|
River
Resources
Organizations, Businesses, Marinas , Publications, & Links
The Electronic Valley is one of the most progressive regional web sites in the country containing listings of upcomming events, local attractions, service clubs, business guides, and more. The EV covers the communities of the lower Naugatuck Valley including Shelton, Derby, Ansonia, Seymour, Oxford, and Beacon Falls. The EV was developed by Healthy Valley 2000; a coalition group sponsored by United Way to improve and promote the lower Naugatuck Valley. Contact Meher Vakharia at (203) 735-3942 if you would like to help or add a site to EV.
The Housatonic Valley Association, 150 Kent Road, P.O. Box 28, Cornwall Bridge, Conn. 10654, (860) 672-6678. Tony Mitchell & Ruth Malins are in the process of creating a web site for HVA, however there's already a lot of good information on their site if anyone is interested in getting an advance peek. This group is very active in assisting local efforts to improve the river. Contact Elaine Kowalcky regarding the Housatonic Greenway program to improve public access to the river.
Connecticut Forest and Parks Association,
16 Meriden Road, Rockfall (Meriden), CT 06481 (860) 649-3832. This is the oldest
environmental organization in the state and they are the primary reason that we have so
many fine state parks such as Indian Well, Sherwood Island, and Kettletown. Volunteers
from CFPA maintain the hundreds of miles of "Blue Dot" trail system throughout
the state. They also publish the Connecticut Walk Book which has trail
descriptions for the Paugussett, Pomperaug, and Lake Zoar Trails.
Clean Sound, Inc. 16 Ojibwa Road, Shelton, Conn. (203) 929-6195. This group of volunteers sponsors clean up days along the river and Long Island Sound as well as public education.
Lake Zoar Authority, c.o. Southbury Town Hall, 501 Main Street South, Southbury, CT 06488, or call (203) 264-5246 (seasonal). Advisory agency from Southbury, Oxford, Newtown, and Monroe that promotes safe boating and protect water quality.
Lake Housatonic Authority, c.o. Valley Regional Planning Agency, Derby, CT 06418.
New Haven Rowing Club, 407 Roosevelt Drive (Rt. 34), Oxford, CT 06478, (203) 734-0125.
Yale Boat House, 280 Roosevelt Drive (Rt. 34), Derby, CT 06418, (203) 734-9706. Home for races by Yale University rowing crews.
The Long Island Soundkeeper Fund, PO Box 4058, Norwalk, Conn. 06855, (800) 933-SOUND, (203) 854-5330. Soundkeeper is a citizen watchdog organization dedicated to the protection and enhancement of Long Island Sound and it's watershed. They monitor developments, provide public education, promote legislation, and occasionally sue people when necessary in order to improve the health and water quality of Long Island Sound. They are instrumental in the federal acquisition and enhancement of Great Meadows Salt Marsh in Stratford.
Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, Inc. 111 Main Street, Collinsville (in Canton), CT 06022, (860) 693-1602. This is an umbrella organization for the various watershed groups throughout the state. They advocate good land use laws and public policy on the state level.
ConnYak (Connecticut Sea Kayakers Club), P.O. Box 2006, Branford, CT 06405 or
call Club
President Stan Kegeles at (203) 481-1881. Judging from their newsletter this group is
right up there with goose hunters when it comes to choosing "perfect" weather
for their hobbies. It sounds like fun if the weather's warm.
Connecticut Waterfowl Association, P.O. Box 599, Higginum, CT 06441, (860) 663-2292. Advocates good hunting regulations, wetlands and wildlife protection, and publishes a quarterly newsletter.
The Nature Conservancy acquires and manages open space throughout the world. They are very active in Connecticut, particulary in preserving and studying areas along the Connecticut River. TNC is spearheading a major effort by private, state, and federal organizations to preserve or renovate large sections of the Connecticut River. This program could serve as a model to improve conditions along the Housatonic River.
This section is intended to help people find specialized businesses that are either marine-related, or located along the river. If anyone has any suggestions for businesses that should be added please let me know. The sporting goods stores has been expanded and moved to the Outdoor Sports page.
Crossroads Marine and Power Center, 242 Route 34, Monroe, Conn., (203) 268-8423.
McCallum Enterprises, (203) 386-1745, own the Derby (Ousatonic) Dam in Shelton/Derby and operate the hydroelectric works. The old canal locks and equipment are available for tours by appointment, and school groups are encouraged.
The Recreation Camp, 500 Roosevelt Drive (Rt. 34), Derby, CT 06418, (203) 736-6706. A summer camp on Lake Housatonic near Osbornedale State Park that offers swimming, sailing, canoeing, and windsurfing.
The Shelton Online Business Directory lists local businesses and corporations.
The Housatonic is home to several boatyards:
Ayer's Landing Marina, 10 Victory Street, Shelton, CT 06484 (Mailing Address), (203) 924-4023 or (203) 924-5902. Boatyard located behind Sunnyside School, Shelton, CT
Brown Boat Works, 638 Stratford Avenue, Stratford, Conn. 06497, (203) 377-9303
Enterprise Yacht Sales, Inc. (formerly Murphy's Boatyard), 722 River Road, Shelton, Conn. 06484 (203) 929-7444
The Dock Marina, 955 Ferry Boulevard (behind the Dock shopping center), Stratford, Conn. 06497, (203) 378-9300
Flagship Marina, 40 Bridgeport Avenue, Milford, Conn. 06460, (203) 874-1783
Housatonic Marina, Inc. 170 Ferry Boulevard, Stratford, Conn. 06497, (203) 375-1840
Lakeside Marine Base, 216 Lee Farm Road, Southbury, Conn., (203) 264-5061. Marina on Lake Zoar; access from I-84, exit 14, south on Lakeside Road, just beyond the VFW Hall.
Mattei's Marina, 412 Roosevelt Avenue (Rt. 34), Derby, Conn. 06418, (203) 734-0875. Small marina on Lake Housatonic.
River's End Marina, Inc., 50 Victory Drive, Shelton, Conn. 06484, (203) 924-4167
Stratford Marina, Inc., Foot of Broad Street, Stratford, Conn. 06497, (203) 377-4477
The following are publications that deal directly with the Lower Housatonic:
Healthy Valley 2000, 27 Action Initiatives to Improve the Quality of Life in the Valley, December 1996.
Housatonic Valley Association, A guide to the Housatonic River Estuary, its wildlife, history, activities, water quality, 1996. A colorful booklet that describes the history and natural resources of the lower portion of the river and is free at local librarys, or from HVA.
Lake Zoar Authority, Lake Zoar Boating Map.
Shelton Open Space Committee, Shelton Open Space Plan of 1993. Describes the BHC properties and the City's game plan for preserving areas on greenways along the major waterways.
Stratford Conservation Commission, An Introductory Guide to Stratford's Natural Environs, April 1990. Short pamphlet describing the history and natural features of some of the parks listed in this guide (on file in the Stratford Library).
These publications cover other areas within the Housatonic River watershed:
Appalachian Mountain Club, AMC River Guide, AMC, Boston, Massachusetts, 1985. A guide for canoeing the upper Housatonic River although it totally overlooks the lower river. Hopefully AMC will correct this error in some future edition of one of their books. AMC publishes many fine guides to the outdoors that are available through their bookstore.
Housatonic Fly Fishermen's Association, Fishing the Housatonic River Trout Management Area, P.O. Box 5092, Hamden, Connecticut, 06518, Fourth Ed., 1993, Cost $5. This is a nice guide to pools and riffles in the "catch and release" portion of the river in Sharon and Cornwall. The HFFA sponsers river clean-ups, and promotes fly fishing. They meet monthly at Brooksvale Park in Hamden; call (203) 248-8616 for further information.
.
Other things that you might like:
Bell, Michael, The Face of Connecticut, Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey, Hartford, Connecticut, 1986. This book describes how the geology of the state influenced the growth of our civilization in Connecticut. There is good coverage of the Housatonic River watershed and coastal areas. There are also a number of interesting photographs, diagrams, and maps.
Grant, Gordon, Canoeing, A Trailside Guide, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, N.Y., 1997. A good overall book about canoeing, and boating in general, lots of pictures, cost $18.
The following are links to other websites around the Lower Housatonic Watershed:
The Olde Birmingham Business Association, 45 Minerva Street, Derby, Ct. (203) 732-3461 is trying to renovate the downtown waterfront area with their River Initiative. They are working improving downtown by rehabilitating O'Sullivan's Island and adding walkways along the flood control dykes.
The City of Derby has a pretty extensive web site for a small town. Cultural events, city departments, local history, and the school system are all featured. The Parks and Recreation Department has a very good page listing parks and access points along the rivers.
The Merritt Parkway (Rt. 15) Bridge in Stratford is scheduled to be replaced. This site is just a series of aerial photos showing the river at the Sikorsky Aircraft plant with pictures of the bridge superimposed. It takes a few minutes to download the photos.
The City of Milford has a new attractive website with information on city departments, businesses, and recreational facilities.
Photos of Milford by Janice Recker give a little flavor of what the town is like. Janice also designs web pages for businesses.
The Town of Orange has an official web page with information on government functions.
Photos of Orange by Janice Recker has more photos around Orange.
The Town of Oxford's web page lists govenment departments and civic groups. Oxford actually puts the Zoning Regulations on-line so you can look things up from home if you want.
The Spirit of Shelton by Bonnie Schulte is one of the best community websites in the state. Not only is it attractively arranged to display municipal information, but it also contains information on events, businesses, local history, various civic organizations, and an e-mail directory of residents. Bonnie developed and maintains this site on a volunteer basis at no cost to the City.
Shelton Trails by Teresa Gallagher is one of the best websites in the state for hiking information (okay, I may be a little prejudiced because it's my wife's site but it really is quite handy). It has maps trail descriptions, and photographs for the Paugusett Trail and other regional trails that are not available elsewhere. It also has outstanding links to other sites throughout the Northeast.
The Town of Stratford home page has a listing of govenment agencies and recreational information for the many parks along the river and Sound.
Links to the Upper Housatonic Watershed:
Trout Unlimited - Candlewood Lake Chapter is active in river clean-ups along the Pootatuck River in Newtown, and other conservation issues within the watershed.
The Candlewood Lake Authority website by Steve Schappert has a lot of good information on boating and lake management, with links to the surrounding communities. The cha-cha dots are kind of funny too.
The Nature Conservancy maintains several major open space preserves around Connecticut including the Sunny Valley Preserve in New Milford.
The Naugatuck River experienced severe flooding in 1955 that devastated all the communities along the river. As a result the Army Corps of Engineers created a system of Naugatuck River dams along the upper portions of the watershed to hold back runoff and release it gradually during flood events. These dams, along with dykes and flood controls walls, protect the towns along the river. This site has locations and photos of the dams as well as records of how much water has flowed thru them recently. Most of the dams have recreation areas associated with them and contacts and phone numbers are listed.
The Town of Beacon Falls has a simple, easy to read, municipal web site that lists city agencies and has information about state forests along the Naugatuck River.
Northeast Utilities provides public access at their hydroelectric dams as part of their federal licenses. NU also offers nature programs at the Shepaug Dam in Southbury and Dikes Point on Candlewood Lake.
Whitewater canoeing on the upper Housatonic and it's tributaries has been a booming sport for many years. The American Whitewater Affiliation has a short article by John Porterfield describing the hydraulics of various spots in the watershed, as well as other rivers in Connecticut.
Canoe rental companies on the upper Housatonic and Farmington River are listed in the Connecticut Professional Paddlesports Association directory.
Great Barrington, Massachusetts has been improving their riverfront as a tourist attraction and has created an extensive web site regarding the Great Barrington Housatonic River Walk. This is an example of how a community can increase public access to the river while improving their downtown. There is information on clean up crews, trail guides, natural history, and surrounding businesses.
Links to sites along Long Island Sound:
The Penfield Power Squadron has a site for power boaters with an interesting clickable map of the area around Black Rock Harbor. They also sponsor joint events with boaters from the Housatonic.
CtEnvironet has a listing of several websites about Long Island Sound. Most of the sites deal with some aspect of the environment of the Sound.
Here are some links about rivers in general:
Connecticut Watershed Organizations is a listing of many groups and organizations throughout the state that are active in protecting and promoting various rivers. Some of the groups publish canoeing or watershed guides.
Riverfront Recapture is an ambitious project by Hartford area communities to restore and improve access to the Connecticut River. The cities were cut off from the Connecticut by flood control dykes build following severe floods in the 1930's. Their project could serve as a model for local attempts to revitalize downtowns along the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers.
RiverResource is a really nice site if you're curious about boating on various rivers or canals. It also contains a large list of links for researching just about anything about rivers.
Other pages of the ~ Lower Housatonic River Guide ~ include: | Home Page | Boat Ramps & Canoe Landings | Parks & Attractions | Water & Weather | Outdoor Sports | Nature Centers & Tourism |
Comments and suggestions - love to hear 'um.
Please specify the subject as "river page." This page was written by Terrance Gallagher.