Connecticut Water Trails

History Of The Connecticut Water Trails Association

Protecting, Promoting 'Water Trails' - Hartford Courant Article

Protecting, Promoting 'Water Trails'

By STEVE GRANT

Hartford Courant -  January 30, 2008

Original Hartford Courant article: Protecting, Promoting 'Water Trails' 

The idea is a comparatively simple one: Identify some of the most scenic and accessible kayak and canoe routes on the state's rivers, lakes and coastal waters, and recognize them for what they are: water trails, the aquatic equivalent of hiking trails.

Then, promote those trails; preserve and protect those trails; help those unfamiliar with a body of water to find public access points on those trails.

Representatives of paddling clubs, watershed groups, outfitters, gear retailers and political leaders will meet February 16, 2008 in Middlefield to more formally organize a Connecticut Water Trails Association, a group that loosely formed last fall.

It is but the latest in a nascent but burgeoning nationwide water-trails movement.

In Maine, water trails have been created along the rocky, island-studded coastline. In Minnesota, a trail exists along the rugged shore of Lake Superior. Trail networks have been created in Rhode Island, Washington and Pennsylvania. Already, some water trails have been designated in Connecticut, including one through the Norwalk Islands.

'It's happening all over the place,' said John Monroe, Boston-based outdoor recreation planner with the National Park Service's rivers and trails program, who has informally advised the Connecticut group.

Ensuring adequate access to rivers, lakes and coastal waters is but one goal of the group.

'Access where it is publicly permitted is the key thing,' said Jean Trapani, one of the organizers and the flatwater/coastal paddling chairwoman for the Connecticut chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. 'We do not want people to think we are advocating for access on private land. We want people to know where it is OK to go for the general public. We don't want to trample on any private owner's land.'

Environmental sensitivity is another of the perceived virtues of a water-trails system.

'Once people are on the water, they come to love it, and they want to protect it,' Trapani said. The trails system, then, becomes an educational tool that inspires paddlers to adopt a conservation ethic.

More specifically, it can translate into tangible protection efforts, like creating erosion-control structures at launch points or organizing river cleanup days.

'The idea that conservation is part of it really distinguishes why a water trail can make a difference,' Monroe said.

Moreover, Trapani said, water trails help attract new paddlers, including children who might otherwise spend the time indoors, provide a way for people to get healthy exercise, and can even promote tourism.

'This isn't for the in-crowd of paddlers,' Monroe said. Once established, for example, a water-trails system could produce information that would allow a visiting family checking into a motel or hotel to book a paddling lesson and outing on one of the area's popular water trails.

Some trails are historic, used by Native Americans and early European settlers as highways centuries ago. The Connecticut River, for example, was a main means of travel in New England for many centuries. Parts of it already have been designated as water trails.

'These are the original roads,' Monroe said. 'It is coming full circle to an ancient idea.'

Sig Hepp, Connecticut outreach coordinator for the retailer Eastern Mountain Sports, and one of the founding organizers, said one goal is to eventually produce a guidebook with essential information on all of the water trails in the state, something similar to the 'Connecticut Walk Book,' the comprehensive, two-volume book on the state's hiking trails published by the Connecticut Forest & Park Association.

In the meantime, the group plans to sponsor a Connecticut Water Trails Day June 14, 2008 with organized outings in different parts of the state that day. The February 16, 2008 meeting, open to the public, will be held at the Connecticut Forest & Park Association headquarters, 16 Meriden Road in Middlefield, beginning at 9:45 a.m.

Copyright © 2008 Hartford Courant, All Rights Reserved.

American Rivers Blog

February 14, 2008

Jamie Mierau, Director River Heritage, Blue Trails

Exciting things are happening in Connecticut.  Representatives of paddling clubs, watershed groups, outfitters, gear retailers, and political leaders are meeting later this week to more formally organize the Connecticut Water Trails Association.  The February 16 meeting in Middlefield is open to the public so go be part of this all-important effort.  The group plans to sponsor a Connecticut Water Trails Day on June 14, with organized outings in different parts of the state that day.