(Page updated Wed Dec 14, 2011)
Greetings!
|
|
||||
| Rivers Alliance of Connecticut is the only statewide nonprofit dedicated to protecting and enhancing Connecticut's rivers, streams, and watersheds. We promote and support environmentally sound state policies, assist the state's many watershed and river groups, and educate the public about the importance of water conservation and aquatic habitats. We are a membership-based nonprofit corporation founded in 1992. Our 600 members include 100 organizations. | ||||
Rivers Alliance seeks to protect Connecticut's rivers, streams, and watersheds
by:
Building Coalitions, Encouraging Collaboration:
Coordinating the efforts of the state's many river and watershed groups
Strengthening the Grassroots:
Supporting and providing resources to local river conservation organizations
and activists
Promoting Sound Public Policy:
Encouraging supportive state laws, regulations, and programs regarding water
allocation, watershed planning, and river protection
Educating the Public: Providing speakers, holding conferences, and creating informational materials on the importance of river preservation and restoration
AWARDS AND HONORS
Plenary Speaker, New England Water Works Sustainability Congress, 2010;
Montgomery Hare, Environmental Defender Award, Housatonic Valley Association, 2009;
Clyde O. Fisher Award from the CT Bar Association, Environmental Section, 2008;
Willimantic River Watershed Association Annual Award, 2006;
Conservation Advocate Award, NW Conservation District, 2005;
CT Fund for the Environment, Leadership Award, 2005;
Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition, Leadership Award, 2004;
Connecticut Fund for the Environment Award for work on the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA), 2002;
Friend of the River Award, Housatonic Valley Asssociation, 2001;
Environmental Merit Award, US Environmental Protection Agency, 2000;
American Rivers, Outstanding River Advocate Award, 1993.
Rivers Alliance Welcomes New Director Sarah Martin
Eileen Fielding (President) is the Executive Director of the Farmington River Watershed Association.
James Creighton (Vice-President) is the treasurer of the Mattabesset River Watershed Association and is an Environmental Analyst in the Permitting and Enforcement Bureau of Water Management at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEP).
James S. McInerney (Treasurer) is the retired Chairman of the BHC Company (formerly, Bridgeport Hydraulic Company), Board Member of the Housatonic Valley Association, and Vice-Chairman of the Water Pollution Control Authority in Norwalk.
David Bingham, M.D. (Secretary) is a member of the Eight Mile River Wild & Scenic Study Committee, and a Board Member of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters. He also serves on the Salem Planning and Zoning commission, where he is working to develop the town's Conservation and Develop Plan, and the Salem Land Trust.
Bill Anthony is a Director of Friends of Outer Island and a Director of Flanders Nature Center.
Jacqueline Talbot is the River Steward for the Connecticut River Watershed Council.
Martin Mador is the Director of the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association and a director and co-founder of the Mill River Watershed Association and a member of the Hamden Natural Resource and Open Space.
Dwight H. Merriam a partner in the law firm Robinson & Cole, teaches at Vermont Law School, and is recognized nationally as an expert in zoning and other aspects of land-use law.
Marc Taylor, M.D. is the President of the Housatonic Valley Association and is on the Southbury Land Trust Boards. He is founder and co-chairman of the Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition.
Lynn Werner is the Executive Director of the Housatonic Valley Association and the co-chairman of the Rivers Advisory Committee.
Richard Windels is co-founder and president of Friends of Goodwives River in Darien. He has a background in international real estate.
David Radka is Director of Water Resources, Connecticut Water Company
Sarah Martin is principal and founder of Hays Worthington
Margaret Miner, Executive Director
Rose Guimaraes, Development & Programs Director
Diane Edwards, Program Consultant
Tony Mitchell, Website Manager
Rivers Alliance Policies and Projects
Policy Action Goals. Rivers Alliance has always vigorously promoted public policies for protection and restoration of healthy flows in all the state's waterways. As a result, in 2005, Connecticut passed vanguard legislation requiring the DEP to adopt flow standards for all rivers and streams. Recently we have extended our action goals to protection of both quantity and quality in headwaters and ground water. These under-valued and often neglected resources are essential to the water future of this state. They are threatened by overuse, by contamination, and by destruction by construction.
Policy Leadership. As policy leaders, we serve as co-chair of the state Water Planning Council Advisory Group; member-sponsor of Clean Water Coalition (funding for sewage treatment); member of the DEP Commissioner's Policy Work Group for stream-flow regulation; member of the Pesticides Coalition; member of the New Haven Community Foundation's advisory board for the Quinnipiac River Fund; advisory director of the Mill River Watershed Association in New Haven; member of the DEP Commissioner's Stakeholder Group; director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, and so on.
Small Grants Program. We launched the fourth round of watershed assistance small grants. This is a re-granting program funded through the Environmental Protection Agency and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). In the first three rounds we supported over 30 projects, many by new groups. This year we are supporting 11 projects, spread across the state.
Connecticut Watershed Conservation Network (CWCN). This Rivers Alliance program runs conferences twice annually, communicates throughout the network by email year round, and maintains a website of conservation news. Our 100 plus members include people from state agencies, environmental groups, recreational groups, and just plain folks. Our Fall 2006 conference featured a special presentation by the US Geological Survey in Connecticut, and a kick-off to proposed national program of increased USGS interaction with watershed groups.
Fighting City Hall. Rivers Alliance believes you can fight City Hall and win, or at least minimize losses. We assist individuals and organizations that are trying to protect the state's waters despite significant opposition. Our current concerns include:
Education. We are continuing our longstanding program of speaking to garden clubs and other civic groups about the importance of reducing use of pesticides and excess fertilizer in gardening and landscaping. We are launching a new initiative to develop educational materials for town commissioners and others on the new on-site sewage-treatment technologies that are being brought forward statewide, and especially on the coast and in Fairfield County. These packaged systems are often proposed for sensitive watershed areas. It is extremely difficult to get their performance records or even enough information to know what questions to ask. We aim to answer this need.