EPA Green Infrastructure Technical Assistance

"This request for letters of interest (RLI) announces the availability of direct assistance (through EPA contract support) for projects that facilitate the use of green infrastructure to protect water quality. Technical assistance will be directed to watersheds/sewersheds with significant water quality degradation associated with urban stormwater. Assistance may be offered to communities with any level of green infrastructure implementation." See the request for letters of interest.

Useful Reference: Ecoregional Nutrient Criteria

The USEPA has established recommended nutrient criteria for rivers and streams in fourteen ecoregions across the country. Criteria for the Eastern Coastal Plain were established in 2000; these criteria are meant as general guidance, and should be adjusted and refined based on regional or state-specific conditions. While CT DEEP currently maintains narrative rather than numeric water quality standards for nutrients, this document may be a useful reference for watershed managers interested in developing instream monitoring programs.

Weekend Reading

• From the NRDC, some excellent case studies & reference material
• The ruling on the NY State MS4 permit case, or if you're in a hurry, a summary of the case from Stormwater magazine.

Annual Meeting of the CT Association of Wetland Scientists

This year's program: "Monitoring Wetlands and Watercourses: Methods and Benefits"

Thursday March 22, 2012
8:15 am to 4:30 pm
Holiday Inn in North Haven
201 Washington Avenue, North Haven, CT

News from Norwalk

Just east of the Five Mile River, another urban stream gets support from its local watershed association: http://www.newstimes.com/opinion/article/Sites-significant-concern-among-those-who-care-2683525.php

Social Change Website Examples

In order to move forward with implementation and education strategies for the Watershed-based Plan, it's important to consider how goals are understood by the public and to what extent residents and businesses can be motivated to participate in stewardship. Good PR requires simple communication of sometimes complicated scientific concepts. We'd like to share a few examples of conservation websites we've found that do an especially good job of distilling their message:

• Be Floridian
• Florida Wildlife Corridor
• Visit My Forest
• Save Sand Hill Lakes

The Economic Impact of State Parks, Forests and Natural Resources

Following last week's post, a related (and local) example of the economic value of open space. According to CTDEEP and Uconn's Center for Economic Analysis (CCEA), "...outdoor activities on state lands have an economic impact of more than $1 billion a year."  Read More...