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The SCC meets at 7PM on the second Thursday of each month in the Courtroom of the Town Offices, 1 Main Street, Baltic. Members of the public are always welcome. Our Chair is Don Boushee.

Many people who visit the Mukluk Preserve are amazed by its beauty and diversity. Recently Mukluk had a visitor from Rhode Island who wanted to let Sprague know how much he appreciated the Town’s efforts to preserve this valuable resource, and wrote the First Selectman a “thank you” that said he “hoped would agree with the town’s open space initiative.”

“I am intrigued by your town,” he writes, “probably because it reminds me of my hometown, Madawaska Maine. Everyone I have interfaced with thus far [at the Town Hall] has been very helpful and friendly. I wish you best.”

Mukluk in Winter

January 2008

For a real winter treat, consider taking a hike in the 270-acre Mukluk Preserve this winter. The Conservation Commission, town volunteers, and a local Eagle Scout have been working hard to establish and mark some additional trails, some of which can be easily navigated even in the deepest snow. You can now find a map of the property posted at the cabin at the parking lot by the skeet range. A winter walk yields all kinds of surprises, from animal tracks to beautiful views of the river to a variety of birds, plus the comforting quiet that snow and woods produces.

[As always, please exercise caution when entering the Preserve in inclement weather. The access road is long, and even though plowed, is treacherous if you do not have an appropriate 4x4 vehicle. Folks have gotten their cars stuck in the snow and mud. Snow shoes, boots, paws and hooves are usually always suited to the task, however!]

Sprague received a grant from The Connecticut Environmental Review Team Program, to have a natural resources inventory prepared for the Mukluk preserve. Readers of this website know that the team, consisting of experts around the state, worked all summer to provide a detailed analysis of the property from a geological, hydrological, wildlife, botanical and forestry perspective. The result is a fascinating report that you can access and/or download here. Mukluk Preserve Property Please visit their site as well, at www.ctert.org to find out more about this great organization and its work to preserve and protect open space and biodiversity in Connecticut.

We’re still gearing up for the second phase of Brownfields cleanup activities at the site, as the Plant Science Department at UConn prepares to conduct demonstration phytoremediation activities in the contaminated area this spring. Thanks to the support of EPA and the Connecticut DEP we can use a portion of the cleanup funds to perform this potentially important experiment that has far-reaching consequences for the effective and non-invasive cleanup of shooting preserves across the state and beyond.

Briefly, phytoremediation uses plants to clean up pollution in the environment. Plants can help clean up many kinds of pollution including metals, pesticides, explosives, and oil. The plants also help prevent wind, rain, and groundwater from carrying pollution away from sites to other areas, including water sources.

For additional information on phytoremediation and what it does, visit these helpful sites or download the pdf files:

Site: http://clu-in.org/download/citizens/citphyto.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoremediation

Another cleanup-related activity we are hoping to accomplish this spring is the re-testing of the skeet range field to see if it now possesses sufficiently low levels of hazardous materials to be able to move the containment fence back to the first tree line. This will give visitors the ability to use the field for picnicking, Frisbee/ballplaying, etc. Mukluk’s beautiful, but it doesn’t have much open treeless area. This field is adjacent to the parking area and it would be great if we could open it up. Stay tuned!

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Sprague River Park Continues to Expand

January 2008

We’re planning some additions to the River Park this spring, including trail markers, more grills, and better access to the Mill headrace, with the help of grants from EPA and the DEP Recreational Trails program. Please check back with us in the spring for a complete report. In the meantime, visitors to the River Park may see some new chain link fencing surrounding the headrace. This fencing is temporary, but we wanted to provide some protection this winter since many more people are beginning to explore the area, and our volunteers are cutting trees and brush in the headrace catwalk area. The temporary fence, while not exactly the prettiest feature of the park, is designed to protect visitors until our permanent, period-appropriate fencing/railings are in place. Please bear with us, and always exercise caution/watch your kids when you’re near the headrace.

Letterboxing in the Mukluk Preserve

November 2007

This marks our second fall of hosting Letterboxes at the Mukluk Preserve. We have three there now, and we hope you’ll print out the clues (below, or at www.letterboxing.org) and take a nice fall/early winter hike and go find them.

What are Letterboxes?

Letterboxes are everywhere. You’ve passed by them on walks in woods, in public parks, probably even in bus stations and on the street in New York City. They are small hidden containers that have rubber stamps in them, and depending on their size they will have a small notebook, some ink, and a pen. The object of letterboxing is to follow a set of clues and find the box. Most clues are easy; but some are in difficult riddles and although planted years ago, have been found only once or twice! You take the stamp out of the box and you stamp your own notebook; then you take your own stamp (that you carry with you at all times in case of a letterboxing emergency!) and you “stamp in” to let others (and the letterbox “owner”) know you’ve been there. There are people who have thousands of stamps from every state and all over the world.

This is a GREAT activity for kids because it gets them outside, walking, reading, using a compass, re-packing the box carefully, then wanting to learn to carve their own stamps and hide boxes too.

We thought that putting some letterboxes in the Mukluk Preserve was the perfect way to introduce people to this great new resource that we have, and making a fun adventure at the same time. Since the preserve has always been private, these are the FIRST letterboxes that have ever been in there.

But we are still new to the sport, so we need your feedback When you find the boxes (or if you can’t find them) drop us a line (grants@ctsprague.org) and tell us how we’re doing. But first, go to the www.letterboxing.org site to get an idea of what a popular yet largely “undiscovered” pastime this is.

Here are our three current letterboxes, with another one to be added this month (if the placer can find her way back to the spot!)

Bobcat (our first letterbox and hand-carved stamp)

Chipmunk Picnic

I love Mukluk

Remember: The Town of Sprague Welcomes ALL visitors but please obey a few simple rules:

Drive your car all the way down the dirt road (7/10 mile) and park near the cabin where there’s room. Parking on the road means that other cars can’t pass you.
Please obey the signs that say to keep out of certain areas where we are cleaning up the lead pellets from years of hunting. You will know these areas immediately by the cheery orange and yellow fencing (no, we don’t like it either but it does the trick.)
ATV’s and motorbikes are prohibited. The area is patrolled and violators will be prosecuted.
Please respect this lovely resource and take out anything you bring into the woods—help keep our park gorgeous.
The Preserve is closed at sunset except to fishermen. Currently the gate will be locked at sunset.

Happy Letterboxing, and enjoy the Mukluk Preserve!

LINKS

Here’s a cool map from the QVSHC/ Source to Sea Planning Committee, created by Alan Dabrowski using a Google-based mapping system. When you open the map, you will be looking at rivers in "terrain view." By "clicking and holding," you can move the image and travel down the entire length of the rivers. Look at the text to the left of the map for viewing tips. For example, changing to "satellite view" allows you to zoom in even further than "terrain view" so you can see a tremendous amount of detail (and zooming in will "unstack" some of the closely-spaced icons). Click on any of the icons and you will be treated to popups with text, links to other resources, photos, etc. A high speed internet connection is recommended.

Paddler's Guide to the Shetucket River

Check out the Paddler’s Maps for other Connecticut rivers on www.thelastgreenvalley.org

Here are some useful links to conservation-related organizations and activities in the area:

Thames River Basin Partnership: www.thamesriverbasinpartnership.org

QSHC/The Last Green Valley www.thelastgreenvalley.org

Trout Unlimited www.thamesvalleytu.org

The Nature Conservancy www.tnc.org

Eastern Connecticut Conservation District (ECCD) www.conservect.org/eastern

Connecticut Fisherman: www.ctfisherman.com,

Office of the State Archaeologist: http://www.cac.uconn.edu/osa.html