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Below is a summary of the 14 workshops currently scheduled for the two afternoon break out sessions for our upcoming Smart Growth Conference on March 18.  You will have your choice of attending one workshop during each session.  There may be some unforeseen changes and/or adjustments to the workshops over the next ten days but we wanted to give you an idea of the extensive professional background and expertise of our presenters and panelists and the broad range of interesting and dynamic topics of our workshops.

Please tell them you heard about it in CT Environmental Headlines. Thanks.

Continue reading The Third Annual Smart Growth Conference, March 18, 2 to 8 p.m., 950 Main St., Hartford

Stamford Green Drinks will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, at Northern Lights Bar and Lounge, Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa 243 Tresser Blvd. Stamford, CT. To RSVP click here. The event is free. Organic beverages will be available for purchase.

NORTH BRANFORD — The South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority’s first controlled deer hunt on its North Branford property went off without a hitch, officials say. But some residents say they hope the company never holds one again.

via N. Branford deer hunt success, despite objections – The New Haven Register.

Our town government tells me that “we support agriculture, we think farming is a good thing, let's have a farmers market, we like buying local fresh food.”

This month our Board of Selectmen will discuss and ultimately vote upon a proposal put forth by the Conservation of Natural Resource Commission that will back up the rhetoric.

via Agriculture plan deserves support | The Day.

WOODBRIDGE — Warning that the proposed cell phone tower to be erected on the ridge behind Shepherd’s Farm on Litchfield Turnpike could “change the landscape forever,” Selectman Beth Heller asked the Connecticut Siting Council to consider alternative locations or the design of a more appealing structure.

via Residents divided on cell tower issue | Amity Observer.

The golf course was added to the town bow hunt for last week, reopening some debate about the expansion of the deer hunt this season — particularly on Lynch Brook Lane. The Ridgefield golf course was hunted last year, too, and will be hunted through Jan. 31 with bow only. The town hunt ends Jan. 31.

via Deer hunt expands to golf course, but ends in two weeks | Ridgefield Press.

I am distressed by the news that a 170-foot tower may rise above our historic “Happy Valley.” The area east and west of Route 69, Litchfield Turnpike, is a historic area trod by the early settlers of Woodbridge. It has been recommended as a historic district.

via LETTER: Keep big tower away from Litchfield Turnpike – The New Haven Register.

Another dispatch from Peter Marteka: ” …When I reached the Burnham Brook entrance and found no map, I decided to — gulp — wing it. Turns out much of the 1,122-acre East Haddam preserve’s deep woodlands, ledges, outcroppings and streams can be seen from the lone 2-mile-loop trail. The trail starts just northeast of what is known as Dolbia Hill Farm, the home of the late Richard H. Goodwin, founder of The Nature Conservancy, a group that has protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide.

via Nature: Without A Map, Trusting In The Trail – Courant.com.

GLASTONBURY – – At the request of the applicant, the Connecticut Siting Council has canceled two public hearings and a balloon fly for a proposed cell tower site along Dayton Road.

via Siting Council Cancels Tower Public Hearings – Courant.com.

Some more pictures from Nick Bonomo … “A few more quick hits from the past several days, as I snuck out for some birding between studying, the big exam, and interviews.”

via Shorebirder: Vesper, Harlequin (inland), King Eider.

WILTON — A proposed recreational trail that would run through Wilton, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield and Danbury has cleared it's first major hurdle, according to Pat Sesto, head of Wilton's Inland Wetland Department.

via Proposed recreational trail clears first hurdle – Wilton Villager.

You won’t believe how much the Connecticut Juvenile Training School spends on its groundbreaking fuel cell energy plant

While the fuel cells that were installed at CJTS, a maximum-security detention center for boys built in 2001, cost $17.6 million to build and install, their final total cost to the state will be $36.9 million once the 30-year loan to finance the installation is paid off.

via News – Fuel Cell Boondoggle? | New Haven Advocate.

Wearing skullcaps and thick gloves, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeff Brenzel and East Rock Park ranger Dan Barvir traveled over frozen mud, stiffened grass and sharp brambles around the New Haven harbor to count individual birds and bird species on Dec. 19. The two participated in the National Audobon Society’s 110th annual Christmas Bird Count.

via One bird, two bird, red bird, blue bird | Yale Daily News.