2016 Edition of the Middletown Trail Guide

Trail Guide For Sale FlierMayor Daniel T. Drew is excited to announce the release of the 2nd Edition of the Middletown Trail Guide. The Trail Guide, which was last updated in 2004, is the result of the diligent work and perseverance of the members of the City’s Conservation Commission and community volunteers along with assistance from City staff. The updated trail guide includes maps and narrative descriptions for over 20 areas for hiking, biking, nature viewing and kayaking. Some new additions to the trail guide include the nearly 5-mile long multi-use trail, a 1.6-mile downtown walking loop, and the Mattabesset River Canoe/Kayak Trail which utilizes the City’s new car-top boat launch off Johnson Street. Continue reading

Help Us Protect Snapping Turtles

Snapping turtle emailIn response to our campaign for better protection for snapping turtles, DEEP has proposed amending the current regulations concerning bag limits. The new draft regulation reduces the season limit (also the daily limit) from 30 to 10 adult snapping turtles. You can view the “Notice of Intent” on the DEEP website here.

While greater restrictions are certainly welcome, this limit is still virtually unenforceable. Without data on snapping turtle population, we have to assume that they, like all other turtles, are threatened by habitat loss. Snapping turtles are the only wildlife species further threatened by “commercial taking.” (Note: Prior to our action in 2014, there were no limits on commercial trapping of snapping turtles.) Your voice will help us further reduce the commercial “taking” of these ancient creatures. Continue reading

Jessie Stratton To Speak on Climate Change

Jessie Stratton photoThe Jonah Center for Earth and Art invites the public to a talk by Jessie Stratton, Director of Policy for the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, on the subject of the state’s policies related to climate change. The event will take place on Tuesday, March 29, 7-8:30 p.m. at the deKoven House, 27 Washington Street, in Middletown. Ms. Stratton will discuss our state’s plans related to mitigation, adaptation, and resiliency in the face of already advancing climate change

Jessie Stratton served as a CT State Representative from Avon and Canton from 1989 to 2003 and as the House chair of the Environment Committee from 1993-2003. After six years (2005-2011) as Director of Government Affairs for Environment Northeast, now Acadia Center, the Malloy administration brought her to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to assist the department in its transition to DEEP as it included energy policy among the areas of its jurisdiction.

In presenting the state’s plans related to climate change, Ms. Stratton will touch upon such topics as the state’s energy sources, transportation, increasing storm intensity, threats to streams, rivers and Long Island Sound, adaptation and resiliency research and implementation, strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and public education regarding climate change

Co-sponsors of the event include: Ecoin (Environmental Collective Impact Network); Coginchaug Area Transition; The Rockfall Foundation; Middletown Clean Energy Task Force; Middletown Garden Club; Middlesex Land Trust; and Wesleyan University Physics 105, “The Science of Sustainability”