Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) visits People’s State Forest to celebrate two decades of the federal Highlands Conservation Act. Seated from left to right are DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes, FWS Reg. Dept. Director Kyla Hastie, and HVA Conservation Director Tim Abbott.
BARKHAMSTED — U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), visited the People’s State Forest in Barkhamsted Thursday, June 27, to celebrate 20 years of the federal Highlands Conservation Act, one of the most important sources of public funding for land protection in northwest Connecticut. The event was hosted by Housatonic Valley Association.
Designed to support thousands of local jobs, preserve historic sites, and protect clean water supply for 20 million people, The Highlands Conservation Act allows states to access matching federal funding for projects to promote conservation, tourism, and recreation in the region.
The Highlands Region of the Northeastern United States consists of forested mountains and hills stretching from Connecticut, through New York and New Jersey, to Pennsylvania. It also gives these four states resources to conserve land and natural resources, in particular a clean water supply essential for serving more than 20 million people.
Other speakers at the Barkhamsted event included USFWS Deputy Regional Director Kyla Hastie and the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection or her designee. Tim Abbott, Conservation Director at the Housatonic Valley Association, welcomed guests and moderated the event.
“$105 million in Highlands grant funding has been administered through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which has protected 16,226 acres. Connecticut has led the way, with 5,893 acres conserved to date, leveraging the federal investment with state, municipal and private funding,” Abbott explained.
Highlands transactions in Connecticut typically combine Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition grants from DEEP to land trusts and municipalities with easements partially funded with a Highlands grant requiring a 1:1 non-federal match. Many land trusts and several towns in northwestern Connecticut have received as much as 90% of the funding needed to purchase and conserve important places in their communities.
“Senator Murphy has been a strong supporter of the Highlands Conservation Act, both in his role on the Senate Appropriations Committee which has helped fully fund the Highlands grant program since through multiple sessions of Congress, and as the Senate Sponsor of the successful reauthorization of the Highlands Conservation Act through FY28,” Abbott stated.
“The reauthorization helps expand Highlands’ eligibility to other communities beyond the current 26 Town Highlands Region in Connecticut, and eleven more have formally expressed their desire to be included. The act also allows public entities at the county or municipal level to receive Highlands funds directly to hold conservation interest, rather than just DEEP,” Abbott added.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) administers the Highlands program, in close partnership with the Housatonic Valley Association which is represented with DEEP on the four-state Highlands Steering Committee. HVA provides maps, data, staff and transaction support to DEEP and our land trust partners to successfully secure and deploy Highlands funding in our region.
“Two very large Highlands projects totaling nearly 1,800 acres are scheduled to close this summer in Colebrook and Winchester, and others are anticipated in Salisbury, Sharon, and Warren, Connecticut among other communities in the coming year,” Abbott explained.
Runners line up at the starting line alongside Santa before the start of the 5th Annual North Canaan Santa Chase 5K on Saturday, Dec. 13.
NORTH CANAAN — Forty-eight runners braved frigid temperatures to participate in the 5th Annual North Canaan Santa Chase 5K Road Race on Saturday, Dec. 13.
Michael Mills, 45, of Goshen, led the pack with a time of 19 minutes, 15-seconds, averaging a 6:12-per-mile pace. Mills won the race for the third time and said he stays in shape by running with his daughter, a freshman at Lakeview High School in Litchfield.
Michael Mills of Goshen crosses the finish line to win the 5th Annual North Canaan Santa Chase 5K on Saturday, Dec. 13, ByJohn Coston
Don Green, 64, of Red Hook, New York, was second among male runners with a time of 21:17 and a 6:52-per-mile pace. Becky Wilkinson, 47, of Southfield, Massachusetts, was the first woman to cross the finish line with a time of 22:16, averaging a 7:11-per-mile pace. Wilkinson finished fourth overall.
Margaret Banker, 52, of Lakeville, finished second among women runners with a time of 23:59 and a 7:44-per-mile pace.
Runners came from all over Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. One runner listed home as London, England. Many were members of the Run 169 Towns Society, a group that is dedicated to completing races in every one of Connecticut’s 169 towns. Elizabeth Smith, 32, of Manchester, a member of Run 169, said this was her 162nd town.
“I started 10 years ago,” Smith said. Her husband, Daniel, 33, has run races in 73 Connecticut towns, now including North Canaan. He was eager to know where to get a good cup of coffee after the race.
Santa, who got a head start on the group of runners but finished next to last with a time of 44:14, has been a feature in the North Canaan race since it started five years ago.
The 5K proceeds from a start in front of the North Canaan Elementary School on Pease Street to course around the Town Hall parking lot, up West Main Street past the transfer station to the state line and back. Cheryl Ambrosi, 45, of Danbury, was the last to cross the finish line with her dog Benji. “It was so much fun,” she said as she ended, even though she didn’t catch Santa.
Santa crosses the finish line at the 5th Annual North Canaan Santa Chase 5K By John Coston
The Torrington Transfer Station, where the Northwest Resource Recovery Authority plans to expand operations using a $350,000 state grant.
TORRINGTON — The Northwest Resource Recovery Authority, a public entity formed this year to preserve municipal control over trash and recycling services in northwest Connecticut, has been awarded $350,000 in grant funds to develop and expand its operations.
The funding comes from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection via its Sustainable Materials Management grant program. It is intended to help the NRRA establish operations at the Torrington Transfer Station as well as support regional education, transportation, hauler registration and partnerships with other authorities.
Founded by the City of Torrington in May 2025, the NRRA was established to oversee regional municipal solid waste management. Its creation followed a $3.25 million offer by USA Waste & Recycling to purchase the Torrington Transfer Station — a sale that would have privatized trash services in the region.
The proposed sale was initially approved by the MIRA Dissolution Authority, the entity responsible for dissolving the state’s former Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority, which owned the Transfer Station at the time. Before the transaction could close, the state intervened and directed that the facility’s operating permit be assigned to the NRRA to preserve a publicly controlled alternative.
MIRA has since dissolved, and the Transfer Station is currently operated by the state Department of Administrative Services. Many towns in northwest Connecticut have expressed interest in joining the NRRA. As of December, Torrington and Goshen were the only two municipalities in the authority.
At the Dec. 11 meeting of the Northwest Hills Council of Governments (COG) — a regional planning body representing 21 municipalities in northwest Connecticut — Director of Community and Economic Development Rista Malanca encouraged more towns to sign on.
“We need towns to join the Northwest Resource Recovery Authority to show your support, show this is what you want to do,” Malanca said.
Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand said his municipality is planning a town meeting in January to vote on a resolution to join the NRRA. Cornwall’s Board of Selectmen recently discussed scheduling a town meeting in the winter for the same purpose. Sharon, Falls Village and North Canaan have also expressed continued interest in pursuing a public option.
Kent is the northernmost member of the Housatonic Resource Recovery Authority, a regional solid waste authority representing 14 municipalities stretching south to Ridgefield. COG towns expressed interest in joining HRRA in 2024, but they were denied and set out to develop the NRRA.
“We also have been having conversations with the Capital Region Council of Governments and the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments to think about how we can use existing resources, maybe some of these grant funds, to bring in shared resources or shared staffing that will help with some of the recycling coordinating efforts,” Malanca said.
With grant funds secured, NRRA aims to grow to a point that it can take over operations at Torrington Transfer Station to serve as a regional hauling hub. What happens to the trash after that has yet to be determined. Currently, it is being shipped to a landfill out of state. The existing municipal refuse hauling contracts that were established with the state expire in 2027.
The Salisbury Winter Sports Association (SWSA) will host its annual Junior Jump Camp, a two-day introduction to ski jumping, on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 27 and 28, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Satre Hill in Salisbury.
The camp is open to children ages 7 and up and focuses on teaching the basics of ski jumping, with an emphasis on safety, balance and control, using SWSA’s smallest hill. No prior experience is required.
The cost is $50 per child and includes instruction and lunch on both days. For more information or to register, visit www.skireg.com/swsa-camp or email info@jumpfest.org
Jesse Bunce, first selectman of North Canaan.
LITCHFIELD — The Northwest Hills Council of Governments welcomed six newly elected municipal leaders Thursday, Dec. 11, at its first meeting following the 2025 municipal elections.
The council — a regional planning body representing 21 towns in northwest Connecticut — coordinates transportation, emergency planning, housing, economic development and other shared municipal services.
Barkhamsted First Selectman Meaghan Cook, Goshen First Selectman Seth Breakell, Kent First Selectman Eric Epstein, Norfolk First Selectman Henry Tirrell, North Canaan First Selectman Jesse Bunce and Torrington Mayor Molly Spino were each elected to their post in November.
They filled the seats of their predecessors on the COG, who were each given a toast of appreciation: Nick Lukiwsky (Barkhamsted), Todd Carusillo (Goshen), Marty Lindenmeyer (Kent), Matt Riiska (Norfolk), Brian Ohler (North Canaan) and Elinor Carbone (Torrington).
COG Executive Director Rob Phillips said the outgoing members were given a going away mug that read “You’re living the dream still.” Members voted to appoint Warren First Selectman Greg LaCava to fill a vacancy on the Council’s Executive Committee. COG members voted by paper ballot, and LaCava defeated Burlington First Selectman Doug Thompson for the vacant seat.
