Recent Activities

Hockanum/Tankerhoosen River Bioassessment
Volunteers conducted a rapid bioassessment at four Tankerhoosen River sites on October 6, 2007, a beautiful, unseasonably warm day. Program staff assisted with the training and field work. Sites included in the bioassessment were the Tankerhoosen River at the Bolton and Tunnel Road crossings, at Talcottville Gorge, and near the confluence with the Hockanum at Golfland. Volunteers included the science teacher/advisor and students from the Rockville High School environmental club, members of the Friends of the Hockanum River Linear Park in Vernon, along with folks from the community.

Eightmile River Watershed Bioassessment
The Eightmile River Watershed Bioassessment was conducted on October 13, 2007 almost entirely by a group of students from Three Rivers Community College, led by two professors, Diba Khan-Bureau and Ed Natoli, David Bingham from Salem, and CRWP staff. Four sites were included in the bioassessment: Harris Brook in Salem, Burnhams Brook in East Haddam, Beaver Brook in Lyme, and the Eightmile River in Pleasant Valley Preserve, also in Lyme.

Coginchaug River Watershed Bioassessment
On November 3, 2007, a chilly day threatened by heavy rain and high winds, an intrepid group of community volunteers conducted a bioassessment of the Coginchaug River at Wadsworth Falls State Park in Middletown/Middlefield, assisted by CRWP staff and Kate Miller, PhD candidate in the Earth and Environmental Science Dept. at Wesleyan University. Though the group was scheduled to complete the bioassessment at several sites, due to the threatening bad weather resources were pooled in order to complete one site as expeditiously as possible. As luck would have it, the rain started just as we were completing our work! The bioassessment was sponsored by the Conservation District and the USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service in conjunction with a study of the Coginchaug River watershed that is underway.