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Written by NutmegTrout21718Jun, 2015

Volunteer for the Mill River work session.

Mill River Habitat Improvement Project

As a reminder this Saturday, June 20th, from 9:00 am until noon we will be working on controlling the Japanese knotweed on the Congress Street section of the Mill River in Fairfield, CT. Saturday weather prediction is perfect for this activity, sunny high of 75 F. All ages of volunteers are invited to come out and support your chapter in this effort. If you are not a chapter member, you too are invited also. For your own comfort wear long pants, long sleeve shirt, and sturdy shoes/boots; bring your work gloves. There is a lot of poison ivy indigenous on the site.

We will meet at the footbridge on Congress Street, in Fairfield, CT. This is the border between Fairfield and Easton. Congress runs parallel to the Merritt Parkway.

Our chapter is in the 3rd year of controlling the knotweed, 2nd worst invasive in the U.S., at this location. We have treated the invasive with chemical for two years. This has resulted in reducing the amount of knotweed to a point that can managed through cutting. Cutting should occur twice a year. Once in June to stress the knotweed’s rhizome and once in September before it flowers to stop seeding and to stress the rhizome.

This Saturday we will cut the knotweed with sickles for the June event. This is actually quite a satisfying exercise. This pernicious weed can sprout from the cuttings and there is no place that will take it. What we will do is wrap the cuttings in black plastic to contain the weed and leave on site to die. Once dead it can be safely mulched.

Come out, volunteer, and enjoy the camaraderie of this volunteer effort. Bring a family member or friend. As I said above cutting down this stuff is fun.

See you on Saturday!

Charles Petruccelli | President | Nutmeg Chapter Trout Unlimited

Contact Chuck Petrucelli at chuckp@optonline.net for details and RSVP.

Written by NutmegTrout21707Apr, 2014

Cleanup along the Mill River April 12

Knotweed cutting along Congress Street in Fairfield is ahead of schedule after a major turnout Saturday, April 5.

That effort will allow the pickup of trash along the Mill River Saturday, April 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those who can volunteer should leave a comment indicating what time on this story.

“Saturday’s cutting of the standing dead Japanese Knotweed stalks was a smashing success,” Nutmeg TU President Chuck Petrucceli said. “With the help of 9 members of the chapter and 4 members of the Beardley Zoo Conservation Corps, all the knotweed stalks were cut down. There was also some river clean up and several bags of garbage collected. We over achieved.”

Nutmeg members Dave Edgeworth, Bill Field, Phil Jacques, Gary Anderson, Chris Smith and his son Nick, Ed Grzedna, and Chuck MacMath and his son Jeromy, were joined by Thomas J. Altieri, Chavious Hall, Savannah Lewis, and Jamie Castro of the Beardley Zoo Conservation Corps.

“To the youths who joined us Saturday, Jeromy, Chavious, Savannah, and Jamie, it was a pleasure to meet you,” Petruccelli said. “It is good to see you feel strongly enough about conservation to get involved. Now and in the future we need conservationist minded people like you to continue the stewardship of what we preserve, protect and restore today.”

Written by NutmegTrout21703Apr, 2014

Mill River project on web radio

Nutmeg TU President Charles Petruccelli is scheduled to appear on Yankee Fisherman Friday, April 4, to discuss the Mill River Improvement Project and the chapter’s efforts to remove invasive knotweed from the banks along Congress Street.

The show, hosted by Nutmeg TU member John Kovach, airs live from 2 to 3 p.m. on hanradio.com, and is replayed throughout the weekend.

The second year of cutting is scheduled to be performed April 5 and 12. Click here for details, including how to volunteer.

Mike Abramowitz attacks Japanese knotweed some 7 to 8 feet tall Saturday, June 1, 2013. The towering stalks are now only inches tall, but must be cut again to keep the invasive plant from reestablishing itself.

Written by NutmegTrout21701Apr, 2014

Help make the Mill River better April 5, 12

Volunteers are again needed to help remove invasive species from the banks of the Mill River along Congress Street at the Easton-Fairfield line, near the Merritt Parkway.

Last year Nutmeg TU started a three-year invasive species removal project along the Congress St. section of the Mill River. This is the section that flows down stream from Sport Hill Rd. to where it flows under Congress St. If you drive by you’ll notice a lot of the knotweed is lower from the initial effort. It is time for the second year cutting, when volunteers cut the dead plants from the previous year’s fall spraying. The cutting is done early in the growth season so as not to cut down live plants from this year’s growth.

Volunteers are needed Saturdays, April 5 and 12, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you can volunteer, please post a comment indicating the day and hours you can help out.

Nutmeg TU will provide the weed cutters, face masks, water and snacks.

Written by NutmegTrout21703Jun, 2013

Knotweed removal begins along Mill River

Nutmeg TU members took to the woods over the past week to begin the removal of invasive Japanese Knotweed from land between Congress Street and the Mill River.

Tuesday, President Charles Petruccelli and Vice President Bob Campbell ventured in to make the initial cuts and determine the scope of the project.

Saturday Mike Abramowitz answered the call for volunteers and join John Kovach. The two cut down most of the largest bank of knotweed closest to where the river passes under Congress Street.

Sunday Campbell and Kovach bagged much of the cuttings during a 3-hour period. Some remains to be bagged, but 14 42-gallon bags of knotweed await pickup by the Town of Fairfield.

Written by NutmegTrout21730May, 2013

We need you to help fight invasive species

Nutmeg TU needs more than a few good anglers to join its war against an invasive species threatening the crown jewel of Nutmeg’s territory, the Mill River.

With the full support of the Fairfield Conservation Office, Nutmeg TU is working Saturdays and Sundays in June to stem the invasion of Japanese knotweed on the banks of the Mill River along Congress Street. Not only is the invasive species pushing out indigenous plants on the ground: The rapidly spreading weed is taking root in the stream itself, on rock piles and gravel bars. (Click here to read more about knotweed.)

Be part of the solution

Nutmeg is about to fire a major salvo in a multi-pronged battle that will take at least a year to win.

During June, volunteers must physically cut all of the knotweed along Congress Street, and drag the remains to the street for pickup. In the fall, when the plant is ready to reproduce, an herbicide safe for use near rivers will be sprayed on the weakened plants. If the stand is successful, then a second cutting next spring should turn back the invader and allow Nutmeg to begin to plant native species along the Mill River.

A recon team earlier this month determined how to battle the menace and got a handle on what it will take to get the job done. This work cannot be done by a handful of people. Nutmeg needs more members to answer the call, up to 20 volunteers on any scheduled cutting.

Sessions are scheduled each Saturday and Sunday in June, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or from 1 to 4 p.m. An email address is being established so volunteers can register, but drop-ins are welcome especially the weekend of June 1-2.

All volunteers must read this safety advisory.

We’ve been permitted by the town to reclaim the habitat. It’s up to us to show that we’re up to the task, and people are watching.

Charles Petruccelli, President