The Connecticut River Gateway Conservation Fund and the

Cynthia B. Carlson Nature Preserve at Chapman's Pond

The purchase of a 290-acre property in the Chapman's Pond area of East Haddam, once owned by Vivian Kellum, was the first to which the Gateway Commission contributed from their "Connecticut River Conservation Fund" following the receipt of a $1 million utilities settlement in 1983. Of the $700,000 total price, the Gateway Commission donated $300,000 to The Nature Conservancy in order to purchase what was then known as the "Chapman's Pond Preserve." In addition to the Gateway's donation, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service donated $160,000 of federal money under the "lean conditions prevailing in Washington" at that time.

The ecological importance of the Chapman Pond Preserve is summed up in the Preserve's 1982 Dedication brochure which states that "Chapman's and its environs are ecologically singular. The pond is a spawning refuge for large-mouth bass and northern pike, and home to twenty-three other species of fish. The area hosts two plant species listed as rare in Connecticut, and 250 species of wildlife. Many kinds of birds feed and roost there, including kingfishers, herons, egrets, hawks, vultures and swans. Osprey, listed as rare in Connecticut, frequent the area, as do bald eagles (U.S. endangered). The property has abundant terrestrial wildlife and most likely harbors every species common to Connecticut."

As for the Connecticut River Gateway Conservation Fund, it all began in the mid-1960's when predescessors to Northeast Utilities constructed towers to carry power lines aloft in various areas of the state including over the Connecticut River near Scovill Rock in the Higganum section of Haddam (it should be noted that Northeast Utilities was said to have had concerns over burial of power lines as they would have to be encased in oil and would be a potential environmental risk). Mrs. Cynthia Carlson, a nearby property owner, feared that her property value would be decreased by the unsightly towers and wanted the power lines to be buried underground. The case involved numerous similar towers, but Mrs. Carlson acknowledged that she only cared about the Higganum towers, the impact on her property value and the "marring of the magnificent view of the river". Over a period of sixteen years she fought the utilities with her own money with the case even reaching the Connecticut Supreme Court - twice. Early on, she was the only litigant that had legal standing.

Ultimately, the case was settled out-of-court in the summer of 1981. Although the Gateway Commission had not directly participated in the sixteen year legal case, the agreement stipulated that Northeast Utilities would give funds to two "river-protecting" agencies; $1 million to the Gateway Commission and $250,000 to the Middletown Riverfront Trust for conservation and preservation projects. In addition, the settlement required that six especially large power line towers be replaced with smaller, less visually obtrutive structures. The total settlement was valued at $3.25 million. Upon realizing that a settlement had been made that would allow the power lines to stay aloft after understanding that Northeast Utilities had years before agreed to place them underground, Mrs. Carlson decided that she needed to stand up and fight once more.

Mrs. Carlson then filed an appeal with the CTDEP asking them to reverse approval of their decision to allow the overhead powerlines to remain near her property. The appeal, if approved by the DEP, would stop the settlement and the property acquisition in its tracks for several years and likely ruin the chances to acquire the Chapman Pond property. Now, it must be understood that, as a conservationist, Mrs. Carlson was totally in favor of the Gateway Commission's participation in the acquisition of the Chapman's Pond property and, as a result, she must've felt quite conflicted. She indicated that she didn't want to be the " obstacle that would cause [the purchase] to fall through" and that she would "settle my quarrels with Northeast Utilities my own way". So, over the succeeding weekend, Mrs. Carlson and the Gateway Commission came to an agreement which resulted in the reimbursement of $10,000 of her legal costs. As then Gateway chairman Evan Griswold indicated, Mrs. Carlson's "perserverance and stick-to-itiveness proved to be the decisive factor in keeping the case alive". As a result, it was also agreed that the preserve would be named the "Cynthia B. Carlson Nature Preserve." The following Monday, Mrs. Carlson unceremoniously withdrew her appeal.

Throughout the sixteen years of litigation, two attorneys had spent many hours at no cost fighting Northeast Utilities on behalf of the conservation community. Those attorneys, Peter B. Cooper of New Haven (a past Chairman of The Nature Conservancy's Connecticut Chapter and the Gateway Commission's counsel at that time) and Julius Rosenberg of East Haddam (Rosenberg was a member of the Gateway Advisory Committee, the predescessor to the Gateway Commission), felt that they should be entitled to some reimbursement for their time spent over the sixteen years. It was Cooper, afterall, who led the way in banging out the agreement with Northeast Utilities which resulted in the Gateway Commission receiving the $1 million award. So, in May of 1982, Cooper and Rosenberg came to the Gateway Commission seeking reimbursement for the time they had spent on the case. Attorney Cooper, likely under pressure from partners at his law firm, strongly requested reimbursement in the amount of $100,000 or 10% of the award. Rosenberg, although indicating a willingness to accept an "honorarium" if the Gateway Commission thought it justified, was apparently not a party to Cooper's request.

Through time and further discussion with outside counsel, the Commission ultimately decided that Cooper and Rosenberg should receive some reimbursement for the immense time they spent over the previous 16 years on behalf of the conservation community (Cooper estimated that, combined, he and Rosenberg spent upwards of 2,600 hours between them through the course of the litigation). Although the Gateway Commission had concern over their "fuduciary responsibilities" and whether or not the requested legal fees should or even could be paid out of the settlement, they ultimately decided that the two attorneys would receive $25,000 each for all of the effort that was put in on behalf of those who love the beauty of the Connecticut River.

As a note, Attorney Peter Cooper is currently a partner at the New Haven law firm of Cooper, Whitney, Cochran & Francois. Among many other accolades, in 2008 the Connecticut Fund for the Environment created the Peter B. Cooper Science/Legal Fellowship in his honor. In 1989 and six years following the award of the settlement fund, retired Attorney Julian Rosenberg died at the age of 92. As former GW Executive Director Stan Greimann said, it was Rosenberg who was credited as being the driving force behind the legal battle that resulted in the receipt of the Gateway Commission's "nest egg". Not coincidently, the Rosenbergs lived in East Haddam and had a clear view of the overhead power lines from their home.

So, the total cost of acquiring the property to the Gateway Commission was $300,000 for the property itself, $50,000 for the two attorneys and $10,000 for Mrs. Carlson, or $360,000. The property is now in the possession of The Nature Conservancy.

 

A quote by Henry David Thoreau appeared on the Dedication brochure:

"All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself."