Farmington River Anglers Association

Farmington  Brown Trout

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Establishing an optimum flow regime in the Upper Farmington River remains one of our top priorities.

To this end, House Bill 5355 - AN ACT CONCERNING CONSERVATION OF CERTAIN WATERS OF THE UPPER FARMINGTON RIVER, will receive a public hearing on Friday, March 8 starting at 11 a.m. I encourage you to submit written and/or oral testimony. If you testify orally (in-person or Zoom) it should be accompanied by written testimony. The deadline to register is Thursday, March 7 at 3 pm.

Submit oral testimony here.

Submit written testimony here.

(Make sure to pick date March 8th. Then In the Bill field pick Bill HB05355.)

The simplest option is to select "Type In My Testimony" and copy and paste this: 
I support the goals of bill 5355:
(1) for the state of Connecticut to gain greater control over water releases and holdbacks out of the Colebrook River and Goodwin Dams. 
(2) for DEEP to oversee an updated instream flow study (last done in 1992). This study would assist with long-term management of the river flow.

You can watch the meeting live on youtube here:

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Create a new email and copy the following four email addresses into the too: field.
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Then copy and paste the subject: Letter of Concern - West Branch Farmington River Water Flows into the subject field.
 
Next copy and paste the following into the body of the email, make sure to type your name and state at the end of it.
 
Representative Joseph Gresko, Chairperson
Senator Rick Lopes, Chairperson
Senator Stephen Harding, Ranking Member
Representative Patrick Callahan, Ranking Member
Environment Committee
Room 3200
Legislative Office Building
Hartford, Connecticut 06106
 
Please raise for a public hearing two bills that have been proposed to the Environment Committee to address erratic flows in the Upper Farmington River. This nationally renowned and federally-designated Wild and Scenic River begins below the MDC’s Goodwin Dam in Hartland and flows for 15 miles through Barkhamsted, New Hartford, and Collinsville (Canton). Less than two miles upriver of this dam is the Colebrook River Dam which is a flood control dam owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Currently, the USACE will only release (or hold back releases) when requested to do so by the MDC.
 
The first bill requires the MDC to make requests for releases from the Colebrook River Dam, as necessary, to maintain the flow of water in the West Branch of the Farmington River at or above a rate determined to be a sufficient minimum flow rate by DEEP.
 
The second bill directs DEEP to oversee an update to the Farmington River Instream Flow Study last completed in 1992, which is linked here:
 
Updating this study will provide information to determine the best flow regime for the Upper Farmington River to support its ecological health and recreational flows in light of changes in climate, as well as recent changes to state and pending changes to federal regulations governing the water in Colebrook River Reservoir.
 
Thank you for considering these two bills.
 
Sincerely,
 
Name:
Town:

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Raffle donations are needed for the Annual Banquet Raffle. Flies, tackle, books, artwork, or other “fishy” items are always wanted. Also, other items that sustain the angler and his/her family are also welcome. These could be items like food baskets, bottles of wine, hotel, inn, B&B lodging, gift certificates, or just anything. Early donations help with our planning.
In addition to members making donations on their own, members may also be able to solicit a donation from a business. If you get a donation from a business be sure to get a business card and information about the business so the club can acknowledge the gift.
Donations can be brought to Upcountry Sportfishing and Orvis or contact:
Tom Karpeichik
860-309-5510
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ONLY 40 TICKETS LEFT
100 Ticket Rod Raffle: This year's prize will be a Hardy Ultralight LL 9’2” 4WT 4PC rod, Hardy Ultradisc 4000 reel, and a Scientific Anglers Amplitude fly line. Total Value: $1,350 Tickets are $20 each and can be purchased at monthly membership meetings, Upcountry Sportfishing (cash or check only), or by mail. Mail payment to: Tom Karpeichik 701 Niles Rd. New Hartford CT, 06057. Tom can also be reached at 860-309-5510. A $3.00 fee will added to credit card orders.