CFPA award - CtPost article

The Connecticut Post had an article regarding the Conservation Commission's award from the CFPA. I think it important to document recognition, and since the CtPost does not retain it's articles on the website for very long, I cut/paste for posterity.

http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_10456879

Shelton lauded for conservation efforts
By KATE RAMUNNI Staff writer
SHELTON -- The state's oldest private conservation association recently singled out the city's Conservation Commission and its Trails Committee for their efforts to preserve open space here.

"We were really surprised" to receive the Connecticut Forrest and Parks Association's Award of Merit, said commission Chairman Tom Harbinson. The organizations received the award recently during the CFPA's annual meeting at the Kellogg Environmental Center in Derby.

For more than a century, CFPA has worked to preserve state properties and has been instrumental in the preservation of areas such as Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, Sherwood Island in Westport and Gillette Castle in East Haddam.

Each year it singles out an organization to recognize for its own preservation efforts, and this year that honor went to the two organizations for the formation of the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path.

"For their vision and perseverance in developing a townwide trail system for passive recreation -- the Shelton Lakes Greenway, 450-plus acres of contiguous open space and 10 miles of hiking trails -- is a direct result of their foresight, planning and collaboration with the Shelton Land Trust, the city of Shelton, Aquarion and the state Department of Environmental Protection, plus innumerable hours of volunteer work over a decade," the accolade states.

"I want to commend the volunteers of the Trail Committee, who have contributed a tremendous number of hours to this," Harbinson said.

The Board of Aldermen also deserved kudos for the millions of dollars it has spent and put before voters to bond for open space purchases, he said.

It's been a group effort, Trails Committee co-chairman Bill Dyer said. For instance, a recent appearance before the Inland Wetlands Commission looking for permission to do work on the Recreation Path at Lane Street resulted in Wetlands Commissioner Randy Szkola's offer to help with his construction equipment and manpower, Dyer said.

"They did a great job," he said.

Most people don't realize that the Recreation Path has been constructed wholly with grant money and volunteer labor, Harbinson said. They are always looking for people willing to contribute their time and talent -- and equipment, in the case of contractors -- to help with the most recent efforts that will make the entire path handicapped accessible.