Five Fairfield County entities were among the recipients of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection”™s (DEEP) second round of grant funding through the Aquatic Invasive Species Grant Program.
DEEP allocated a total of $370,000 for 15 projects to reduce impacts of aquatic invasive species on inland waters in Connecticut. DEEP noted that non-native species such as Zebra mussels and Hydrilla have a deleterious impact on both the local ecosystem and on the state”™s outdoor recreation economy, of which boating and fishing are the largest contributors.
Within Fairfield County, DEEP awarded the following grants:
Ӣ $31,104 to ShermanӪs Candlewood Lake Authority for an educational program to inform boaters about invasive species
Ӣ $12,374.79 to BrookfieldӪs Lake Lillinonah Authority for its invasive weed removal proposal
Ӣ $32,100 to RidgefieldӪs Mamanasco Lake Improvement Fund for its removal of curly-leaf pondweed from the lake
Ӣ $3,000 to the Town of New Fairfield for a survey and mapping of vegetation in Ball Pond as part of a lake management plan
Ӣ $7,150 to DanburyӪs Western Connecticut State University for research into the behaviors of triploid grass carp at Candlewood Lake and the impacts of overstocking at Squantz Pond.
Photo: PixaHive
