greenways

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The Woodstock Conservation Commission worked with the State DEEP and the Town of Putnam to establish a State Designated Greenway along the Little River. The goal of this greenway is to protect public water drinking supplies, provide wildlife habitat and wildlife corridors by linking parcels of committed open space and wetlands, potentially link to other trails in adjacent towns, and provide educational opportunities. 

In 2005, Woodstock updated their subdivision regulations to include mandatory conservation development design with a 50% open space requirement. With the Little River designated a greenway, the riparian buffers of all the watercourses in the system will receive a higher priority as a conservation feature in the subdivision design throughout the watershed. 

In 2003, the Conservation Commission received a $1000 grant from the Kodak American Greenway Awards Program. The grant funded a study to establish a greenway in Woodstock, CT.  In 2003-2004, the Conservation Commission contacted and held workshops with private landowners, local developers, interested community members, and other organizations in Woodstock and beyond that might be willing to partner on this project. The goals of the workshops were to obtain community support, reach general agreement on the location of the greenway, and identify next steps that were compatible with the goals of Woodstock's A Plan of Open Space and Conservation.  The next step was for Putnam and Woodstock to jointly apply State Designation as a Greenway.  Designation was approved in June 2006. 

The Little River and its tributaries in Woodstock contain important headwater streams that are a part of the Putnam Water Supply Watershed Area, and a conservation priority as designated by the State Office of Policy and Management in the growth management principles and Location Guide Map of the Connecticut Conservation and Development Policies Plan 2005-2010. 

The Source Water Protection Plan (12/05) for the Little River Watershed is available in PDF format here.  

The Natchaug River System in the towns of Ashford, Chaplin, Eastford, Mansfield, Union, Windham and Woodstock is recognized by federal, state, local and private agencies as a benchmark stream for water quality containing a rich diversity of aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. It provides trophy trout fishing, paddling, hiking, history and beauty to area residents and visitors as well as supplying drinking water for the City of Willimantic. Much of the land within the watershed is held by the State of Connecticut, US Army Corp of Engineers, private land trusts and large private land owners. Four State Designated Greenways pass through the watershed, and the Nipmuck and the Natchaug Trails follow the part of the Natchaug River corridor. The Willimantic River Greenway and the Airline Trail intersect with the Natchaug River as well. A joint application between the affected Towns and The Nature Conservancy resulted in State Designation as a Greenway in June of 2006. 

The natural, historic and recreational resources enjoyed by communities within the watershed are dependent upon the continued high quality condition of the system. The goal of the Natchaug River Greenway is natural resource protection on both sides of the Natchaug River and its major tributaries Bigelow Brook, Still River, Bungee Brook, Stonehouse Brook, their headwater streams, and water bodies. The participating communities in The Natchaug River Greenway are working together to preserve the high-quality waters of the system as well as the terrestrial and aquatic habitat within the watershed through community education and promotion of the natural, historic and recreational resources of the river corridor. 

In Woodstock, the Still River and Bungee Brook and their tributary streams form important linkages between the Nipmuck Forest, Yale University Forest and Crystal Pond Park and other open space in the western side of town.  The Still River and Bungee Brook and their tributaries contain important headwater streams that are a part of the Willimantic water supply watershed area, and are conservation priorities as designated by the State Office of Policy and Management. This area includes the Lake Bungee development; the highest density developed area in town. With the Natchaug River system designated a greenway, the riparian buffers of all the watercourses in the system will receive a higher priority as a conservation feature in the subdivision design throughout the watershed.