Date: Fri 26-Sep-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

Housatonic-tour

Full Text:

Varied Perspectives Up And Down The Housatonic

(with photos)

BY DOROTHY EVANS

"What we need is to build more rivers. "

Those appreciative words were spoken only partially in jest by one passenger

as he gazed out the bus window last Friday, September 19, at the free-flowing

Housatonic River between Falls Village and Cornwall Bridge.

"I remember coming here as a teenager years ago. It was always so beautiful,"

said Newtown resident Ingrid McCaulley, as she stood on the Lover's Leap

overlook in New Milford, looking down at placid Lake Lillinonah.

"I like both history and natural history. It's a big river so I knew this

would be an interesting day," said Bethel resident Dorothy Baker on her way to

tour the Stevenson Dam over Lake Zoar.

She had taken a day off from her job as Danbury Federal Prison librarian to

join 60 other individuals from various area towns who willingly paid $30 for

the day-long Bonanza bus ride up and down the river.

Sponsored by the Natural Resources Council of Connecticut (NRCC), Connecticut

Light and Power (CL&P) and the Housatonic Valley Association, the tour was

significant in itself.

The impending relicensing project for hydropower, combined with the emergence

of sometimes competing, sometimes complementary issues of river use that have

been raised by DEP wildlife specialists, white water kayakers, fly fishermen

and power brokers, meant that this would be an opportunity to listen to what

the various proponents had to say.

"The Housatonic itself is a mosaic of environmental issues," summarized tour

leader and CL&P engineer Robert Gates.

"This will really be more of a non-denominational event," promised Northeast

Utilities scientist Deena Perelman, as she reviewed the day's list of speakers

posted along the tour route, each representing a different interest group.

How should the 71-mile stretch of the river be managed?

The many possible answers to that question are still evolving.

Upper Housatonic:

The `Nature' Trip

What CL&P called the "nature" section of the tour began at the 1914 Falls

Village Station in upper Litchfield County. Falls Village is the farthest

north of the five CL&P hydroelectric stations along the 71-mile stretch of the

Housatonic River between the Massachusetts/Connecticut state line and Derby.

Falls Village, Bull's Bridge, Rocky River, Shepaug Dam and the Stevenson Dam

were constructed over a span of 50 years from the beginning of the century.

Bulls Bridge, built in 1904, is the oldest station, and Shepaug, built in

1955, is the most recent.

Originally planned to meet the electrical needs of their local customers,

these hydropower stations today contribute only a relatively small part (three

or four percent) to the giant regional Northeast Utilities power grid that

consists mostly of fossil fuel plants (where gas, oil or coal are burned to

generate power).

The four nuclear power components are currently off line for safety

considerations.

Fishermen Vs Kayakers

Heated disagreement has arisen between two interest groups that usually work

together for river preservation and in opposition to the activities of the

power stations: the fishermen and the boaters.

The controversy surrounds mid-day water release, especially on a northern

ten-mile stretch of river considered "free-flowing" and used heavily for

recreation.

CL&P's policy has been to regulate water flow through its generators to fit

peak flow needs, meaning that, traditionally, water has been withheld during

the morning and evening periods of maximum customer use, and it has been

released in the middle of the day to accommodate the boaters who need more

flow.

Trout fishermen would like to see a more even flow all day long and they

object to the mid-day surges that allow warm water to flood the cool trout

pools, possibly the cause of recent fish kills, they claim.

"We have problems with their flooding the trout sanctuaries and creating

muddiness," said Mike Paquette, speaking for the Housatonic Fly Fishing

Association.

The boating interests, however, see the ten-mile, "free-flowing" stretch of

the Housatonic between Falls Village and Cornwall Bridge as a "white water

resource" and they say they "need the high water releases" to get through the

rapids, according to Jennifer Clarke. She spoke on behalf of Clarke Outdoors,

a local boating company at Cornwall Bridge that offers lessons as well as

guided excursions in kayaking, canoeing, rafting and other small craft.

CL&P would like to find a middle ground between these two interests but also

has its customers and rate schedules to consider.

The `Power Trip'

To Stevenson Dam

The down-river portion of the bus tour began with Stevenson Dam off Route 34

built in 1917, an impoundment which created Lake Zoar.

For several years, the DEP has been planning a redesign of the section of

Route 34 that crosses the dam to accommodate today's traffic.

"The turn makes a very sharp angle. It was intended for Model T's and horses

and buggies, not tractor trailers," said Mr Gates.

Farther upstream, the Shepaug Station provided a chance for the tour guests to

disembark and enter the 1955 facility, as well as visit the Shepaug Eagle

Watch that the DEP maintains for public use from December through March.

"We had 17 adult eagles overwintering at the feeding area [below the dam],"

reported DEP biologist Julie Victoria, speaking to the tour group.

On a sunny September day, the eagles were long gone to northern breeding

grounds, but the day's visitors were treated to the sight of bluebirds feeding

in the open fields outside the observation hut.

On that sunny Friday afternoon, the bald eagles and the freezing mid-winter

weather that would bring them back to their Shepaug Station feeding grounds

seemed very far away.