Grant Money Helps Fund Projects—

Trout Unlimited Builds Kiosk, Lays Boardwalk

By Dottie Evans

The local Candlewood Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU) has received a grant for $6,800 from Trout Unlimited National’s Embrace-A-Stream program. This grant when matched by local contributions will amount to nearly $20,000, according to TU spokesman James Belden, which will allow the local conservation group to launch a series of improvement projects at Newtown’s Deep Brook Class A Trout Fishery.

“If you add $7,000 to $8,000 of in-kind contributions in carpentry, materials for the kiosk, stream bank logs donated by local developer R.G. Builders on Church Hill Road, and donated plants and trees, we get to $20,000,” Mr Belden said.

“We applied for the grant and were one of seven clubs across the nation that won awards,” he added.

Among the objectives listed in the grant proposal were habitat improvement, chapter building, public education and outreach, and youth education.

“Our first goal is to continue with the tree planting project that was begun last fall,” he said referring to the massive volunteer effort along the Fairfield Hills section of Deep Brook where Trout Unlimited members, scout troops, Newtown Trails volunteers, and high school students cooperated in planting nearly 300 trees to shade the stream and protect the natural trout fishery.

“This spring we’ll be concentrating on the corn field south of Deep Brook, filling in with evergreens. We hope to continue the plantings in the fall possibly on the south side of Deep Brook where the old Fairfield Hills sewage treatment facility was recently removed.”

Since the southern exposure is where the midday sun warms the stream water, it is necessary to provide as much shade cover as possible to preserve the natural coldwater fishery, he explained.

“We will be hoping for a number of trees to be donated by the Newtown Tree Project, as well as by our local TU chapter. And Planter’s Choice gives us a good break and always donates a few trees,” Mr Belden added.

A second TU goal is restoration of the Deep Brook and Tom Brook stream banks to stabilize the naturally occurring coldwater environment where baby trout will survive and flourish.

“There is a 120-foot section of Deep Brook on the north side below the sewage treatment plant where the water is scalping off the banks. We’ll widen the stream and increase the width to height ratio so it’s shallower,” Mr Belden explained, adding they hope to begin this work the second week in June.

“As it is, the pedestrian path [including Al’s Trail] that follows along the stream is threatened by erosion and the trout pools are filling with silt and dirt that washes down.”

The third project completed last week was construction of an informational kiosk at the end of Commerce Road. Posted bulletins sponsored by state and local trout management partners describe the Class A Hatchery and explain the no-kill rule regarding catch and release that all fishermen using this section Deep Brook, Tom Brook, and the Pootatuck River must follow.

“We’ll be prosecuting poachers so we want to be sure they understand the rules,” Mr Belden said.

“There are poachers down there every single day and it has got to stop. There are several miles of the Pootatuck River where you are allowed to catch and bring home fish but this half-mile along Deep Brook –– well, they’ve just got to leave it alone.”