Case
Studies > Case Studies by Watershed > Eightmile River
Eightmile River
The
Eightmile River Watershed Project began in 1995 as the second
joint effort between the University
of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System and the Nature
Conservancy Connecticut Chapter. This Project, as with the Chester
Creek Project, is aimed at assisting the communities within the watershed
to protect their natural resources as they develop their towns. Support
for the project has come from two additional partners the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 and the Silvio
O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Eightmile River is a regional sub-basin draining to the lower Connecticut
River. About 63 square miles in size and encompassing land from 5
towns, the Eightmile basin has remained largely forested—a fact which,
combined with its geology and water systems, have made the area home
to a remarkable diversity of plants, and animals, including many
rare and endangered species.
The Project is a nonregulatory, education driven effort that makes use
of geographic information system (GIS) technology to help provide a
watershed perspective to local interests. The philosophy of the Project
is that local land use decisions, by both municipal officials and individual
land owners, hold the key to the ultimate fate of the watershed's natural
resources; and, that the health of these resources is closely linked
with both the long-term economic vitality of the region and the rural
character of its communities.
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