News Releases

Page 43 of 66

• 5/12/2023 DEEP Advises Motorists to Watch for Moose

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is urging motorists to exercise caution as a moose spotted early in the week in Watertown has moved southeast to Waterbury around South Main and Piedmont streets, within five miles of Interstate 84 and Route 8. The juvenile moose that has been moving through the Enfield, Windsor, Bloomfield area was sighted last evening around sunset in Windsor within a mile of Interstate 91.

• 12/11/2023 DEEP Requests Proposals for Recreational Trails Grants

  (HARTFORD, CT) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is now accepting proposals for the State’s Recreational Trails Program Grants. This request for applications is the largest funding round in the history of the Recreational Trails Grant program since it was established in 1997. It will make $10 million available to improve Connecticut’s trail infrastructure, which has seen significant usage increases since the onset of the pandemic. Applications will be accepted through March 11, 2024.

• 7/21/2023 DEEP’s Next No Child Left Inside® Families in the Parks Program is Saturday

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) presents its next 2023 No Child Left Inside® (NCLI) Families in the Parks Program at Hopeville Pond State Park in Griswold on Saturday, July 22, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration for NCLI is now open at: www.NoChildLeftInside.org.

• 12/8/2023 DEEP Releases 2024-2029 Draft Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced that it is releasing a draft of its 2024-2029 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), which lays out a 5-year strategy to continue to build on Connecticut’s outdoor recreation landscape. The draft plan is available for public review and comment through December 15, 2023.

• 4/21/2023 Black Bear Bites Woman in Avon

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“DEEP”) Environmental Conservation Police, along with DEEP wildlife biologists and officers from the Avon Police Department, responded to a black bear attack that occurred earlier this morning in the town of Avon.

• 6/7/2023 DEEP Forecasts Unhealthy Levels of PM2.5 Wednesday for the Entire State from Canadian Wildfire Smoke

  (HARTFORD)—Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is expecting smoke from wildfires over Quebec to elevate fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels on Wednesday, June 7th. These levels are expected to exceed Unhealthy levels for the entire state.

• 9/12/2023 Bat Appreciation Day to Be Held at Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine on Sunday, Sept. 17

  (HARTFORD) — Join the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Wildlife Division and the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) for a celebration of bat conservation at the Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine in East Granby on Sunday, September 17, 2023, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. To raise awareness of the plight of bats and their importance to our ecosystem and our economy, the DEEP Wildlife Division and DECD Office of Culture and Tourism have joined forces to host the seventh annual Bat Appreciation Day.

• 10/10/2023 DEEP Begins Fall Atlantic Salmon Stockings

  (HARTFORD) — Connecticut’s Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced that its 2023 autumn stockings of Atlantic salmon have begun. DEEP’s Fisheries Division last week released 250 salmon into Crystal Lake (Ellington/Stafford – 125 fish), Mount Tom Pond (Morris/Litchfield/Washington – 125 fish) and the Shetucket River. In addition to these two lakes and this river, the Naugatuck River is typically stocked with salmon several times throughout the fall and will begin soon.

• 5/18/2023 Moose Struck and Killed by Motor Vehicle in Hartland

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is reporting that a moose was killed in a motor vehicle collision in Hartland last night. It is the 3rd moose fatality of the year in Connecticut from a motor vehicle collision, and the 2nd in Hartland. The Connecticut State Police and DEEP’s Environmental Conservation Police responded to the scene of the accident on Rt. 179 at approximately 8:30 last night.

• 10/2/2023 Connecticut Greenways Council Presents the 5th Annual Connecticut Trails Symposium Oct. 12-13

  (HARTFORD) — The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Connecticut Greenways Council, in partnership with the City of Torrington, Five Points Arts Center, and UConn Extension and Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) are hosting the fifth Annual Connecticut Trails Symposium for local, state, and regional officials, property owners, managers, and volunteers on October 12-13, 2023. The symposium will take place at the Five Points Art Center in Torrington, Connecticut.

• 5/19/2023 DEEP Promotes National Safe Boating Week May 20-26

  (HARTFORD) – The Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) announces the start of National Safe Boating Week, which runs from May 20 – 26, 2023, the week before Memorial Day Weekend. This observance week is the annual kick-off of the Safe Boating Campaign, a global awareness effort that encourages boaters to boat responsibly and wear a life jacket on the water.

• 11/6/2023 DAS and DEEP Announce Infrastructure Improvements at Quinebaug Valley State Trout Hatchery

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Commissioner Michelle Gilman and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes today announced the completion of filtration and pump infrastructure improvements at the Quinebaug Valley State Trout Hatchery in Plainfield. The new improvements to the hatchery will save thousands of gallons of water daily, reduce the hatchery’s environmental impact, and reach the State of Connecticut closer to the goals set in Governor Lamont’s Executive Order 1 in reducing the state’s water consumption by 10% by 2030.

• 5/2/2023 U.S. Department of Energy Awards Wallingford Affordable Housing Complex Clean Energy Grant

  (HARTFORD) – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it has selected a proposal submitted by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), in coordination with the University of Connecticut (UConn), Wallingford Housing Authority (WHA), Wallingford Electric Division, and Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), to design a geothermal heating and cooling system to support an affordable housing development in Wallingford. The 132-unit development – Ulbrich Heights, owned and operated by the Wallingford Housing Authority – was one of only 11 projects in 10 states selected.

• 10/4/2023 Governor Lamont Announces Connecticut's Strategic Roadmap for Offshore Wind, Launches Connecticut Wind Collaborative

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced the publication of Connecticut’s first strategic roadmap for economic development in the offshore wind industry, which will be supported by a newly-formed public-private group known as the Connecticut Wind Collaborative. The roadmap can be downloaded online at portal.ct.gov/offshorewind.

• 1/20/2023 2023 Connecticut Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition Welcomes Entries through March 15, 2023

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Attention all creative young artists and art educators in Connecticut! Entries are now being accepted for the 2023 Connecticut Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition. This annual competition is coordinated and sponsored by the Connecticut Waterfowl Association, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Wildlife Division. The competition is part of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) environmental education program known as the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program.