Riparian working group to focus on rivers and streams, seeks state minimum protections

HARTFORD — Lawmakers, state agency staff and conservation and land‑use stakeholders meeting as the Environment Committee’s Riparian Working Group agreed Tuesday to begin by developing recommendations that protect vegetated strips along rivers and streams and to gather state and municipal guidance before drafting any statewide minimums.

The working group was created by the Environment Committee to “see if we can come up with recommendations for legislation for riparian buffers,” Representative Mary Mushynski, the panel’s chair, told attendees at the group’s first meeting. The group includes legislators, municipal planners, soil and water district representatives, foresters, farmers and members of conservation organizations.

Members said the first step will be compiling existing state and local practices and technical resources — including an Office of Legislative Research report comparing New England buffer approaches — then returning with concrete options. “All of the surrounding states have laws…