Save the River-Save the Hills, Inc.
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Kayak Regatta 2021!
click here for details
We're giving away the above Kayak to a STR-STH member who participates at the Regatta! Make sure your membership is up-to-date!
Check out our Summer 2021 Newsletter by Clicking Here!
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SAVE OSWEGATCHIE HILLS COALITION UPDATE:
Yes, the battle for the Hills is still ongoing!! Here's the latest update - July 2021:
East Lyme Zoning Application Appeal Court Case
Our 2015 case against Landmark Development, LLC, was heard by Judge Marshall Berger, Connecticut Superior Court/Land Court in a virtual hearing on Wednesday, June 30.
In 2015, the East Lyme Zoning Commission gave conditional approval to the developer’s proposed high density development. Friends of OHNP and Save the River - Save the Hills have been intervenors on environmental grounds throughout the ongoing legal disputes; Save the Sound became our legal counsel in 2015 and became an intervenor in its own rights.
In the June 30th hearing, Save the Sound attorney Chris Kelly presented our arguments that the zone change should be limited to 36 acres and should not be expanded to 123 acres. The additional land is environmentally sensitive land that should be conserved and the developer failed to submit required adequate information on coastal resources, wetlands and stormwater.
“Eight hundred and forty units, 1760 parking spaces, 36 acres of impervious surfaces are the absolutely wrong use for this high priority conservation land on the Niantic River,” says Save the Sound Senior Legal Counsel Roger Reynolds. “The applicant will ultimately have to provide actual environmental information, and when they do we are confident the courts will agree with us.”
We will keep you updated on the outcome of the hearing and any new developments in the case as soon as they are available.
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Our Pumpout Program is planned to re-start Memorial Day Weekend and run Friday-Monday through the summer.
Click here for the Pumpout page.
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STR-STH ANNUAL FUNDRAISER
THANK YOU!!
Flanders Fish Market
The wonderful Flanders Fish Family designated Thursday, December 3rd from 4-8PM as a
Save the River-Save the Hills night to “DINE OUT“.
Flanders donated a portion of the proceeds of purchased foods for “Take Out” or “Eat in” to Save the River-Save the Hills!
STR-STH benefited from your participation in this generous
and extraordinary offer by Flanders Fish in lieu of our
Annual Fundraiser.
Be well and stay safe - please remember to follow the latest CT Covid-19 Guidelines.
Thank you for supporting Save the River-Save the Hills
and all of our programs!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#Smart Solar Initiative update:
November 16, 2020 - Click here for a link to the article in The Day
The CT Siting Council voted 3-1 (2 abstained and 1 recused) to go forward with this ill-conceived solar project in Waterford. We have no doubt that the streams on each side of the site will be adversely impacted by this heavy development of 75 acres on a currently core forested parcel. The one Council member who voted "No" noted that as his reason for voting no. This is truly a poor decision made by the Council. And our trout stream tributaries to the Niantic River will pay the price.
CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR FINAL #SmartSolar BRIEF
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July 30, 2020 - Niantic River Shellfishing beds have changed! Click here for The Day article.
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Thanks to the Save Oswegatchie Hills Coalition for putting together a wonderful new video about the Hills and why they are so important to protect and preserve.
Click Here to Watch it !
Feel free to share the video with your family and friends in your social media!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kayak Regatta 2021!
click here for details
We're giving away the above Kayak to a STR-STH member who participates at the Regatta! Make sure your membership is up-to-date!
Check out our Summer 2021 Newsletter by Clicking Here!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SAVE OSWEGATCHIE HILLS COALITION UPDATE:
Yes, the battle for the Hills is still ongoing!! Here's the latest update - July 2021:
East Lyme Zoning Application Appeal Court Case
Our 2015 case against Landmark Development, LLC, was heard by Judge Marshall Berger, Connecticut Superior Court/Land Court in a virtual hearing on Wednesday, June 30.
In 2015, the East Lyme Zoning Commission gave conditional approval to the developer’s proposed high density development. Friends of OHNP and Save the River - Save the Hills have been intervenors on environmental grounds throughout the ongoing legal disputes; Save the Sound became our legal counsel in 2015 and became an intervenor in its own rights.
In the June 30th hearing, Save the Sound attorney Chris Kelly presented our arguments that the zone change should be limited to 36 acres and should not be expanded to 123 acres. The additional land is environmentally sensitive land that should be conserved and the developer failed to submit required adequate information on coastal resources, wetlands and stormwater.
“Eight hundred and forty units, 1760 parking spaces, 36 acres of impervious surfaces are the absolutely wrong use for this high priority conservation land on the Niantic River,” says Save the Sound Senior Legal Counsel Roger Reynolds. “The applicant will ultimately have to provide actual environmental information, and when they do we are confident the courts will agree with us.”
We will keep you updated on the outcome of the hearing and any new developments in the case as soon as they are available.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our Pumpout Program is planned to re-start Memorial Day Weekend and run Friday-Monday through the summer.
Click here for the Pumpout page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STR-STH ANNUAL FUNDRAISER
THANK YOU!!
Flanders Fish Market
The wonderful Flanders Fish Family designated Thursday, December 3rd from 4-8PM as a
Save the River-Save the Hills night to “DINE OUT“.
Flanders donated a portion of the proceeds of purchased foods for “Take Out” or “Eat in” to Save the River-Save the Hills!
STR-STH benefited from your participation in this generous
and extraordinary offer by Flanders Fish in lieu of our
Annual Fundraiser.
Be well and stay safe - please remember to follow the latest CT Covid-19 Guidelines.
Thank you for supporting Save the River-Save the Hills
and all of our programs!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#Smart Solar Initiative update:
November 16, 2020 - Click here for a link to the article in The Day
The CT Siting Council voted 3-1 (2 abstained and 1 recused) to go forward with this ill-conceived solar project in Waterford. We have no doubt that the streams on each side of the site will be adversely impacted by this heavy development of 75 acres on a currently core forested parcel. The one Council member who voted "No" noted that as his reason for voting no. This is truly a poor decision made by the Council. And our trout stream tributaries to the Niantic River will pay the price.
CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR FINAL #SmartSolar BRIEF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 30, 2020 - Niantic River Shellfishing beds have changed! Click here for The Day article.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to the Save Oswegatchie Hills Coalition for putting together a wonderful new video about the Hills and why they are so important to protect and preserve.
Click Here to Watch it !
Feel free to share the video with your family and friends in your social media!
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Click on this Facebook icon above to see the latest! You don't have to have a Facebook account to see it!
STR-STH is on AmazonSmile!!
You can donate while you shop for
Holiday deals - or any time of the year! Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/06-1613767 and AmazonSmile will donate to STR-STH,
at no cost to you!
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Thank You to our Members who have sent in donations!!
Please CLICK HERE to sign up for our emails and updates
If you are already getting our emails, you are all set. If you are not, please click the above link and fill out the form so we can keep you up-to-date on STR-STH programs and causes. Also please add us to your Contact List to prevent STR-STH emails from going to your Spam folder.
We sent out first paper "snail mail" newsletter for 2020 in October with an envelope for membership dues. Please check your mail for it. If you don't receive one and would like to, please contact us!!
Thank you and #StaySafe!
Congratulations to Fred Grimsey, Founder and President of STR-STH for winning a 2017 Aquarion Environmental Champion Award!!
Senator Richard Blumenthal presented the Aquarion Environmental Champion Award
in the Adult Category to Fred Grimsey. [From the Aquarion Website]
"In 2003, Fred Grimsey’s concern for the health of the beautiful Niantic River in southeastern Connecticut and its surrounding communities hit the tipping point. More people than ever were enjoying swimming, fishing, clamming and all manner of water sports in the river and tidal estuary. But with all the boat traffic, the river was becoming a growing repository for raw sewage pumped overboard.
So Fred took it upon himself to do something about it. With his own money, he bought a boat and equipped it to pump out the waste tanks of pleasure craft using the river. Then he took what we politely call “pumpage” to an environmentally safe treatment plant on shore. And all at no cost to the boat owners.
Fred ran that pump-out service for two years out of his own pocket. It soon caught the eye of the state and now it’s fully funded by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Last year, Fred’s program alone kept 16,000 gallons of sewage out of the Niantic River and Long Island Sound. Even more important, his efforts inspired similar pump-out programs up and down the coastline.
When he wasn’t out on the river, Fred was busy founding and nurturing a new non-profit called Save the River – Save the Hills. And its successes have only grown – and grown and grown. He’s worked tirelessly to defend the remaining natural areas of the Niantic River watershed and preserve them in their unpolluting, scenic state – including 236 acres that are now protected along the river itself.
And Fred is still at it. In 2012 he launched an all-volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program. Again using his own boat and funds, the program revealed bacteria levels in some parts of the river well above levels that would close beaches elsewhere in the state. With boaters no longer contributing to the problem in any major way, Fred is now tackling ways to reduce the amount of runoff that with every serious rainstorm sluices off roads, lawns and parking lots, polluting a waterway treasured by thousands.
Aquarion is proud to honor Fred Grimsey with its 2017 Environmental Champion Award in the Adult Category."
Save the River-Save the Hills Mission:
Save the River-Save the Hills, Inc., is dedicated to preserving the health of the Niantic River Estuary, its Watershed and the natural beauty of the Oswegatchie Hills.
Preserving the health of the Niantic River Estuary and the natural beauty of the Oswegatchie Hills that overlook the River is crucial not only to the local people who boat, swim, fish and live along the River, but also to the well-being of the entire Long Island Sound. The River is a Tidal Estuary emptying directly into the Long Island Sound carrying with it all the runoff from its entire watershed. For the past 20 years both the Niantic River and the Oswegatchie Hills face a major crisis--the threat of development of an 1700+ unit condominium complex within the Oswegatchie Hills - right on the River.
Save the River-Save the Hills works tirelessly to keep the Niantic River clean and ensure that the Oswegatchie Hills remain unspoiled, but we cannot do it alone. We need people like you to help us turn the tide. Won't you join us?
Click the links below to learn why your contributions make such a difference:
HELP KEEP THE NIANTIC RIVER CLEAN AND THE OSWEGATCHIE HILLS GREEN. CLICK TO JOIN TODAY!