This week: the Housatonic! Forty-one miles of the river in Connecticut are a National Wild and Scenic River. The Park Service first studied it in 1979. Congress acted in 2022. That story is below, with Sunday's open house on the riverbank.

Patrick
The Litchfield Ledger

The next Ledger Dinner Club is next Thursday, October 8, at 6:30 in Litchfield.

Sign-ups start with a short quiz. The answers determine the tables, with six people at each. The restaurant stays a secret until the morning of the dinner. Afterward, there is an optional afterparty for anyone who wants to stay out.

What Wild and Scenic Means for the Housatonic

The Housatonic River Commission is holding an open house this Sunday. The topic is the river’s special federal status as a National Wild and Scenic River, and what that means for the seven towns along it.

The river got this status in December 2022. Sunday is a chance to learn what it protects, what it pays for, and what comes next.

What changed in 2022?

The National Park Service became a partner. It now helps pay for the commission’s work, including small grants to towns and conservation planning. Water projects that get federal money or permits must now show they won’t harm the river.

Any private land stays private, and towns still set their own land rules. Hunting and fishing rules did not change. The label does not stop all building or fix every pollution problem. It gives the towns more money and more federal support. The Housatonic River Commission explains the details.

What’s happening this weekend?

The open house is from 1 to 3 p.m. at the day use area of Housatonic Meadows State Park on Route 7. Commissioners will answer questions at 2 p.m.

Bring a chair. There is ice cream!

What is “wild and scenic”?

Wild and Scenic is a label the federal government gives to rivers that stand out for their nature, history, or recreation. On the Housatonic, it covers 41 miles, from the Massachusetts line down to Boardman Bridge in New Milford. It also covers a quarter mile up each stream that flows into the river.

The towns and the National Park Service share the work of caring for the river. The towns still make their own land decisions.

Why does it matter?

The label adds federal protection on top, plus money and experts to help the towns.

Clean water, wildlife, views, fishing and paddling all need looking after. New buildings, dirty rainwater that runs off roads and fields, and plants and animals that don’t belong here can wear them down over time. The commission’s river management plan names all three.

The river has historic bridges at West Cornwall, Bulls Bridge and Boardman Bridge. Wetlands on marble rock grow plants that are hard to find anywhere else in Connecticut. Wood turtles, bog turtles, timber rattlesnakes and bald eagles live along the river.

What’s next?

The commission and its partners are following the river plan, running conservation projects and helping towns protect the river. On Sunday, anyone can come hear about that work and ask commissioners what it means for their town.

Wednesday the 30th

Warner Theatre, Torrington – Graham Nash, founding member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills & Nash, in a career-spanning show. A free pre-show party for ticket holders starts at 6:00 in the Studio Theatre lobby. Oneglia Auditorium, 68 Main Street. 7:30 PM TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

Thursday the 1st

Oliver Wolcott Library, Litchfield – Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, on his book Dealing with Feeling. 160 South Street. 6:30 PM MEET THE AUTHOR

Friday the 2nd

Infinity Music Hall, Norfolk – The Haystack Book Festival opens with the Brendan Gill Lecture. Belle Burden, author of Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, in conversation with Roxanne Coady of R.J. Julia Booksellers. The festival continues through Sunday at the Norfolk Library and Great Mountain Forest. 6:00 PM OPEN THE FESTIVAL

Saturday the 3rd

White Memorial Conservation Center, Litchfield – The Fungus Among Us. Dave Paton spends two hours in the woods on mushroom identification, the do's and don'ts, and the stories behind what comes up after a rain. 80 Whitehall Road. 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM FIND THE FUNGUS

Sunday the 4th

Housatonic Meadows State Park, Cornwall – The Housatonic River Commission's open house, covered above. 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM MEET THE COMMISSION

That is one pick a day. The full list, including Pinchas Zukerman playing Beethoven at Hotchkiss on Sunday, is on the website.

A few poll respondents mentioned they didn’t know the Ledger was on Instagram! It is. Photographs of the county between issues, plus events that don’t make the newsletter.

Show your business to thousands of Litchfield locals. Email Patrick at patrick@litchfieldledger.com.

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