Fact Sheet/Spring 2005
 AMERICAN HERITAGE RIVERS
 www.epa.gov/OWOW/
   heritage/rivers.html
 The   American   Heritage
 Rivers  Initiative was created
 to advance the goals identi-
 fied by river communities. The
 Initiative has three objectives:
 natura resource an  envron-
 mental protection, economic
 revitalization, and historic and
 cultural preservation. No new
 regulatory authority is created
 Likewise, no  direct federal
 funding is available to the
 Initiative.   Existing federal
 authorities and programs are
 used to assist the community
 partners
*• Connecticut River
  Navigator Contact
  Dan Burke
  (413) 548-9420 etf.34
  burke.dan@epa.gov
          United States
          Environmental Protection
          Agency New England
     888-372-7341
 www.epa.gov/region1
                                Connecticut  River
What Makes the Connecticut River
Watershed Special?
 Ht is New England's largest watershed -11,000
  square-miles in 4 states with 38 major tributaries.
 Ht is also New England's longest river - 410 miles.
 Hhe Connecticut River drops 2,400 feet from its
  source before flowing into Long Island Sound.
 Hhe lower 60 miles of the river are tidal, with the
  boundary between salt and freshwater about 17
  miles from its mouth under normal conditions.
 Hhe Connecticut River flow accounts for 70 percent
  of the freshwater inflow to Long Island Sound,
  delivering a daily average flow of nearly 16,000
  cubic feet per second.
 Hhe watershed was nationally designated as one of
  fourteen American Heritage Rivers.
 Hhe entire watershed has been designated as the
  Silvio 0. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge,
  the only refuge encompassing an entire ecosystem.
 Hhe river's tidal wetlands were designated "wet-
  lands of international importance especially for
  wildlife", one of 15 wetlands recognized in the US.

 What are the Long Term Goals?
 *• Support community based efforts to restore and
  protect the environmental, economic, cultural,
  and historic resources of the Connecticut River
  Watershed.
 ^firing people back to the river by providing greater
  river access and encouraging investment in care-
  fully planned river-fronteconomic development.
                                                                             Progress/Goals for the Future
What Partnership Progress has Been Made?
 ^-Connecticut River Joint Commissions (CRJC) has
  awarded $1.1 million in federal grant funds to sup-
  port 373 locally-inspired projects that implement
  recommendations of the CRJC Corridor Management
  Plan. This investment has been matched ten-fold
  with non-federal funding and in-kind support.
 *-CRJC formed the Connecticut River Byway Council to
  fulfillits legislative mandate to promote tourismand
  economic development.
 Ho address erosion as a prevalent river concern, CRJC
  developed a series of popular fact sheets on
  riverbank erosion assessment and restoration, and a
  second series on riparian buffers. (See CRJC website)
 ^-Federalagencies awarded $217,000 to CRJC to pri-
  oritize erosion sites for restoration along the
  entire 275 miles of main river stem in NH and VT.
 ^-EPAawarded $1,275,000 of Brownfields grants to
  several Connecticut Valley communities and
  organizations.
 *-EPA awarded New England Interstate Water Pollu-
  tion Control Commission (NEIWPCC) $225,000 for
  the Connecticut River Nitrogen Monitoring and
  Modeling Pro ject to support implementation of the
  Long Island Sound TMDL for nitrogen.
 >-EPA awarded MA DEP a $ 50,000 grant to develop
  a bacteria monitoring plan in the Connecticut
  River and tributaries, with Greater Springfield as
  the focus area.

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                  Connecticut  River
                              Connecticut River
                                 Watershed
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^Connecticut River Joint
  Commissions (CRJC) Contact
  Sharon Francis
  Executive Director
  (603)826-4800
  www.crjc.org
^Connecticut River Watershed
  Council, (CRWC) Inc. Contact
  Chelsea Gwyther
  Executive Director
  (413)722-2020
  www.ctriver.org
                                                  AMERICAN HERITAGE
RIVERS
                                                                                                   www.epa.gov
                                                                                           /OWOW/heritage/rivers.html
                                                                                        What EPA Actions are Planned for 2005?
                                                    Quality and  Designated Use:
                                              GRJG, NH DES, and EPA have partnered to col-
                                              lect and analyze water quality samples over the
                                              entire 275 river miles of the Connecticut River
                                              in New Hampshire and Vermont to determine
                                              if water quality is sufficient to support desig-
                                              nated uses of the river (fishing and swim-
                                              ming).
                                             ^•Erosion,  Deposition,  and  Channel
                                              Change: GRJC has undertaken a fluvial geo-
                                              morphology assessment of the Connecticut
                                              River from Murphy Dam in Pittsburg, NH to
                                              the Gilman Dam in Lunenburg, VT. CRJC is ex-
                                              amining the natural and human causes for
                                              channel change on the river, identifying the
                                              most unstable and degraded reaches, and
                                              choosing restoration strategies to bring the
                                              river toward a stable equilibrium. Funding
                                              support has come fromNOAA($27,500) and
                                              the Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and
                                              Enhancement Fund ($32,600) associated
                                              with the Fifteen Mile Falls hydro development.
               United States
               Environmental Protection
               Agency New England
Customer Call Center 888-372-7341  • www.epa.gov/region1
Note: EPA New England offers businesses and municipalities information and assistance to improve compliance with environmental laws and be better stewards of their
local environment. Please call to learn how EPA can help.
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