Old Lyme Conservation Commission To Revisit Mile Creek Excavation, Biodiversity Mapping

OLD LYME, CT — The Old Lyme Conservation Commission is scheduled to continue its review Oct. 6 of an excavation operation at 308-1 Mile Creek Road while also discussing a broader effort to inventory and map endangered species, habitats and biodiversity across town.

The commission's Mile Creek discussion comes as an appeal involving the property remains pending before the Zoning Board of Appeals. According to the Conservation Commission agenda, Peter and Millie Caron appealed the zoning enforcement official's administrative renewal of an excavation zoning permit in an RU-80 zone. The ZBA continued the appeal until its Oct. 15 meeting.

The Conservation Commission submitted a memorandum supporting the Carons' appeal on Sept. 11, with copies provided to the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, Zoning Commission and Board of Selectmen, according to the agenda.

The agenda also references the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission's Sept. 22 meeting minutes. According to that account, Land Use Coordinator Eric Knapp issued a zoning permit allowing activity to continue after a wetlands order was lifted and the property owners obtained a discharge permit from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

The Conservation Commission is scheduled to discuss the issue but has no proposed vote on the Mile Creek property listed on its Oct. 6 agenda.

Townwide Habitat Mapping Discussed

Commission members will also continue discussions with representatives of the Old Lyme Open Space Commission and Old Lyme Land Trust about improving the town's inventory and mapping of endangered species, plants, habitats and biodiversity.

The initiative is intended to identify and document local habitat types, assess species diversity and make Old Lyme's natural-resources data sets more comprehensive. Greg Futoma of the Open Space Commission and Olaf Bertram-Nothnagel of the Old Lyme Land Trust are identified as participants in the discussion.

The groups are expected to discuss potential areas of concentration, measurable goals and approaches that could guide conservation planning and public awareness. The agenda notes that the undertaking would be complex and require considerable time and manpower.

Sound Report Card, Environmental Programs On Agenda

Commission members are scheduled to receive Save the Sound's 2026 Long Island Sound Report Card as a handout.

The commission is also working on future environmental presentations. Potential subjects include wildlife conservation, Long Island Sound, riparian buffers, native plants and habitats, aquatic invasive species, rare birds, flooding and erosion, and vernal pools.

Potential speakers include DEEP wildlife biologist Brian Hess; Save the Sound's Bill Lucey; retired Central Connecticut State University biology department chairman Clayton Penniman; native-plant landscape expert Jim Natale; Greg Bugee of the Office of Aquatic Invasive Species; environmental planner Denise Savageau; environmental scientist Judy Preston; Sustainable Old Lyme Chair Cheryl Poirier; conservation biologist Joe Atwater; Russ Linderman; and Mike Aurelia. The agenda describes these as potential presentations rather than confirmed appearances.

The commission will also discuss possible October tour dates for the All American Material Recovery Facility in Berlin. Proposed dates are Oct. 19, 21 or 23 at 1:30 p.m.

Another status report concerns the town's ongoing comprehensive zoning regulation rewrite. The agenda says a Sept. 15 workshop focused on commercial and industrial zones, parking and signage.

The agenda also notes an Oct. 14 Connecticut River Watershed presentation on aquatic habitats by Stephen Gephard. The free program is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library and online, with advance registration required.

Register for the Oct. 14 Connecticut River Watershed program

The commission is scheduled to consider approval of its Sept. 1 meeting minutes and the Oct. 6 agenda. Because this is an agenda for a future meeting, no Oct. 6 votes have yet occurred.

Watch recordings of previous Connecticut River Watershed webinars

The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the American Legion Room at Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall.