Our mission: "To promote the development, conservation, supervision, and regulation of natural resources, including water resources within the Town of Killingly and provide the methodology for protection and maintenance of these resources."

The Conservation Commission is working hard to protect the natural resources in town and to promote the parks and open space that are open for residents of the region to enjoy. Here are a few of the activities we are involved in:

Announcement: Source to Sea Five Mile River Paddle
Route 44 (Putnam) to Danielson (Killingly)

Saturday May 9, 2009 (Rain date May 17)

• 9 am - Paddlers meet/shuttle

• 10 am - First-leg paddle

• 1 pm - Second-leg paddle

Join the Killingly Conservation Commission as we paddle and explore the Five Mile River from Route 44 to Warsaw Pond in the morning. After lunch, the paddle continues from Route 101 Dayville (at the Killingly Commons) to Danielson, near where the Five Mile River meets the Quinebaug River.

The first paddling segment is a 4-mile flatwater stretch to Warsaw Pond. The second segment is about 2.5 miles long, where paddlers will experience one of the scenic water access opportunities in the downtown area.

Registration and Rules

Pre-registration is required for each segment. Limited to 20 boats. Paddlers must be at least 12 years old, with a parent or guardian. Must have own boat and equipment, including life jacket worn at all times on the water. Bring lunch and drinks.

For more information, or to register, contact Ed Eramian at:
email: edward.eramian@gmail.com
cell phone: (401) 742-8411

Or contact: Jan Mailloux at:
email: maillouxjan@yahoo.com
phone: 860-774-7948

Directions and shuttle information: Obtain from trip leader upon registration.

Click Source to Sea for more information about the paddling events planned for the weekend of May 9.

Get Out & Play!

Protecting town-owned properties

The Killingly Conservation Commission recently identified 10 town-owned properties that they felt ought to be protected from future development through a conservation easment. The commission determined that the properties had either environmental or historical value and should be protected for future generations to enjoy. The properties were already owned by the town, and there was no cost to the town to protect them. The State of Connecticut has a goal of protecting 21% of the state in protected open-space. The 10 properties identified by the commission will increase Killingly's open space from 6% to 8%.

In thePowerpoint presentationthat the commission gave to the Town Council on January 13, 2009, a map of each parcel is shown. After a public hearing in February, the council approved the conservation easements.”

Search for Notable Trees in Killingly

As part of the 2008 tricentennial celebration, the Killingly Conservation Commission is gathering information about very old, tall, rare, or historic trees in our community. We'd like to hear from every village in town. Tell us the type of tree, approximate circumference at chest height, and location.

No location information will be made public without the consent of the property owner.

If you have a tree that deserves to be recognized, contact killinglytrees@gmail.com, or call 860 779 5310, or write to Trees, c/o PO Box 47, East Killingly, CT 06243.

Geocaching. Geocaching is a great way to get out and enjoy the natural resouces in town. Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for GPS users. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. There are several geocache sites in Killingly. The best place to start is theofficial geocache web site.