A grant of nearly $150,000 from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving was instrumental in the removal of a dam on the Farmington River with the goal of restoring historic fish migrations.
The removal of the Spoonville Dam at the lower end of Tariffville Gorge, where the Farmington River forms the town boundary of East Granby and Bloomfield, was coordinated by the Farmington River Watershed Association, which received the grant to support a river management plan.
This is the latest effort to restore historic fish migrations in the Farmington River watershed, where three centuries of dam construction has impeded migrations of Atlantic salmon, American shad, sea-run trout, American eel, alewife, and blueback herring.
“Removing the dam and revealing the bedrock falls beneath also make this dramatic gorge look even better as a scenic destination,” said Eileen Fielding, executive director of the Farmington River Watershed Association. “It is also expected to enhance recreation and safety.”
The dam, which got its name from a flatware manufacturer that once operated nearby, was owned by the Connecticut Light and Power Co., which contributed substantial support to the project.
A dam removal company based in Pennsylvania hammered the concrete structure into fragments that were trucked out of the river and recycled.
Other fish passage projects in the planning stages include a rock ramp fishway designed for the Winchell Smith Dam in Farmington and the replacement of an aging fish ladder at Rainbow Dam in Windsor. When these are completed, migratory fish will have easier passage through more than 20 miles of the Farmington River, as well as Salmon Brook and the Pequabuck River.
This portion of the Farmington River is under consideration for “Wild and Scenic River” designation by the U.S. Congress, following a study funded in part in 2008 with a $156,050 grant from the Hartford Foundation.
Care coordination study
Hartford health insurer Aetna has given a $250,000 grant to the Community Health Center, Inc. in Middletown to conduct a two-year study aimed at improving the coordination of health care for low-income and underinsured patients at community health care clinics and similar safety-net health care providers.
The study’s goal is to create a measurement toolkit that can successfully evaluate the levels of care coordination at primary care practices providing outpatient care for underserved populations.
Care coordination is a central component to many health care reform efforts to improve patients’ health, patients’ experience of care and at the same time lower costs. Care coordination is typically defined as a patient-centered, interdisciplinary approach where all of a patient’s needs are managed across providers and settings.
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Library gets grant
The Connecticut State Department of Education awarded Hartford Public Library a $35,000 Adult Education Program Improvement Project grant for English Literacy/Civics instruction.
The project is aimed at Hartford’s low literate refugee and immigrant populations by assisting them to become less isolated within the community, reduce barriers to their civic participation, and help them begin their path toward citizenship.
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In brief
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven awarded more than $75,000 to six high school students who came up with distinctive solutions to problems faced by their schools, communities, families, and the world. The Milton Fisher Scholarship for Innovation and Creativity also honored 10 high school students and college freshmen with honorable mention awards… The University of Hartford donated five refurbished computers to Hartford Public Library’s Albany branch… For the seventh consecutive year, Borgida & Co. P.C., certified public accountants in Manchester is holding a Fall Food Drive from Oct. 1-31. All non-perishable food items and personal care items dropped off during business hours at 360 East Center St. will be donated to the MACC Food Pantry.
