Through December 31, 2004––

Huntington State Park Closed For Repair Of Dams

We’re not in the age of picks and shovels anymore.

––Tom Morrissey, interim chief, DEP Bureau of Outdoor Recreation

By Dottie Evans

The jarring sounds of heavy equipment operating weekdays in Huntington State Park have disrupted the quiet tranquility of a beloved 878-acre woodland refuge frequented by residents of Newtown, Bethel, and Redding –– the three towns that are touched by its borders.

Since early June, the cacophony of chain saws bringing down mature trees and bulldozers and backhoes moving mountains of earth and rock has silenced birdcalls and overwhelmed the soft sound of water flowing over rocky streambeds.

But it is all for a good cause say state public officials who insist that when the $1 million construction project is completed, Huntington State Park will be a much safer place.

Despite the outcry from those who have become accustomed to enjoying the park in its picturesque but unimproved state, officials insist the work is absolutely necessary. When the park reopens in 2005, they believe it will be in better shape than ever to welcome hikers, horseback riders, and bikers to its ten miles of trails, and anglers, kayakers, and canoeists to its five lakes and lagoons.

Until the work is complete, however, the park will remain closed during weekdays and will have only limited access on weekends, as announced by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) effective July 20.

 

Five Dams In Need Of Repair

Tom Morrissey, interim chief of the DEP Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, visited The Bee offices in early July accompanied by State Representative Julia Wasserman. Both were eager to report on the extent of work underway at Huntington State Park.

“We’ve got five dams all needing repair, as well as roads that must be widened to accommodate the equipment. We’re not living in the age of picks and shovels anymore. You can’t do this kind of work any other way,” Mr Morrissey said.

In defense of the decision to permanently widen park access roads, Mr Morrissey noted, “We have to consider the need for large equipment to get in there in case of forest fire. The roads are only one lane wide, which is barely big enough for an SUV to drive through in some places. That may have been adequate 70 years ago, but no more.

“There are liability issues as well, if the dams were to fail. We are obliged as the landowner to make these repairs,” he said.

The largest of the five dams is at Lake Hopewell. It is 200 feet across and 30 to 40 feet high, and the dam’s earthen berm or sloping bank had mature trees growing on it.

“You can’t have that,” Mr Morrissey explained, “because if the root ball came out with a tree that had blown down, a lot of dirt would come with it. That could compromise the integrity of the dam.”

Since the DEP decision to close the park from the Redding side at the Sunset Hill Road entrance, DEP officials are also considering closing Dodgingtown Road [off Sunset Hill Road] permanently, because vandals have been abusing the parking lot that was intended for off-loading of canoes and kayaks.

“We may need to put some sort of gate in there,” he noted.

A Need To Widen Access Roads

Mrs Wasserman expressed concern at the number of calls she had received from Newtown residents who did not fully understand why the repairs were needed, and who were alarmed at seeing the damage that heavy equipment operating in a pristine place can create. Mr Morrissey addressed the issue.

“We’ve had a number of calls about the removal of the granite outcroppings so the big earthmovers could cross the dam [over Lake Hopewell]. That road has been a maintenance headache over the years because the turn is too tight for large vehicles. We will use granite and natural rock found in the park to face the new dam, not trap rock. But it won’t have the lichen on it that everyone loves. That takes years to form.”

There had also been rumors that the state was selling the granite and felled trees as wood for use elsewhere. This was not the case, Mr Morrissey said, but he did note that there was cause for concern about “scarring of existing large trees by heavy equipment at the park entrance.”

“I grant you that the operators are not always as careful as they might be. But you have to consider the magnitude of the work being done in a tight space.”

Mrs Wasserman, who had visited the site in early spring, fully supported the DEP decision to make the repairs.

“It’s very necessary. They were right on top of it. Those dams were in bad shape. The largest one has 40 acres of water behind it.

“Concerning the roadwork, there needed to be ample access in the future for fire and emergency vehicles. Second, there needed to be room for heavy equipment to come in for ongoing park maintenance. It is unfortunate that certain roads had to be widened and there was loss of granite outcroppings covered with moss and lichens. But it was necessary.”

History Of A Private And Then Public Park

Thanks to a footbridge off Hopewell Road created in October 2000 by the late Al Goodrich, a Newtown trails expert, Newtown residents have become increasingly accustomed to enjoying Huntington State Park at the extreme southwest corner of town.

More than 30 years ago, the property was willed to the state following the death of renowned sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington. Before 1973, she and her husband Archer Huntington had lived there. Archer was the philanthropist son of railroad tycoon Collis P. Huntington for whom the park is named, and Anna, when not working in her studio, enjoyed exercising her Scottish deerhounds on the many forested trails. The Huntingtons bought the property in the 1930s from the Starratt family, who had acquired it from German immigrant Walther Luttgen.

It was Luttgen who at the turn of the last century purchased more than 800 acres of farmland and turned it into a pleasure park while allowing open land to return naturally to forest. He dammed several streams to create a large lake and several picturesque lagoons, and widened many of the old Indian trails for use by his carriages. The ruts made by the carriage wheels can still be seen today. He is said to have run a paddle wheel steamer across the lake for the benefit of weekend guests, and he erected a small stone lighthouse on an island in Lake Hopewell.

Although there may have been minor repairs of the primitive dams when the parklike property was owned by the Huntingtons and then conveyed to the state, recent breaks and overflow at the dam sites convinced the DEP that the time had come for reconstruction.

The project includes lowering and reinforcing the embankments, repairing of spillway structures, and the total reconstruction of three small dams. A new outlet control pipe on the Huntington Pond (Lake Hopewell) dam will allow the DEP to regulate the water levels to support fish and wildlife habitat.