Housatonic River Estuary

. . . its wildlife, history, activities, water quality

What is an estuary?

Long Island Sound and the southern stretch of the Housatonic River, from the Far Mill River at the southern border of Shelton to the mouth of the river at Stratford and Milford are estuaries --- bodies of water where fresh and salt water mix. The tides drive the seawater from the Atlantic Ocean into Long Island Sound through the Race, the opening at the eastern end, and push the seawater westward and up into the Housatonic, Connecticut, and Thames rivers, where it mixes with the fresh water flowing downriver into the Sound. Estuaries are crucial breeding grounds for many marine animals, support a great variety of plant and animal life, and produce four times more organic matter than a fertilized cornfield.

The Housatonic River begins its 149-mile journey to Long Island Sound in Massachusetts. It flows south through western Massachusetts and Connecticut becoming tidal just below the Derby/Shelton Dam, and becomes an estuary at approximately the Far Mill River in southern Connecticut.

The Housatonic River estuary is made up of different landforms, or habitats, each having its own community of plants and animals which have adapted to local conditions and are dependent upon one another.

All living things within a habitat are tied together by a food web. Plants and algae are producers, using sunlight and nutrients to make food energy. The plants and algae are then consumed by microscopic animals, shellfish, larger fish, insects, turtles, rodents, and deer.

Larger hunters, including hawks, bats, skunks, and raccoons consume insects or small land animals. Large fish and water birds such as the herons, terns, egrets, and osprey consume smaller fish. Nutrients are returned to the natural community through the bacteria and fungi which decompose dead plants and animals. Every species in the food web eats, or is eaten by, another species.

Although estuaries, by their very nature, are resilient to change and environmental upset, human activities, if severe enough, can disrupt the food web. The disruption of even one species in this web causes a change in the entire network. Overfishing, pollution, and habitat destruction have caused species to disappear from the Housatonic estuary.

Estuary Habitats

The Housatonic estuary includes four types of habitat: uplands (well-drained soils with elevations up to 500 feet), tidal wetlands and mud flats, sand spits and barrier beaches, and Long Island Sound.

The tidal wetlands and mud flats, low-lying areas that flood at high tide and are exposed at low tide, are one of the most important habitats in the estuary. Marsh plants slow and soak up flood waters, filter out chemicals and partially break down and take in pollutants, and also prevent land erosion by absorbing the force of wind and waves.

Microscopic organisms and bacteria in tidal marshes break down dead plant and animal matter, cleaning the water and recycling nutrients into the estuary.

Since the late 1800s, 29 percent of Connecticut's tidal wetlands have been lost due to construction, dredging, draining, dumping, and pollution. The Tidal Wetlands Act of 1969 has helped to save the remaining marshlands, with an average annual loss of wetlands since then estimated at one-quarter acre per year.

Milford Point at the river's mouth, and Long Beach, west of Stratford Point, are sand spits and barrier beaches, which are important breeding areas for coastal birds and provide habitat for migrant and wintering species. A Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection program protects critical nesting sites of threatened species on Milford Point and the Great Meadows Salt Marsh in Stratford. Fencing the nesting areas and public education have helped increase nesting pairs in the estuary.

Threatened estuary wildlife species include the piping plover, least tern and the horned lark. Threatened plants are panic grass, beach needlegrass and false beach heather. The grasshopper sparrow is an endangered bird and endangered plants include the coast violet, lizard's tail and saltpond grass.

In Long Island Sound and at the mouth of the Housatonic River, plants and animals living in the open water are either bottom-dwelling, called benthos, or dwell in the water column, which supports a wide variety of life including anadromous fish, such as Atlantic salmon. Anadromous fish must migrate into fresh water to lay eggs, or spawn. After the young hatch, they swim to salt water to mature. Anadromous populations have declined because dams on the Housatonic River prevent the fish from reaching their spawning grounds.

Estuary Facts

Housatonic River & Estuary

149 miles long from its source at Muddy Pond in Washington, Massachusetts to Milford and Stratford, Connecticut.

The watershed is 1,948 square miles (Massachusetts 499 sq. mi., New York 215 sq. mi., and Connecticut 1,234 sq. mi.)

The river is tidal for 13 miles, from Derby to Long Island Sound, and is classified as an estuary for approximately 8 miles.

Total fall from the source to the Sound is 959 feet.

The river adds 11 percent of the fresh water that drains into the Sound.

Principal tributaries:

Massachusetts: Williams and Green rivers.

Connecticut: Naugatuck, Still, Shepaug, and Pomperaug rivers.

New York: Ten Mile River.

Six hydroelectric facilities generate more than 125,000 kilowatts.

40 percent of Connecticut's seed oysters are cultivated in the Housatonic estuary.

The Housatonic watershed is home to some of the best fishing, boating, canoeing, bicycling, hiking, and camping in the Northeast.

Long Island Sound

1,300 square miles, 110 miles long, and 21 miles wide at its widest point.

577 miles of coastline, 95 miles of public beaches.

15 million people live within the Sound's drainage basin, and 44 sewage treatment plants discharge 1.2 billion gallons each day into the Sound.

Connecticut has 36 cities and towns bordering the Sound, New York has 62, plus the New York City boroughs of Queens and the Bronx.

16 major seaports which handle cargoes of mainly petroleum products, sand and gravel, and crushed stone.

History of the estuary

The original settlers in the Housatonic River valley were the Paugussett Indians, part of the Algonquian nation, who migrated from New York. They named the upper part of the river Pootatuck, or River of the Great Falls. Eventually, the Indian name Ousatonic, meaning place beyond the mountains, was given to the Housatonic River. The tribes settled along the riverbanks, farmed the fertile floodplains and harvested finfish and shellfish. Inland groups of Indians also traveled to Long Island Sound for salt and fish.

The first record of the Housatonic made by a European was in 1614 by Dutch explorer Adrian Block, who sailed eastward from the Dutch settlement of Niew Amsterdam (New York). He named the river the River of Roodenberg, or River of the Red Hills.

The west shore of the lower Housatonic River valley was later settled by English colonists in 1639, when Reverend Adam Blakeman and many families from his church left Wethersfield, Connecticut and followed Indian trails to the river shoreline. They chose a protected harbor the Indians called Cupheag (The Harbor), where they began the town of Stratford. An historic marker, located on Shore Road behind the American Shakespeare Theatre, marks the location of Cupheag, now called Mac's Harbor.

In the same year a group of English colonists from the Quinnipiac (New Haven) colony bought land surrounding the Wepawaug River from the Paugussett Indians and founded the Wepawaug Colony, which became Milford. Wepawaug colonists used Milford Point and the marshy eastern shore of the Housatonic for fishing, digging oysters, and hunting. From these two settlements the English colonists moved up the river valley, driving out most of the Indians, until they settled the entire valley.

The settlers depended on the river to survive and to move goods and people (the steep hills rising from the river shore made road building difficult). Each year spring floods deposited a new layer of fertile soil onto the flood plains. The colonists grew Indian corn, oats, barley, peas, beans, turnip, squash, and pumpkins and harvested spartina, one of the salt marsh grasses, to feed their farm animals. The river also provided an abundant supply of fish, clams, and oysters, and many migratory birds.

As the settlements grew, colonists harvested lumber, crops, and fish to trade with England and the English Caribbean colonies. The towns of Stratford, Huntington (Shelton), and Derby became commercial hubs where timber, fish, livestock, and crops were marketed to Boston, New York, Europe, and the West Indies.

Shipbuilding

The shipbuilding industry flourished in the Housatonic River estuary from the mid-1600s through the 1800s. One of the earliest shipyards was built in 1657 by Thomas Wheeler at Derby Landing just below the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. Hallock's shipyard, the largest in the valley, launched 52 ships between 1824-1868.

In 1685, across the river in Ripton (Shelton), Dr. Thomas Leavenworth built a warehouse, tannery and shipyard that operated from 1760 to 1812, and launched ocean-going schooners, sloops, and brigs. This land is now the site of Indian Well State Park.

James Bennett's shipyard in Stratford, built in 1696, is now the Sikorsky Aircraft complex. In the early 1700s, Daniel Curtis opened a shipyard at the mouth of Ferry Creek and large schooners were built there during the mid-1800s. The 280-ton Helen Mar was launched in 1855, and the last boat was built there in 1938. This site is now the Stratford Marina. The last large shipyard was Housatonic Shipbuilding, where in 1918 the 2,551-ton, 267-foot steamship Fairfield was launched.

The Housatonic estuary communities remained major seaports until improved roads and railroads provided land access to markets and transportation centers. Completion of the Ousatonic Dam in Shelton and Derby in 1870 changed the river flow causing silt to build up below the dam making the river too shallow for large, ocean-going ships.

Bridges

Washington Bridge, fifth bridge on its site since 1802, was built in 1921 and carries US 1 across the river. The I-95 bridge is named for the first ferryman, Moses Wheeler. The railroad bridge is on the national register, fourth bridge at its location; the first, built in 1848, was, at 1,293 feet, the longest covered bridge ever built in Connecticut. The Merritt Parkway bridge, named for aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky, is due for replacement in 1997.

Manufacturing

Housatonic colonists built lumber mills for house construction and grist mills for flour. Paper, woolen, and bark mills followed. Mac's Harbor is believed to be the site of the first mill in the river valley, most likely a grain mill powered by the Housatonic River tides.

James Blakeman built the first mill on the Far Mill River, betweenStratford and Shelton, in 1676. By the Revolutionary War, the Far Mill River supported 11 mills from source to mouth. Blakeman also built a dam on the Near Mill River in Stratford in 1685, which powered mills until the 1770s. The dam and pond, known as Peck's Mill Pond, now forms a town park.

Small mills and foundries serving local needs were built in the Housatonic valley until the mid-1800s. In 1833, Sheldon Smith, his brother, Fitch, John Lewis and Anson G. Phelps, built the Birmingham Canal System on the Naugatuck River just above its confluence with the Housatonic. The village of Bir-mingham, which grew around the dam and canal to form the downtown business district of Derby.

The first factory along the canal, The Birmingham Iron Foundry, was completed in 1836, the same year that Edward N. Shelton and his brother-in-law, Nathan C. Sanford, built the Shelton Tack Company. By 1847, the village of Birmingham had 13 factories, using 18 water wheels.

Edward Shelton formed the Ousatonic Water Company in 1866 and completed the Ousatonic Dam spanning the river between Derby and Shelton in 1870, creating the first hydropower impoundment on the Housatonic River. The dam and canal attracted manufacturers to the west shore of the river in the Town of Huntington. By 1880, 12 factories, employing 1,000, were on the canal; eight still stand. In 1882, Huntington Landing became the borough of Shelton, named for Edward N. Shelton.

By the early 1900s a mile of factories lined the Shelton river shoreline, and today, in Shelton and Derby, industrial development continues with new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. 

Fishing

Since the earliest days of English settlement, the Housatonic River has supported commercial fishing. The most important commercial fish taken from the Housatonic River was the American shad.

The adult males weigh up to six pounds and females as much as 12 pounds. Shad feed at sea as adults, returning to fresh water to spawn. By the mid-1800s shad fishing was an important seasonal occupation, which ended with the construction of the Housatonic Dam in 1870. For 20 years after that, shad could not pass the dam into the upper Housatonic to spawn and were easily caught.

By the end of the 1800s the species had disappeared from the Housatonic. Harvesting of American oysters from the floor of the Sound and the Housatonic estuary between Milford and Stratford began in the mid-1700s. During the 19th century the oystermen in Stratford and Milford discovered that the free swimming oyster larvae, called spat, attach to empty oyster shells about two weeks after birth, where they grow for the rest of their lives. Spreading oyster shells onto the oysterbeds in July would encourage spat growth. The oystermen's demand for shells encouraged a unique operation known as shelling in Stratford. The shellermen would tong shells or run a powerboat over the beds to "kick" the shells loose so they could be scooped or tonged. Nell's Island was a favorite spot to store shells for sale.

Until the mid-1970s, pollution, over-fishing, predators, and hurricane damage caused the decline of oyster harvesting. The Connecticut oyster industry has been rebuilt through pollution control, erosion reduction to keep mud from covering spat, and good aquaculture practices. Now two-year-old seed oysters grown in the Housatonic estuary are transplanted offshore in Long Island Sound to grow in cleaner water for two or three years before they are harvested. The oyster beds are protected by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and the Stratford Shellfish Commission. Connecticut has the largest aquaculture industry in New England. The Housatonic oyster beds are Connecticut's major producers of seed oysters, and one of the largest north of Chesapeake Bay.

Many oyster beds in Long Island Sound are also cultivated for hard-shell clams, which is second only to the oyster as a commercially harvested shellfish. The beds are dredged to harvest clams after the seed oysters are removed. The hard-shell clam, also known as the quahog, littleneck, or cherrystone clam, was gathered by the coastal Indians for food. The shells were used as containers and tools, and were made into wampum beads for money and ceremonial use.

How you can protect Long Island Sound

Prevent erosion and runoff by maintaining a vegetation buffer along riverbanks.

Test your lawn soil annually (call the Cooperative Extension Service for info). Use insect and weed killers only as a last resort.

Conserve water by fixing leaks, running the dishwasher and washing machine only with full loads, shutting off water when shaving, brushing teeth, or washing hands, and watering lawns or gardens only when necessary, in the early morning or evening hours.

Don't use a garbage disposal and don't dump paints, gasoline, motor oil, or chemicals into sinks, toilets, floor drains, storm drains, or on the ground. Septic systems can't break down household chemicals or animal fats. Ask your town's public works department about collection of used motor oil and hazardous waste. Take old car batteries to your retailer for recycling.

Maintain septic systems to prevent leakage into the water system.

When boating, don't dump anything overboard. The waste from one boat may seem small, but thousands

of boats use the Sound and the estuary. Dispose of trash and pump out sewage at appropriate on-shore facilities.

Report oil spills, erosion from construction sites, fish kills, and evidence of illegal dumping to appropriate agencies.

Join a conservation or environmental organization and lend support to a local commission or group.

Ask your town to create conservation zones of protected open space along the Housatonic shores.

Ask your town to adopt a river and groundwater protection plan.

Ducks and the Decoy Carvers

In the estuary, huge flocks of migratory water birds once blotted out the sun. In the 19th century, market hunters could bag two dozen birds with a single shot and ship them to New York. In 1863, a gentleman duck hunter named Albert Laing came to Stratford to live. He carved realistic decoys, high-chested to battle river currents, and began the Stratford school of decoy carving.

Others emulated Laing, the most noted being Charles E. Shang Wheeler, oysterman, state senator, and naturalist. Shang's decoys and Laing's both sell for $60,000 or more today.

Watersheds and water quality

ll rivers flow toward the sea, propelled by the force of gravity. The 1,948-square-mile Housatonic River watershed collects rain, snow and sheds it into the groundwater, streams and rivers which flow into the Housatonic River.

A drop of water falling anywhere in this watershed eventually arrives at Long Island Sound along with contaminants (nonpoint source pollution) such as oil, gasoline, fertilizers, pesticides, and road salt picked up along its journey from buildings, roads, parking lots, lawns and gardens.

Joined by point source discharges from pipes at industrial facilities and wastewater treatment plants, pollution draining from anywhere in the watershed may affect water quality in the estuary and Sound, and, if severe enough, harm plant and animal life and disrupt the food web.

Water quality in the estuary

There was a time when estuary shellfish were tinted blue-green, the result of high copper levels in discharges from metal finishing plants on the Naugatuck River which flows into the Housatonic at Derby.

Copper, chromium and lead were introduced into the Naugatuck and Housatonic rivers through industrial and wastewater treatment plant discharges and combined sewer overflows. The regulation of point source discharges, upgrading of municipal wastewater treatment plants and elimination of most combined sewer overflows significantly decreased the concentrations of most heavy metals in the Housatonic River and estuary.

Several million pounds of lead pellets lie in the sediments at the mouth of the Housatonic at Stratford's Lordship Point, the legacy of past trap and skeet shooting. This lead threatens waterfowl and aquatic life. It is estimated that half of the wintering black ducks that feed in the shallow waters on mussels, snails, sea worms and seeds have been poisoned by the lead.

Fortunately, cleanup plans include site dredging, recovering lead from the dredged sediment and returning clean sediment to the site. Saltwater, tidal and water circulation patterns have been affected by historic unregulated sand and gravel mining activities in the estuary which left behind deep dredge holes. Fine grain materials and organics settled in these pits, using up oxygen, leaving behind aquatic deserts where life cannot exist. Today, dredging is regulated and generally confined to navigational channels.

Floatable debris (flotsam), such as plastic utensils and wrappers, paper cups, bottles, cigarettes, cans and other litter enter streams and rivers where they often injure or kill turtles, fish, birds and other life by direct ingestion or entanglement.

Today's major water quality problem in the estuary is nutrient loading. Nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon enter the Housatonic River and its tributaries from wastewater treatment plant discharges. However, this source continues to decline --- the result of ongoing state efforts to upgrade plants to require advanced treatment.

A continuing source of nutrient loading is nonpoint source pollution. Atmospheric deposition of airborne pollutants and runoff from urban and suburban areas, septic systems, lawns, gardens, roadways, construction sites and upstream agricultural activities carry nutrients into storm drains, brooks, streams and eventually into the Housatonic River. Because these are widespread, they are difficult to identify and costly to regulate, and remain a contributor of nitrogen to Long Island Sound, which affects the Sound's major water quality problem, hypoxia.

Hypoxia

In recent years a condition known as hypoxia, low dissolved oxygen levels in the water, has been developing in Long Island Sound. In summer, the sun heats the water near the surface and the dense, cooler water lies in a layer along the bottom. These two layers do not mix. Decomposing organisms in the bottom layer use up dissolved oxygen, and when the water of the estuary is calm there are no waves to mix in more oxygen.

At least three parts per million of dissolved oxygen in the water is needed to protect most estuarine species. If the oxygen level falls below this level, hypoxia occurs, and some bottom-dwellers may be affected. The condition gets worse excess nutrients flow into the Sound. The nutrients cause algae to "bloom" or grow explosively. When these algae die, they sink to the bottom increasing decomposition, sometimes using up almost all the dissolved oxygen thereby threatening all marine life.

Vision for the Future

Open space along the Housatonic riverfront is vital in maintaining the health, beauty, and natural diversity of the river's ecosystem, but intensive development is eliminating it. Comprehensive land protection and management plans can preserve open space by balancing conservation with orderly growth.

To achieve this, HVA has initiated the Housatonic RiverBelt Greenway project which brings together community groups and local governments to create a "greenway" of parks, river access points, and protected lands linked by walking and biking paths from Long Island Sound to the river's source in Massachusetts.

Stops along the wayTourism is a vital and growing part of the economy in the lower Housatonic River valley. The area's natural beauty and location on the river and Long Island Sound attract many visitors each year. Recreational fishing alone draws thousands of visitors to the Housatonic estuary. The most popular game fish are bluefish, blackfish (tautog), striped bass, summer flounder (fluke), and winter flounder. Sport fishing also generates business for local marinas, bait and tackle shops, outfitters, and restaurants. Many other recreational as well as educational activities are available here. See map on page 15 for locations of the following:

MilfordA. Milford PointOwned by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and included in the Connecticut Coastal Wildlife Refuge, which is part of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. Sheltered behind the Point is Nell's Island and Marsh, about 850 acres of tidal marsh and estuary. Nell's Island and the nearby Farm Flats, Fowler's, Long, Carting, Peacock, and Goose Islands form Connecticut's Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Refuge.

The Connecticut Audubon Society operates the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point. The center includes an education center and a boardwalk and interpretive trail along the dunes. Fencing is erected each year to protect nesting sites for endangered species such as the piping plover, least tern, and the diamondback terrapin.

Stratford

Long Beach:An undeveloped barrier beach owned by the town of Stratford. The beach has no facilities. Limited parking is accessible from Oak Bluff Road; a parking fee is charged.

Short Beach Park:A large beach and recreation area at the mouth of the Housatonic River. Access is from Short Beach Road. The park has athletic fields, a covered picnic shelter and picnic area, and bathing area. Non-residents are charged a parking fee.

Stratford Point:Stratford Lighthouse is located at the foot of Prospect Drive on Stratford Point. Visitors can walk from the Short Beach parking lot on Prospect Drive to the lighthouse, which was constructed in 1881 to replace the original built in 1821.

American Shakespeare Theatre / Connecticut Center for the Performing Arts:This noted landmark, opened in 1955, stands on a 14-acre scenic park on the east side of Elm Street on the banks of the Housatonic. The grounds, which offer a sweeping view of the estuary, and a picnic area, are open to the public. Katherine Hepburn stayed on the grounds in a small cottage, called Kate's Cottage, during the summers of 1957 and 1962, while she performed at the theater. The building was originally used by local oystermen as a place to store their catch before sale. The Department of Environmental Protection recently chose a private company, Brickhill-Burke, to restore and reopen the 1,537 seat building.

Town Wharf/Bond's Dock:Ship owners have maintained a wharf at this location since 1686. In 1880, John Bond, a retired schooner captain, bought an old warehouse at the dock and turned it into a saloon and prizefighting camp, where boxers trained until 1924, when then owner, Battling Levinsky, moved his operation to Bridgeport. The town of Stratford has owned and maintained Bond's Dock since 1940. The dock is used by commercial vessels, oysterboats, private yachts, sport fishermen, and bird watchers. Just south of the dock is the last oysterhouse (now a private home) and the house where decoy carver Laing once lived. The pier is open to the public.

Peck's Mill Pond:A 14-acre town park located on Route 110 preserves the millpond built by James Blakeman in 1865. On August 6, 1899, a trolley car derailed and fell off a bridge over the pond killing 32 people. One brownstone pier from the bridge remains in the pond. The park is open for walking and ice skating.

Pope's Island Wildlife Area:This state-owned island is located one-quarter mile north of the railroad bridge in Stratford. Pope's Island is adjacent to three other islands; all are part of the Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Sanctuary.

Boothe Park:The 30-acre homestead of David and Stephen Boothe was willed to Stratford in 1949. The park includes Boothe's house and a collection of odd structures, as well as athletic fields, picnic groves, and a small pond. It's a popular winter sledding area.

Shelton

Clean Sound, Inc. has a Mobile Education Center which travels to schools, local environmental groups, and community organizations. Clean Sound also sponsors cleanups on the Housatonic estuary and Long Island Sound. For more information, call 203-929-6195.

Sunnyside Boat Ramp/Park:The 22-acre park extends from River Road (Route 110) to the Housatonic River shore and includes a boat launching area, picnic grounds, and a walkway along the river.

Riverview Park:A 17-acre park located on Ten Coat Lane near the Housatonic Dam, which contains the remaining lock from the canal system built in 1870. The park has fishing access, athletic fields, and posted historical information about the industrial heritage of the area.

Leavenworth Landing/Indian Well State Although the 156.8-acre park is named after an Indian well there is no evidence that the Pootatuck Tribe, which lived in the area, ever relied on a water source in the park. In 1921, the state received the land for the park, which offers swimming, boating, fishing, field sports, hiking and picnicking with handicapped access.

Derby

Osbornedale State Park: The 350-acre park is located off Route 34 about one mile north of the center of Derby. Activities offered are skating, picnicking and field sports (both handicapped accessible), hiking, fishing, and cross-country skiing. Services include a picnic shelter, drinking water, flush toilets, paved parking and telephone.

Osborne Homestead Museum: This three-acre state park was the house and grounds of the Frances E. Osborne Kellogg Estate, and is located adjacent to Osbornedale State Park. The Museum is located in the house and displays the contents of the estate including fine arts and antiques. The grounds have formal gardens, ornamentals, and flowering trees. Guided tours (a donation is requested) and seasonal events are offered.

Kellogg Environmental Center: Located on the grounds of the Osborne Homestead Museum, this natural environmental center offers self-guided tours, exhibits and special programs, as well as on-site or field programs or in-classroom programs for school groups. The Bull Meadow Study Area contains a variety of aquatic habitats.    

The Housatonic Valley Association thanks the following advisory committee members for their help in compiling this Housatonic Estuary guide.

Nicole Morganthaler, LIS Programs, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection; Lewis G. Knapp, Stratford historian; John Atkin, Save the Sound Inc.; John H. Volk, Connecticut Department of Agriculture; Terry Backer, LIS Soundkeeper Fund; Chris Nevins, Shelton Historical Society; Sandra Nesteriak, Shelton Mayor's office; Charles Rotteck, Derby historian; and Barbara Milton, Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point.

Designed and edited by Jane BakkerResearched by Elaine Kowalcky

This guide is published by HVA. Want to know more about the Housatonic River, its tributaries and the watershed? Call . . . The Housatonic Valley Association860-672-6678

Headquarters: P.O. Box 28, Cornwall Bridge, Conn. 06754, Fax: 860-672-0162

Berkshire County Office: Lenox Station, P.O. Box 1885, Lenox, Mass. 01240, Phone & Fax: 413-637-3188

The Housatonic Valley Association (HVA), founded in 1941, is a nonprofit citizens' environmental organization with more than 3,500 members. HVA is the only organization that works to protect the entire Housatonic River and its 1,948-square-mile watershed from the Berkshires of western Massachusetts to Long Island Sound.

HVA's programs include:Housatonic Volunteer River MonitorsHousatonic RiverBelt Greenway: river trails and green spaces from the Berkshires to Long Island Sound.Source-to-Sound Cleanup: annual one-day event with more than 1,500 volunteers to clean the Housatonic River and its tributaries. Watershed Environmental Resource Center: provides educational services to schools, government agencies, businesses, and the public. Watershed Inventory: identifies important natural resources and open space. Groundwater Action Project: assists land owners and towns to protect underground drinking water supplies. Public Advocacy: speaks out for sensible policies that protect the watershed's valuable resources. Land Planning: assists land owners and towns to develop land-use plans that balance growth with conservation.This guide is funded by . . . The Long Island Sound License Plate Fund The Fund receives proceeds from the sale of Long Island Sound license plates. Administered by the Department of Environmental Protection, the Fund supports projects promoting the protection of Long Island Sound in the categories of public access, public education and outreach, habitat restoration and marine research.Other Housatonic estuary projects supported by the Fund include:Clean Sound, Inc.: Educational materials for a Mobile Education Center that travels to schools, local environmental groups and community organizations. Clean Sound also sponsors cleanups of the Housatonic estuary and Long Island Sound. For more information, call 203-929-6195.

Connecticut Audubon Society: Developing a salt marsh laboratory at the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center, Milford Point, Milford.City of Stratford: Expanding and improving the Short Beach Park picnic area, and restoring dunes and stabilizing the beach at Long Beach Park.

Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection: Constructing observation platforms and interpretive signage at Milford Point, Milford, to improve public access and education.

City of Milford: Planting beach grass and restoring dunes.

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