Category Archives: Uncategorized

CULTURAL LANDSCAPE & RECREATIONThis year LFSWS funded informational panels for three kiosks. The three kiosks, one for Berg Field in Hartland and two for Avon, one in Alsop Meadow and one near the river at the Tillotson Road parking area, were prefabricated in 2022. They were installed in 2024 after the panels were designed andContinue reading “Kiosk Panels”

WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYLFSWS again supported the participation of the 8th grade at East Granby Middle School in Trout Unlimited’s program, “Trout in the Classroom.” Students, with their teacher’s guidance, raised the fish from eggs in the classroom. Because the “chiller,” which is essential for maintaining the cold-water temperature trout require, was failing, theContinue reading “East Granby Middle School Fish Release Program”

WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYBryan Connolly, Associate Professor of Botany at Eastern Connecticut State University, conducted surveys of vascular plants in Nod Brook Wildlife Management Area (NBWMA) located in both Avon and Simsbury and also in Simsbury Wildlife Management Area (SWMA) and in Simsbury’s Tariffville Park. The surveys documented native species, including rare plants andContinue reading “Botanical Surveys”

WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY “Changes in the Composition of Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies) Utilizing the Lower Farmington River/Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic Area” In the spring and summer of 2024, Jay Kaplan, Co-Director of Roaring Brook Nature Center, led a survey of Odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) at fifteen sites along the lower Farmington RiverContinue reading “Survey of Odonates (Dragonflies & Damselflies)”

WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYFRWA employed a multiparameter water quality meter on Barber Pond to monitor aquatic conditions during herbicidal treatment. Measurements were taken on several dates between June – August 2024, with two dates including measurements throughout Barber Pond at 1-meter increments. FRWA used this data to create depth profiles for several physical andContinue reading “Barber Pond Monitoring”

WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYFRWA staff and volunteers, along with volunteers from JAX and KNOX Hartford, removed more than 1,300 pounds of water chestnut from Barber Pond over five pulling events in the summer of 2024. Water chestnut seed corms were counted and measured throughout the season to determine efficacy of herbicidal treatments on seedContinue reading “Barber Pond Invasive Water Chestnut Pulls”

WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYThe Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic Committee is proud to have the opportunity to continue supporting Dr. Carole Cheah’s work protecting hemlocks along the lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook and their tributaries. Using a tiny beetle from Japan, S. tsugae, which co-evolved with the hemlock woollyContinue reading “Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Control Project”

WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYThe Farmington Land Trust’s fishing pier was developed with the intent of providing a fishing site accessible to people with limited mobility. Unfortunately, over the years it has presented repeated problems. Located at a bend in the Farmington River near the confluence of the river with Unionville Brook, the pier obstructsContinue reading “Farmington Land Trust’s Fishing Pier Remediation Project”

WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYLFSWS supported FRWA through funding for Water Quality interns for cyanobacteria research on Rainbow Reservoir, a 225-acre impoundment on the Farmington River in Windsor. In recent years, cyanobacteria blooms, which have the potential to be toxic and affect water quality, have been recurring in Rainbow Reservoir, impacting the recreational use. TheContinue reading “Cyanobacteria Research”

WATER QUALITY & BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITYSixteen sites were monitored year-round for chloride to determine how locations fare in winter months when road salts are applied, and in summer during high-production times for aquatic plants and animals. In fiscal year 2023, LFSWS funded FRWA’s purchase of continuous conductivity monitors to enable conductivity research in relation to chlorideContinue reading “Chloride Monitoring”