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2008 CALENDAR OF EVENTS AVAILABLE;

 Click here for a convenient printout of the Hiking/Walking/Paddling Schedule for 2008.

Schedule 2008

 
Beetles Galore! By Jerry Stage (Photo credits: Natalie "Nanny" Audinot);

Patience and hope are worthy virtues. Sometimes they’re even rewarded. This certainly seems to be true for the biological control project initiated in 2005 by the NCLT’s Land Stewardship Committee to control the well established infestation of Purple Loosestrife in the Scantic Riparian Area (SRA), a prime wetland along the Scantic River in Somers.

      Loosestrife and Beetles (Photo Credit:  Natalie "Nanny" Audinot)

Purple Loosestrife is a serious invasive pest introduced over 200 years ago from Eurasia. Since then it has spread throughout the eastern parts of the USA.   Though beautiful it crowds out native plants in wetlands and makes the sites useless for our native flora and fauna. 
 
In June 2005 our beetle farming team raised and then released 8,000 or so leaf beetles in the genus Galerucella at six strategic locations in the SRA.   Details of the project were published in the September 2005 issue (No. 15) of the Northern Connecticut Land Trust’s newsletter, “Landmark” (located under Resources on this site).
 
Alas, in 2006 there were no signs of the beetles and the loosestrife seemed to be thriving if not actually spreading. Since the beetles survive most of the late summer and all winter as adults in the roots of their host plants we suspected the torrential rains and flooding in October of 2005 killed them all off. After all, much of the site had been under as much as 5 feet of water for many weeks and lesser amounts for most of the winter and early spring.
 
No beetles could be found again in 2007 but an occasional plant showed feeding damage that appeared to have been caused by some chewing beetle. Just maybe Galerucella. In spite of that spark of hope I was sufficiently discouraged that I called Donna Ellis ( Loosestrife contact person from the UConn Extension service) to plan a second release the next year. That turned out to be unnecessary.
 
Recent visits to the site this June and July show BEETLES GALORE! It is hard to find a single plant anywhere on the site that doesn’t show at least some sign of beetle damage. Many plants are severely mutilated and stunted. It’s very difficult to know how many beetles are there but I’d guess they number in the hundreds of thousands if not millions.  It is clear that in this case patience and hope paid off!   
 
We do not expect the loosestrife to disappear altogether but rather to drop back into a more natural balance with the rest of the flora. It will be interesting to see how the composition of the flora in the affected area changes as that happens. 
 
 
NORTHERN CONNECTICUT LAND TRUST MEMBERSHIP BROCHURE;

Click here to see 2008 Membership Brochure:

Portals/5/NCLT PUBLICATION BROCHURE in jpg format.jpg

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MAJOR EVENT HELD ON JUNE 22, 2008 ;

"LOOP YEAR" Book Release Event was held on Sunday, June 22, 3:00 p.m at the McCann Family Farm in Somers, CT.  Author and NCLT member John Sheirer gave the official release of his new book, Loop Year: 365 Days on the Trail. The book chronicles John's year-long project when he hiked the Blue Trail at McCann's every day for a year between May 17, 2005 and May 16, 2006. John  discussed the book and read from Loop Year.  For more information about Loop Year, visit www.johnsheirer.com

 
JUNE 22, 2008 3:00 PM "Loop Year" Book Event, Meet Author John Sheirer;

Photo courtesy:  John Sheirer

 
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 About the Northern Connecticut Land Trust Minimize

The Northern Connecticut Land Trust is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization in the northeastern part of Connecticut.  The Mission of the Trust is to preserve the natural resources of the northern Connecticut region including agricultural land and other ecologically important open space.  As the only non-profit, open space protection group in the area, dedicated landowners come to the Trust to protect their heritage.  Landowners may transfer land as a gift, sold at fair market value or the sale of land to the Trust below market value can offer income tax benefits to the donor.  Deed restrictions, lifetime use by the donor, and other stipulations are opportunities for donors to consider.  Each parcel is managed according to the donor's wishes through our monitoring and stewardship programs.  Conservation easements (whereby landowners may donate or sell development rights to their land while maintaining ownership and other property rights) is another option. 

The Northern Connecticut Land Trust is integrally involved in protecting land in Ellington, Enfield, East Windsor, Somers, Stafford, and Vernon by:

  • Preserving and protecting the natural resources in the north-central region of Connecticut;
  • Sponsoring outdoor activities to enjoy the protected lands;
  • Supporting efforts to improve local habitats, maintain farmland and extend recreational opportunities.

 
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 Photos Minimize
McCann's Family Farm (L) and NCLT Volunteers during a Work Party (R)

 Shady Brook, Whitakers

Photo Courtesy:  Jim Stage                                       
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