The latest edition of CLEAR’s newsletter, CLEARscapes, is now online for your viewing pleasure (embedded below, or link to the pdf here). Our CLEAR newsletter is one way we connect with Connecticut towns and communities, by highlighting all the cool things happening here at the Center. Once or twice a year we publish a newsletter […]
CLEARscapes – Winter 2019 Edition
In This Issue Stormwater Corps NRCA TPL Class Climate Corps New Story Map Program Updates (View Newsletter as pdf)
CT GIS Day is November 14 in Hartford
Next week is Geography Awareness Week and the CT GIS Network is celebrating by hosting the annual CT GIS Day on Wednesday, November 14 at the Hartford Public Library. This event is free and open to the public and will include a full day of activities including presentations from mapping professionals from across CT and […]
Projections Matter, Especially on Election Night
The first thing I teach someone about maps is that they are more than just lines and direction on a page, screen, or device. Maps convey information. Maps tell a story. But maps can also be deceiving. Consider for a minute, election maps. If you’re reading this blog post then you survived, if just barely, […]
A marsh migration buffer takes shape
Dodge Paddock Beal Preserve is a small oasis in Stonington Borough and is owned by Avalonia Land Conservancy. With tidal wetlands, coastal grassland and a rocky intertidal area, the area has much to offer visitors. The preserve has been the focus of many efforts involving the land trust, CT Dept of Energy and Environmental Protection, […]
CT’s First Stormwater Utility!
Earlier this summer, New London became the first municipality in Connecticut to establish a stormwater utility which goes into effect January 1, 2019. This means they will begin charging all property owners a fee for their contribution to the city’s stormwater runoff. Previously, New London relied on property taxes to fund maintenance of their stormwater […]
The Slow Storm: Tree Mortality in Connecticut from Invasive Insect Pests
Tom Worthley, UConn Associate Extension Professor, Forestry recently wrote a compelling report (below) on Connecticut’s tree mortality rates, and how and why they are dying. You don’t need to go far to see what Tom is talking about. Just outside our windows here at the UConn Cooperative Extension building in Haddam, we were all saddened […]
CT DOT’s “MS4” General Permit
July 10, 2018 Presented by Adam Fox, P.E., Principal Engineer, Environmental Compliance, Contract Development & Permit Coordination Connecticut Department Of Transportation & Daniel Imig, P.E., Transportation Engineer 3, Environmental Compliance Section, Connecticut Department Of Transportation CTDEEP recently released an MS4 permit for the Department of Transportation (DOT). While largely similar to the municipal version, there […]
MS4 Permit Year 2 Tasks
June 26, 2018 Presented By Dave Dickson & Amanda Ryan, UConn CLEAR Connecticut’s updated MS4 permit begins its second year on July 1st. Now that a year has passed, MS4 towns and institutions may be getting the hang of things but with a new year comes at least a few new tasks. This webinar will […]
Opportunities For Brownfield Redevelopment in Connecticut
June 19, 2018 Presented By Dr. Maria Chrysochoou Director of the Connecticut Brownfields Initiative (CBI) at the University of Connecticut & Ms. Binu Chandy, Deputy Director of the Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development at the Ct Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Brownfields are underutilized properties, most often located in urban cores, the […]
One CAP Cohort Finishes and Another CAP Cohort Joins the Fold
I continue to be impressed by our Natural Resources Conservation Academy (NRCA) Conservation Ambassador Program (CAP) students. We said goodbye to our 2017-2018 CAP cohort at the 12th Annual Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources, where they graduated as our newest Connecticut Conservation Ambassadors. The students presented their work during a poster session, and described the […]
Is there any hope to fix our salt problem? Perhaps…
Another winter has finally ended, and messy roads and salty cars are quickly becoming a distant memory. Where did all that salt go? The millions of tons of deicing salts that get applied to our roads either wash off into local streams, or move into the local groundwater. Yet another research study has recently come […]
Dealing With Storm Damaged Trees
On May 15, 2018, late in the afternoon, a striking example of one of those “severe weather events” we see quite often these days passed through my neighborhood in Higganum. Severe winds, downpours, lightning and thunder all were part of a wicked and deadly storm that ripped limbs from and uprooted trees, downed powerlines and […]
Climate Change & Environmental Security Beyond our Borders
May 15, 2018 Presented By Dr. Mark A. Boyer, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, Geography, UConn, Executive Director, International Studies Association Climate change is the signature issue of our time, yet the topic remains one of great controversy politically (if not scientifically). Mostly as a result of this political controversy, the global community has made […]
Using GIS to Find Birdwatching Hotspots
Do you know why May is a New Englander’s favorite month for birdwatching? It is because it’s the peak of spring migration! Neotropical birds are passing through the area on the way to their breeding grounds, or are staying the summer. Plus they are sporting their best and brightest plumage to attract a mate, which […]
Landsat & Sentinel-2: Satellite Based Sensors for CT’s Landscape
April 24, 2018 Presented By James Hurd Research Associate, UConn, Dept. of NRE, Program Coordinator ConnecticutView and Chandi Witharana, Visiting Research Professor, UConn, Dept. of NRE, Director ConnecticutView There is no shortage of available imagery to view the landscape of Connecticut, or any place in the world for that matter. Imagery comes in all types […]
What do you do after you scoop?
On my drive home last week I saw two of my neighbors walking their dogs. One of the dogs had just done his business and the owner dutifully scooped it up with a doggy doodie bag dangling from the dog’s leash. Excellent, I thought, he knows that dog poop left on the street can be […]
Another win for rain gardens
It’s well known that rain gardens are great for infiltrating stormwater but people may not realize that they also help destroy common stormwater pollutants. Several studies have found that rather than accumulating pollutants in their soils, rain gardens tend to biodegrade them instead. One study (LeFevre et al., 2011) investigated petroleum hydrocarbon levels in 58 […]
Digging into the 2017 Connecticut Trail Census Data
April 3, 2018 Presented By Kristina Kelly, Connecticut Trail Census Statewide Coordinator, Laura Brown, Community and Economic Development Educator with UConn Extension and Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), and Aaron Budris, Senior Regional Planner for the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments The Connecticut Trail Census is a statewide volunteer data collection program intended to inform a better […]
Spring NEARC at UConn May 8
The Northeast Arc Users Group (NEARC) is a regional group of people from many disciplines who are interested in geospatial technology in some form or other. You join by showing up or joining the email list- all are welcome! NEARC is a non-profit organization that hosts a 3-day conference every fall at venues around New […]