Next Steps for the Watershed-Based Plan

Phase II of the Watershed-Based Planning Process for the Saugatuck, Five Mile, and Mianus Rivers will begin with a stakeholders workshop on November 30, 2011 in the Douglas Room of the Lapham Community Center in New Canaan from 6:30-8:30pm. The Center is located at 663 South Avenue, New Canaan in Waveny Park (the stone house beyond the swimming pool). Directions are available at: http://www.laphamcenter.org/welcome_directions.pdf.

This workshop represents the next step in developing final watershed-based plans for each watershed. The focus of the workshop will be to review and discuss the preliminary recommendations included in the draft plans and to get the community’s feedback on additional project concepts for the final plans. Draft reports are available on the project website http://www.swrpa.org/Default.aspx?Regional=280

During the remainder of the watershed planning process this blog will be updated on a weekly basis. Stakeholders can sign up to receive email notification of new blog posts by emailing Lia (lmastropolo “at” akrf.com) and requesting to be included for their primary river of interest. Stakeholders are also encouraged to post links to their own research and projects within the watershed and to ask general questions of the  group. AKRF staff are available to provide blog support to anyone interested in participating (again, lmastropolo “at” akrf.com).

Draft Watershed Plans Available

The Final Draft of the Watershed Based Plan (WBP) for the Saugatuck River Watershed is posted online: http://www.swrpa.org/Default.aspx?Regional=280.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the plan!

This marks the successful completion of Phase I. Phase II of the project will build on the Draft WBP to create a final plan for the watershed. Work is expected to begin on Phase II in the fall.

Please note if you are printing the plan, the "Full Document" pdf and the "Figures Only" pdf include both 8.5x11 and 11x 17 pages

Interactive Google Map

Stakeholders in the Saugatuck River Watershed have a new tool for sharing site-specific information: a newly created Google map that can be annotated with text, points, and polygons to indicate existing and proposed project sites as well as known problem areas.




The map currently contains the watershed boundary and the proposed projects included in the most recent draft of the Plan. To annotate these points or to add new features to the map, follow these simple steps:

• Use this link to edit the map
• Sign in at the top right of the page using the generic Gmail address provided by SWRPA (if you are already signed into Google using a personal Gmail account, you will need to log out first)
• The map will reload automatically, this time with an “edit” button on the left near the map title
• Three symbols will appear near the main map navigation: a hand (pan), and point (draw point) and a line (draw polygon)—use these symbols to draw new features and to move features you’ve already drawn
• Click on any feature to add a title to a new feature, or to add comments/description to one of the features proposed in the current draft of the Plan

Welcome!

Welcome to the Saugatuck River Watershed Planning blog, an online forum for community members, stakeholder groups, and watershed professionals to discuss existing conditions and future ideas for the Saugatuck River Watershed. This forum supports efforts of the Southwest Regional Planning Authority (SWRPA) to develop a watershed-based management plan to meet Section 319 funding requirements under the federal Clean Water Act.

To this end, a steering committee including The Nature Conservancy's Saugatuck River Watershed Partnership, local scientists, planners, and community members was convened in July of 2010. Building off the Conservation Action Plan developed in 2006 by The Nature Conservancy's Saugatuck River Watershed Partnership, the committee defined the watershed’s most important uses and values and suggested management strategies to be incorporated into the Plan. As the Plan is developed further, the steering committee will continue to review its content and provide feedback.

This blog offers an easy method of communication among SWRPA, the steering committee, and the consultants developing the plan. You can ask general questions of the group; post links to useful information; suggest projects through the map feature; recommend funding sources; and share your specialized knowledge about this unique watershed. Each member of the group may access the blog and post new content using a generic account that has previously been distributed.

The process for posting content is as follows:

• At the upper right corner of this page, click “sign in” using the generic Gmail address provided to you
• Click “new post” in the upper right corner of the page
• Enter text in the space provided, then click “publish post” to publish your content to the main blog (note: once posted, text cannot be deleted)
• Other members of the blog community can comment on your post via the “post comment” feature displayed below each blog entry.

This project is funded in part through the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through a Clean Water Act Section 604(b) planning grant.