More than $1,000 donated for Mill River
Thanks to the support of our members and community, the Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited raised more than $1,000 in additional funding for work to restore the Mill River at the Fairfield-Easton border along Congress Street through the Embrace a Stream Challenge, presented by Trout Unlimited and Orvis.
This combined with the $670 previously awarded will allow us to complete the project in the spring of 2018.
Working closely with the Town of Fairfield Conservation Department, we have reduced the knotweed problem and planted hundreds of native trees and bushes.
A regulation change is pending at the state level which would make the area where work is being done a Wild Trout Management Area. By increasing the depth of the river along Congress Street the river will better host the wild trout population.
In the spring we will use these funds to anchor discarded Christmas trees to the banks, where the branches will trap sediment and help form new, natural banks. The riverbanks that accumulate there will reroute the Mill River to its original track, and create better habitat for the native trout.
We invite the community to join us in the spring to help with the tree anchoring. Members and nonmembers are invited to join us at our monthly meetings, fishing outings and conservation events. You can follow us on Facebook or find about upcoming events at our website https://www.nutmegtrout.org and on MeetUp.