Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor

Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location	Connecticut / Massachusetts, USA
Nearest city	Danielson
Coordinates	41°48′0″N 71°53′0″W / 41.8°N 71.883333°W / 41.8; -71.883333Coordinates: 41°48′0″N 71°53′0″W / 41.8°N 71.883333°W / 41.8; -71.883333
Area	595,000 acres (2,410 km2)
Established	November 2, 1994
Governing body	The Last Green Valley, Inc

The Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor is located in northeastern Connecticut and portions of Massachusetts. It is an area known for its rural character with rolling hills, farmland and classic New England scenery. This area was designated because it is one of the last remaining stretches of green in the Boston to Washington, D.C. heavily urbanized corridor. It contains some of largest unbroken forests in Southern New England.

Geography/Overview

The Corridor consists mostly of the Eastern New England Uplift. The rolling hills in the southern part of the Corridor become more rugged in the northern part of the Corridor. The highest elevation is 1,315 ft (401 m) Burley Hill in Union, CT^[1].

The Corridor is known for its high concentration of State Parks, State Forests and other reserves such as the Yale Forest and the Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary. Of the 600,000 Acres in the Corridor, more than 100,000 are Public/Reserved lands. In fact, the area around Union, CT contains over 40,000 acres (160 km²) of forest, larger than Acadia National Park, New England's most visited National Park.^[2][3]

History

Beginning in the 1980s, developmental pressures pushed citizens into creating organizations to protect lands, especially farmland from development. A report in 1988 by the National Park Service outlined solutions and it led to the creation of the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor in 1994. It was expanded in 1999 to include several communities in Massachusetts.^[4].

Unique features

• Boston Hollow
• Bigelow Hollow State Park
• One of the largest unbroken forests in Southern New England^[5]
• Pachaug-Great Meadow Swamp^[6].

Recreation Opportunities

• Airline State Park Trail
• Beaver Brook State Park, Windham, CT
• Bigelow Hollow State Park, Union, CT
• Brimfield State Forest, Brimfield, MA
• Buffumville Lake, Oxford, MA
• East Brimfield Lake, Sturbridge, MA
• James L. Goodwin State Forest, Hampton, CT
• Hodges Village Dam, Oxford, MA
• Hopeville Pond State Park, Griswold, CT
• Killingly Pond State Park, Killingly, CT
• Mansfield Hollow Lake, Mansfield, CT
• Mansfield Hollow State Park, Mansfield, CT
• Mashamoquet Brook State Park, Abington, CT
• Mohegan State Forest, Scotland, CT
• Mooween State Park, Lebanon, CT
• Mountain Laurel Sanctuary, Union, CT
• Natchaug State Forest, Eastford, CT
• Nathan Hale State Forest, Coventry, CT
• Nipmuck State Forest, Union, CT
• Norcross Wildlife Refuge, Wales/Holland, MA
• Old Furnace State Park, Killingly, CT
• Pachaug State Forest, Sterling, Voluntown, Griswold and Plainfield, CT
• Pomeroy State Park, Lebanon, CT
• Quaddick State Park, Thompson, CT
• Quinebaug Lake State Park, Killingly, CT
• Ross Pond State Park, Killingly, CT
• Streeter Point Recreation Area, Sturbridge, MA
• Yale Forest, Union, CT
• Wells State Park, Sturbridge, MA
• West Thompson Lake, Thompson, CT
• Westville Lake, Sturbridge, MA

References

1. ^ "Wales Quadrangle". USGS. http://docs.unh.edu/MA/wale52sw.jpg. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
2. ^ Total of all forest and reserved land in the area
3. ^ "Park Statistics (acreage owned by the NPS)". NPS. http://www.nps.gov/acad/parkmgmt/statistics.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
4. ^ "Legislation Information". Thomas. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h103-1348. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
5. ^ "Bigelow Hollow State Park". The Last Green Valley, Inc. http://www.visitthelastgreenvalley.info/attractions/pages/bigelow.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
6. ^ "NPS National Natural Landmark Index for Connecticut". National Park Service. http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/Registry/USA_Map/States/Connecticut/NNL/PMS/index.cfm. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 

External links

• Official site: The Last Greenmile, Inc
• Tourism site: The Last Green Valley Tourism