RISING TO THE CHALLENGE

The Connecticut River Valley is an extraordinary place, with so much to nurture: a varied economy and rich natural heritage. We have everything here that others travel the world to find, and so our responsibility to ourselves is a large one. We are poised on the threshold of a new experiment, the challenge of cooperation in an alliance of economic and environmental progress. The Commissions and our subcommittees recognize that protecting our river and our valley is a job for many. While much of the work can be accomplished locally, some is beyond the capacity of local communities or landowners to bear alone, and partnerships with state and federal agencies are needed. This plan lays out a path for all to follow, and is so much more than a simple list of rules and regulations.

The plan lays out a path for an alliance of economic and environmental progress.		This plan articulates new and more effective roles and actions for a variety of players whom we wish to enlist on the team. The Connecticut River Joint Commissions make a commitment to go forward together - with the five local subcommittees, the valley communities, landowners and businesses, farmers and foresters, non-profit conservation organizations and land trusts, federal and state agencies, state legislatures and the governors of New Hampshire and Vermont, the Congressional delegation, and countless others - all working together on choices for the future by safeguarding resources and wisely developing opportunities.

Private landowners have long been and will continue to be the primary stewards of the river. How well they maintain that role is a matter of personal choice, but residents of the valley have a collective responsibility to each other and to the future.

	"We applaud the CRJC and the five subcommittees for the thorough, careful, and inclusive public manner in which this was achieved. They have been careful not to overstep their legislated advisory role." Jim MacCartney Rivers Coordinator NH Department of Environmental Services		"The involvement of hundreds of people from both sides of the Connecticut in the development of a comprehensive set of recommendations is an inspiring accomplishment." Barbara Ripley Secretary VT Agency of Natural Resources

"The local subcommittee plans were written by local people and reflect enormous good sense and local wisdom." Peter Richardson, President Connecticut river Joint Commissions		"The subcommittees' diligence in defining the special character of their five reaches, identifying their locally significant resources, and describing the importance of the place that embraces their lives and livelihood is exemplary." Connecticut River Watershed Council

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