749 Hopmeadow St.
Simsbury, CT 06070
  860-658-4442

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The Farmington River Watershed Association (FRWA) has recently been approved by the Simsbury Board of Selectmen and the State Department of Revenue Services to receive funding from businesses in Simsbury under the State’s Connecticut Neighborhood Assistance Act tax credit program.  All funding collected through this program (up to the program limit of $150,000) will be dedicated to acquiring the development rights on 424 acres at Ethel Walker School to protect an area which both overlies Simsbury’s primary drinking water aquifer and provides tremendous recreational benefits for the public.  Ethel Walker School and the Trust for Public Land agreed in June to a price of $13.85 million, of which approximately $11.1 million will go to town referendum this fall.  The remaining $2.75 million to be raised from private donations would be offset by donations to FRWA under this program.

If a business makes a cash donation between $250 and $75,000 to FRWA in its 2006 business year and fills out a simple Form NAA-02 (PDF file, prefilled out for this appeal) between September 15th and October 2nd, the donor business is eligible for a tax credit equaling 60% of the donation.  Any tax credit that is not taken this year may be carried back to the two immediately preceding income years (beginning with the earlier of such years). 

If you have any questions about the benefits of participating in this program please feel free to contact Eric Hammerling at FRWA at 658-4442, ex. 205 .

Please read our appeal letter sent to area businesses or to view our flyer on this appeal.

1. Fish Passage Improved Through Innovative Cooperative Project.
Specially designed concrete baffles have recently been installed to assist fish passage in Nod Brook in Avon. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has funded this demonstration project in conjunction with the CT DEP Fisheries program, the Farmington River Watershed Association (FRWA), Anchor Management. The CT DOT owns the culvert right of way and are partners in the effort.  Read the article in our Fall 2005 Newsletter or click here to read more.

2. Volunteers Plant Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers for Butterflies and Songbirds in Farmland Demonstration Project.
The Farmington River Watershed Association (FRWA) organized a pond buffer planting at Rosedale Farm in Simsbury in July 8th. The daylong activity created butterfly and songbird habitat, protected and beautified farmland, and improved pond life. It is hoped this model farmland pond buffer demonstration project will be repeatedly copied at other farmland sites. Click here to read more. This project would not be possible without the generous support of the Farmington River Coordinating Committee – the management group for the Wild & Scenic section of the Upper Farmington River and a Section 319 Non-Point Source Grant from the CT DEP.
 

3. US Endangered Species Found in Farmington River: Small but Significant Dwarf Wedge Mussel Discovered In Several Locations.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) surveyed 11 locations on the Farmington River between Windsor and Canton and found three previously unknown populations of the federally endangered dwarf wedge mussel, Alasmidonta heterodo. Ethan Nedeau of Biodrawversity in Amherst, MA, the contractor for USFWS, notes that "the 11 live specimens found near Avon are the largest concentration in Connecticut." Click here to read more.