Our guest speaker tonight was Brian D. Murphy, Senior Fisheries Habitat Biologist of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Division, Inland Fisheries Division. Brian has worked with the D.E.E.P. in the Habitat Conservation and Enhancement Program since 1987. His primary duties include regulatory permit review; implementing environmental assessment, habitat protection and restoration programs in Eastern Connecticut. Brian has a B.S. Degree in Fisheries Biology from the University of Massachusetts in 1978 and an M.S. Degree in Fisheries Biology from the Tennessee Technological in 1981. D.E.E.P. has been involved with many steam restorations throughout Connecticut for various occasions. Brian has been a significant contributor for most of the restorations. We were fortunate to have Mr. Murphy as a speaker to discuss his involvements. Mr. Murphy explained how a stream might qualify for such a restoration; a few examples would be erosion impacts, habitat degradation, man-made habitat alteration, and over widening. Brian 's main objective at the D.E.E.P. is to restore and enrich the habitat for the fish and riparian areas that have suffered a decline in stability by human disturbances. Research has shown that restoration supports the habitat for healthier and more diverse fish populations. This enhances fishing opportunities for anglers, at the same time controls erosion of the stream banks keeping sedimentation from creating water quality issues and everyone benefits with cleaner water. These restoration projects surprisingly are funded by private organizations or federal grants, which truly have no other agenda except the environment itself. The Mount Hope River restoration in Ashford, Connecticut was one project that had stricken my interest. US EPA 319 grant money in the amount of $127,000 was used to fund the collaboration to restore and stabilize the habitat in which Brian Murphy was the project
Cited: Murphy, Brian, D. PowerPoint, "Mount Hope River Restoration" Eastern CT, Eastern District HQ, Marlborough Connecticut http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/fishing/restoratiom/mounthoperiver.pdf http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2696q=322734