West River Walk Reveals Work To Do, & Why

“Nature is a work in progress. Nothing is complete,” Frank Cochran said. ​“Stop thinking, ​‘I’m going to complete this task.’ You’re not, and that’s good.”

Cochran (pictured on far left) of the West River Watershed Coalition (WRWC) offered that advice Saturday as he led a pack of eight volunteers through the West River Watershed Greenway Trail. Their mission: Learn more about the marvels found in the woods, and contribute to preserving them.

WRWC, which was established in 2013, develops trails along the West River Greenway, clears invasive plants and vines, clears the river channel, and removes garbage.

One of the earliest problems to be tackled after the formation of WRWC was the merger of sewer outfalls. Several years before and after the 1900s, giant sewers, combined with sanitary and storm sewers, would release backup into the city rivers.

WRWC has also convinced the government to install bioswales to keep water from getting into storm sewers, and prevent damaging overflows.

“The goal is to have a clean, accessible West River,” Cochran said. ​“From all the way north end of Bethany down to the Long Island Sound. We sort of added the west side of the harbor,” on the town line between West Haven and New Haven.

Saturday was one of four annual group walks WRWC hosts to highlight its work. The group walked from Edgewood Park to the West River open space on West Hills Road to celebrate the official first day of Spring.

While crossing a trail past Amrhyn Field, Nan Bartow, leader of Friends of Beaver Pond Park, said WRWC walks help to connect the geography of the city’s parks and trails.

“Now I have a very complete idea in my head of this entire area,” Bartow said, ​“from Woodbridge to the Long Island Sound.”

David Carr (pictured above in center), a West Haven Inland Wetlands commissioner, said the idea is to make people more aware of the importance of the watershed in relation to the river. He said that often the river is talked about but not the watershed and the upland area.

“The thing that I’m most concerned about is the volume of water and how our rivers handle this, because in a big storm situation, we have more flooding,” Carr said. ​“So we’re trying to reduce the flooding into our rivers and ultimately into the Long Island Sound. Different members of the group did a project two years ago where they put up the bioswales to keep the garbage from going into the storm drains.”

Carr pointed out fallen trees and how they lay in relation to the water. He noted the trees point in the same direction as the flow of the stream.

Carr said that the walks with WRWC help him to meet other like-minded people.

“That’s the big part because, you want to be able to teach other people and to meet other people who care,” Carr said. ​“We’re all stewards of this place. We don’t own it. We’re supposed to keep it, enjoy it, and pass it on.”

Cochran directed the team into an open field next to Valley Street and West Hills Road that was easy to miss. The trail was filled with solid patches of Japanese Knotweed, Oriental Bittersweet, and other invasive vines. After two years of work by WRWC, the area has been completely cleared of invasive plants. It is now clearly identified as a trail.

“Around the corner here is where the Parker Paper Mill was,” Cochran said. ​“One of the things you will see is an old structure here with a big drain coming out of it. That’s where their process water came back to the river.”

During the 19th century, the city had an industrial zone on Valley Street and East Ramsdell Street. WRWC members were amused by Cochran sharing the story of how Parker Paper Mill became the world’s leading producer of blotting paper around 1870. Cochran said that the discovery of blotting paper was peculiar, because there was a cotton mill before Parker took over, and people would bring the cotton and mill it, and turn it into floss.

“That failed. It wasn’t near big enough to compete with anybody,” Cochran said. ​“Parker Paper Mill took over the factory and made paper. What was in the mill building was a whole lot of cotton fluff. So it got incorporated with the paper and eventually they said, ​‘Ah! This is really good stuff.’”

Wood chips crunched under everyone’s feet as they walked along the newly developed trail. Soon everybody came to a stop at the West River bridge. The bridge has been closed down for several years, preventing hikers from crossing and being able to travel towards Pond Lily.

WRWC has been pushing city officials for years to follow up on a pledge to fix the bridge.

“As you can see, there’s a concrete abutment here. We’ve got two parts: Old and very old. It’s not really in bad condition. They want to tear those out and replace them,” Cochran said. ​“I just want to replace the metal part, but I can tell you that it is really dangerous.”

(“We are working on a few different options for the bridge at different price points. We hope to have a plan selected in the 2nd quarter,” City Engineer Giovanni Zinn later told the Independent. ​“It would be super nice if we found a drawing of the original bridge.”)

Since the bridge was closed, the group turned around and started walking towards Edgewood Park. Nancy Starno, who lives in Westville, said she enjoyed her first outing with WRWC. Starno, a native of New Haven, moved back to the city from Las Vegas in October. She joined the WRWC walk in hopes to connect with the community.

“I’m impressed by WRWC. It’s a lot of work. I had no idea about the trail,” Starno said. ​“I was really happy to find out about it. I will definitely go back there and bring friends.”

While wrapping up the group walk, Cochran’s wife and partner in park clean-ups, Stephanie FitzGerald, pointed out the West River Greenway signs.

“Those are our signs, everybody!” she said.

WRWC plans on erecting three large new interpretive signs around June that will explain the nature of the West River, the history of the river, and the history of the geology. These signs will be located at Amrhyn Field, next to the West River open space, and by Pond Lily Nature Reserve.

“Working with the WRWC has kept us all sane,” Fitzgerald said. ​“It has given us a sense of community and kept us healthy. Helping and maintaining the outdoors is good for everybody.”