural Resources particularly the U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Department of Commerce (NOAA), Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. EPA, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (NRCS) to bring focus to a sustained, multi-state, watershed-wide, habitat restoration initiative. The partners have raised and will raise substantial federal, state, and private funds to execute the barrier modification, riparian habitat restoration and protection, and erosion remediation projects that they believe will most improve the watershed ecosystem.

In the coming years, the Community Partners would like the New England Federal Partner agencies to renew their efforts for the River, bringing their technical and scientific expertise to benefit the watershed, working with the Community Partners in implementing our projects, and jointly supporting the Initiative's goals with additional funding to match private, state and municipal resources that the Community Partners raise for their projects. Together the Community Partners and Federal Partners will:

• Install more fish passage facilities or remove identified dams

• Implement a geomorphological study of the Upper River Basin in VT and NH

• Produce a State of the Watershed Report and public outreach program

• Rehabilitate riparian habitat along the Connecticut River and its tributaries

• Repair erosion sites that have been identified as priority sites for remediation by the agencies, communities and environmental organizations in the watershed

• Conduct public education and outreach about the importance of this collaborative effort for the health of the Connecticut River ecosystem and the economic vitality of communities throughout the watershed

• Work to build the overall program of inventorying, mapping, assessment, prioritization and coordination

• Make the Connecticut River Watershed Riverine Habitat Restoration Initiative a model that can be implemented on all 14 American Heritage Rivers

• Help produce the two citizen primers on dam removal and erosion remediation

Champion Agency Department of Interior

Champion Partners

Department of Commerce - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
Environmental Protection Agency
Army Corps of Engineers

Political Support

The Congressional Delegation and the Governors of the four watershed states - Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Other Initiatives Supported

Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Reach I Bioengineering Project; Riverfront Recapture, Riverfront Park Erosion Remediation Initiative; Urban Revitalization Programs in Middletown and Hartford CT, Springfield and Turners Falls MA, Brattleboro and Bellows Falls VT; Connecticut River Watershed Council, Connecticut River Watershed Fisheries Restoration Initiative; Connecticut River Conservation District Coalition, Riparian Habitat Restoration Project; Connecticut River Joint Commissions, Upper Connecticut River Basin Study; Upper Valley Land Trust and Connecticut River Watershed Council, Connecticut River Water Trail.

River Navigator

Dan Burke, Connecticut River American Heritage Initiative
c/o US Fish & Wildlife Service, Sunderland Office of Fisheries Assistance
103 East Plumtree Road, Sunderland, MA 01375
(413) 548-9420 x34

Connecticut River - 2

The Colt Gateway

Project Summary

The Colt Gateway will become a visible and accessible public entrance for pedestrians and vehicles, connecting an emerging Riverfront park system with an urban neighborhood that is currently cut off from the Connecticut River by an interstate highway, a flood control wall, and railroad tracks. The Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood is home to the historic Colt firearms complex, which is the centerpiece of a proposed national park that would include the armory buildings as well as housing for factory workers that was built by Colt. Preliminary plans for Coltsville Heritage Park call for a mixed-use development, with 65 to 70 percent residential and the rest non-residential. The former factory space already includes artists' studios and residences, a bakery, and rehearsal space for the American Theater of the Deaf.

The restoration of access to the Connecticut River will create a priceless amenity for the residents of Sheldon/Charter Oak and a significant enhancement that will help to insure the success of Coltsville Heritage Park. Interstate-91 is elevated in this section of the city so a road and walkway will extend under the highway and over the dike wall to create access to Charter Oak Landing, which is part of the Riverfront park system. The Colt Gateway will include a landscaped and lighted entrance plaza featuring exhibits about the neighborhood's historic ties to the Connecticut River, parking, a walking path, and entrance road.

This project meets Riverfront Recapture's goals: improving the quality of life for people who live and work here; making the Riverfront parks a destination for visitors; and using the River as a catalyst for economic investment. Since Riverfront Recapture was created in 1981, the private, non-profit organization has raised more than $57 million from public and private sources for the restoration of access to the River, and the design and construction of public parks and recreational facilities along the Connecticut River in Hartford and East Hartford.

Project Background

One of Hartford's poorest neighborhoods, Sheldon/Charter Oak is rich in history. It also is the only residential neighborhood in Hartford that has the potential to have direct access to the Connecticut River, which helped residents prosper during the city's golden age of manufacturing in the nineteenth century. Samuel Colt, for example, built his firearms factory close to the River so that he could easily transport raw materials and finished products. A brilliant entrepreneur, who revolutionized American manufacturing by introducing the concept of interchangeable parts, Colt also found opportunities in adversity, such as the River's seasonal flooding. After he built earthen dikes to protect his factory, he planted willow trees to hold the dikes in place - and, using shoots that his Riverfront trees produced each year, became the world's largest manufacturer of willow furniture. It is this kind of ingenuity that the planners of Coltsville Heritage Park hope to capture in a museum about Sam and his wife Elizabeth, who ran the manufacturing empire after she was widowed. The old factory complex no longer manufactures arms. Today, the complex is in the early stages of a remarkable transformation into a mixed-use development that will include housing, galleries and residences for artists, restaurants, small businesses and, possibly, a botanical garden modeled after the one in which Sam and Elizabeth grew fruits and vegetables.

The Colt Gateway between the neighborhood and the Connecticut River will help to enhance the prospects of success for Coltsville Heritage Park and also serve as a stimulus for other neighborhood investment that can create jobs for residents and generate new vitality in the area. The project is identified as a priority in a strategic plan for neighborhood revitalization, prepared by The Coalition to Strengthen the Sheldon/Charter Oak Neighborhood. The neighborhood views the Colt Gateway as one of the projects that can help "our community…emerge from two previous decades of economic and social distress and become a comfortable place for people of all income levels to live and work."

Project Benefits

The creation of this new Riverfront park entrance would encourage further use of the park system by people who live and work in Sheldon/Charter Oak, and further enhance the Connecticut River and surrounding neighborhoods as natural tourist attractions. In 2001, more than 800,000 people of all ages and backgrounds visited the Riverfront parks to enjoy the magnificent natural beauty of our American Heritage River and/or to participate in recreational activity offered by Riverfront Recapture: rowing classes and races, fishing clinics and tournaments, concerts, and festivals. Youths from Sheldon/Charter Oak have participated in rod-building classes in the neighborhood over the winter so that they can fish with their own rod and reel at the river during the summer. The Colt Gateway, with its direct access to the River, will make Sheldon/Charter Oak a much more pleasant place to live, work, and visit.

Current Partnerships

Project Stage/Status

A conceptual plan for this project was completed in 1994, with all of the partners involved agreeing to the scope of the project, as part of the discussion about the overall plan to recapture the Hartford Riverfront. It was decided at that time to move forward with other project elements first: the project centerpiece, the ambitious Riverfront Plaza that spans I-91 in the downtown, and the riverwalks that will connect Riverfront Plaza with parks to the north and south of downtown. Riverfront Plaza opened to the public in September of 1999 and riverwalk construction is underway with a goal of completing the riverwalk system by the time a new convention center opens in 2005. Now, responding to requests from the Mayor and the neighborhood, Riverfront Recapture wants to make the Colt Gateway a priority so that planning for this vital connection to the Riverfront can move forward concurrently with planning for Coltsville Heritage Park. It is hoped that the actual design and permitting process for the gateway can begin early in 2004, with completion of construction by the end of 2006.

Cost Estimate

Proposed Champion Agency: Housing and Urban Development

Champion Partners

U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation

Political Support

Senator Joseph Liebermann
Senator Christopher Dodd
Representative John Larson
Governor John Rowland
Mayor Eddie Perez

Other Initiatives Supported

Riverfront Plaza and Riverwalk Projects - Federal Highway Administration and HUD

River Navigator

Dan Burke, Connecticut River American Heritage Initiative
c/o US Fish & Wildlife Service, Sunderland Office of Fisheries Assistance
103 East Plumtree Road, Sunderland, MA 01375
Phone: (413) 548-9420, x34

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