Transmitted via email: June 27, 2020
Senator Kevin Witkos, 8th District
Representative John Hampton, 16th District
First Selectman Eric Wellman, Simsbury
All Interested Parties
RE: Invitation to a Wednesday July 1, 2020 (6:30PM – 8:00PM) Online Forum to Address Questions Raised about DEEP’s Massacoe State Forest, West Mountain Road, Simsbury.
Dear Senator Witkos, Representative Hampton, First Selectman Wellman, and All Interested Parties,
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katie Dykes invites you to an online forum being held on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 (6:30 to 8:00 PM) to provide information about management of DEEP’s Massacoe State Forest, West Mountain Road in Simsbury. At this meeting we will share results of a natural resource survey and answer any additional questions. To participate,
Join Zoom Meeting at
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Meeting ID: 983 0486 8256
Password: 197504
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This forum builds on the prior public engagement, including a June 19, 2020 meeting with members of the public on West Mountain Road. Several questions were raised at the June 19 meeting and the Department been working tirelessly to address them. While doing so, DEEP requested that the activity on the site pause. DEEP has not canceled the contract. Rather, DEEP intends for the forum to provide information for interested stakeholders regarding the management practices and policy objectives that underlie DEEP’s commitment to active management of State Forest lands.
Attached to this transmittal are the responses to stakeholders that DEEP has compiled to date (Attachment A), a Massacoe State Forest factsheet previously shared in hard copy (Attachment B), and the Massacoe Block forestry contract (Attachment C).
DEEP welcomes this opportunity and hopes you will find this July 1 online forum demonstrates our commitment to provide information and address the concerns that have been raised.
Thank you all for sharing your passion for Connecticut’s natural resources.
Sincerely,
Rick Jacobson, Chief
Bureau of Natural Resources
Advancing the conservation, use and appreciation of Connecticut’s fisheries, forest and wildlife resources.