Conservation

Conservation Commission

Special Meeting Tuesday, April 8

The Green Valley Institute (GVI) will be making a presentation to the Conservation Commission. The presentation will cover information on the protective language in an easement, details on how to create baseline information, (e.g. JTrust), steps to yearly monitoring and how to handle violations. The Green Valley Institute is co-funded by the QSHC and is part of the National Forest/Parks Services. They are extremely valuable resource for many towns in the Northeast corner and are very knowledgeable and helpful in assisting towns retain many of the qualities we love while doing "smart planning" for the inevitable growth. The Conservation Commission has been working with them for quite awhile on Hampton's Natural Resource Maps. They have worked with all the other surrounding towns as well to assist them to accomplish the same thing. This way we not only work to protect our greenways and blueways but maybe help continue them into the next towns.

The Conservation Commission helps preserve and acquire conservation areas, refines existing natural resource maps, and helps to update Hampton's plan of conservation and development.

Chairman: S. Joann Freeman (July 2008)
Secretary: Robert Burgoyne (July 2008)

Randy Thompson (January 2009)

Wayne Kilpatrick (October 2009)
Penny Newbury (November 2009)

vacancy

Alternates:
Dan Meade (July 2009)

Marcia Kilpatrick (March, 2010)

vacancy

The Conservation Commission meets the third Tuesday of the Month.

2008 Meeting Schedule
Town Hall – Commission Room
7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, January 15
Tuesday, February 19
Monday, March 17
Tuesday, April 8, special presentation
from Green Valley Institute on land trusts
Monday, April 21
Tuesday, May 20
Tuesday, June 17
Tuesday, July 22
Tuesday, August 19
Tuesday, September 16
Tuesday, October 21
Tuesday, November 18
Tuesday, December 16

"The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value."
--Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
(1858-1919)

MISSION: To support the Town of Hampton and its citizens through research, coordination, development, and proposal of conservation plans pursuant to the originating ordinance.

Open land in Hampton: The Hampton Conservation Commission is charged with keeping an index of all open areas, publicly or privately owned. In response to this charge the committee maintains a set of maps and overlays that show undeveloped land.

Undeveloped land can be protected through easements, regulation, or through the sale of property rights. Some areas of open land in Hampton are accessible to the public. These include:

http://www.joshuaslandtrust.org/hepreston.html

http://www.ctaudubon.org/visit/trailwood.htm

http://dep.state.ct.us/educ/goodwin/index.htm

http://www.ct.gov/dot/LIB/dot/documents/dbikes/014.pdf

Protecting open land: The Conservation Commission can acquire land and easements and is charged with obtaining information on the conservation of open areas and working with other bodies organized for similar purposes. A number of organizations, public and private non-profit support the conservation of open land and natural resources in the area.

http://www.ctaudubon.org

http://www.ctwoodlands.org

http://www.joshuaslandtrust.org/index.html

http://www.thelastgreenvalley.org/welcome.html

Greenways: The Conservation Commission may propose a Greenways plan to be included in the plan of conservation and development. Several Greenways already exist in Connecticut and one of them already crosses Hampton.

http://dep.state.ct.us/STATEPARKS/greenways/designated.htm

Airline State Park Trail (north section): an officially designated Connecticut greenway in Hampton - This is a continuation of the Air Line from Willimantic and eventually through to Thompson. This stretch is located within the Quinebaug-Shetucket Rivers National Heritage Corridor, and it is a key link in a proposed interstate trail system.

Land use: The Conservation Commission may make recommendations to relevant town agencies on proposed land-use changes.