In this role, I will coordinate many of the projects in the river and help local activists get the resources they need to restore the Connecticut. I plan to work with the Connecticut River Watershed Council, the lead organization in the river designation, to help groups along the Connecticut work in concert. Community groups such as the Connecticut River Museum and state advisory groups such as the Connecticut River Joint Commissions have worked for years to win grants, pass legislation and educate the public in their efforts to restore the river. The Tri-State Connecticut River Scenic Byway, which would create a scenic drive from Holyoke, Mass., to Pittsfield, NH, focusing on the rural agriculture and cultural heritage of the valley. These projects are among dozens aimed at boosting the environment, economy and cultural resources of a river valley that provides jobs to 643,000 people, contains 154 historic districts and is still 11 percent agricultural.
Several projects are already successfully underway.
The city has also worked with the Metropolitan District Commission to eliminate almost all the combined sewer overflow pipes in eight communities. Further north, government agencies and community leaders have successfully negotiated an historic agreement with the New England Power Co. to regulate the release of water at the three dams at the Fifteen Mile Falls Project and in the Connecticut Lakes. The agreement balances the demand for power generation with the need to protect habitat that supports fish and wildlife. Fish passageways installed at dams have brought Atlantic salmon, shad and river herring back to the river. Two fishways were put in place on tributaries in the lower watershed last summer and three more will be completed by 2000.