Embrace-A-Stream grant to restore Mill River
The Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited has received a grant of $3,500 through the Trout Unlimited national Embrace A Stream grant program for its Mill River improvements, and you can help without more than clicking your mouse Nov. 2-8.
Just 45 minutes from New York City, the Mill River is one of the best native brown trout streams in New England. The section of the Mill River, starting at exit 49 along the Merritt Parkway and ending where the river crosses under the highway, has been a focus for Trout Unlimited for more than five years. Removing invasive species, planting native trees and improving the bank structure are only the beginning. We are excited to be able to attempt to bring this section of the river back to it’s original structure, providing a vital link between Lake Mohegan downstream the the tailwater flowing out of the Easton Reservoir. This grant and the funds raised will allow us to create a roadmap for implementing this important work.
In the late 1930s this section along the Mill River was straightened to accommodate the Merritt Parkway and has since deteriorated as a Trout habitat.. In 2019, years after the change was proposed by Nutmeg TU, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection lengthened the section of the river designated a Wild Trout Management Area to include the area being restored by Nutmeg TU. A Wild Trout Management Area is not stocked, and fishing is catch and release only with a single barbless hook; bait is illegal.
The chapter started the work, partnering with the Town of Fairfield, removing invasive Japanese knotweed and reintroducing native plants to the Mill River and its banks along Congress Street at the Fairfield-Easton border, parallel to the Merritt Parkway.
As time passed, the riverbank eroded and the stream became very shallow, inhibiting the passage and holding of fish, especially during the summer months. To help rectify this, The Nutmeg chapter of Trout Unlimited, again in cooperation with the town of Fairfield, initiated the Mill River Conifer Revetment program. Over two years they have anchored recycled Christmas trees which will narrow an area where the river is more than 40 feet wide in some places, when it should average 15 feet. This program will narrow the stream channel and stabilize the banks using conifer revetments to prevent future erosion and ensure that the stream at the site and downstream can support excellent trout habitat. Mill River is currently home to some of the highest densities of wild and native trout in the state, but we believe that the fishery can support even more trout with habitat improvement.
Embrace A Stream is a matching grant program administered by Trout Unlimited that provides funds to local chapters and councils for coldwater fisheries conservation. Since its inception in 1975, the grant program has funded more than 1,000 individual projects for a total of $4.4 million in direct cash grants. Local chapters and councils contributed an additional $13 million in cash and in-kind services to EAS funded projects, for a total investment of more than $17 million.
“We’re thrilled to support the Nutmeg Chapter in its efforts to improve such an important local trout stream,” said Russ Meyer, chair of the Embrace A Stream grants committee, a group of Trout Unlimited volunteer leaders from across the country. “This year’s grant applications were extremely competitive, but the proposal for the Mill River stood out in our committee.”
Along with the $3,500 grant, the Nutmeg Chapter will also be entered in the Embrace A Stream Challenge, a week-long online fundraising contest running Nov. 2-8 and sponsored by Orvis and Trout Unlimited to provide an additional $50,000 in cash prizes to these important conservation and education projects. To help the Nutmeg Chapter win additional funds for the Mill River Conifer Revetment Project visit https://www.embraceastream.org/organizations/nutmeg from Nov. 6-12 and make a donation of as little as $10 to help unlock prizes ranging from $250 to $5,000.