News Releases - 2022

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• 12/30/2022 Spend the First Day of 2023 Hiking in Connecticut’s State Parks and Forests

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) State Parks and its partners are encouraging people to get outside walking and hiking to enjoy nature on January 1st as Connecticut takes part in celebrating America’s State Parks First Day Hikes.

• 12/29/2022 2023 Connecticut Duck Stamp Reproductions Now Available

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is pleased to announce that the 2023 Connecticut Migratory Bird Conservation (Duck) Stamp, which features Connecticut artist Sophie Archer’s depiction of an Atlantic brant, is now available in limited quantity as a Conservation Edition Print. Sophie, of Old Lyme, is the two-time winner of the Connecticut Junior Duck Stamp contest.

• 12/29/2022 Dinosaur State Park Offers New Interactive Exhibits

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill is open during upcoming school vacations and encourages families to come visit new indoor and outdoor exhibits. The new outdoor StoryWalk® along with two new indoor exhibits that offer high-tech augmented graphics complement the visitor center’s 200-million-year-old fossil trackway containing over 750 dinosaur tracks, hands-on exhibits, local geological history, displays, animal encounters and more.

• 12/22/2022 Four Years On DEEP Continues to Build on 20BY20 Initiative

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced today a suite of new online services and tools that continue the progress of DEEP’s “20BY20 Initiative,” a list of 20 measurable process improvements aimed at increasing predictability, efficiency, and transparency of DEEP’s regulatory processes. Though the initiative formally concluded at the end of 2020, it laid the foundation for process improvements the agency continues to make, including the new web-based tools announced today.

• 12/16/2022 Connecticut’s Clean Energy Investments Helping to Reduce High Energy Costs

  (HARTFORD)—Amid historically high electricity prices this winter, Connecticut’s investments in clean energy are helping to reduce the burden of high energy costs on state residents.

• 12/16/2022 DEEP Unveils Fresh, Modern Look

  New Agency Seal and Brand Elements Reflect DEEP’s Mission and Provide Versatility and Functionality

• 12/2/2022 DEEP Requests Proposals for Recreational Trails Grants

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is now accepting proposals for the State’s Recreational Trails Grants. This request for applications is the largest funding round in the history of the Recreational Trails Grant program since it was established in 1997. It will make $9 million available to improve Connecticut’s trail infrastructure, which has seen significant usage increases since the onset of the pandemic. Applications will be accepted through March 1, 2023.

• 11/23/2022 Celebrate Holiday Food Traditions and Twilight Tours at DEEP Osborne Homestead Museum

  (HARTFORD, CT) – Get ready for a “Holiday Feast” at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Osborne Homestead Museum in Derby. Celebrate holiday food traditions of different cultures and nationalities, and the diversity of American food through visual and creative decorations.

• 11/18/2022 Gillette Castle State Park Undergoing Improvements

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced today that it has embarked on needed construction upgrades at Gillette Castle State Park in East Haddam. The construction work will restore the historic terrace overlook adjacent to the castle and includes a new drainage system and railings for visitors to safely view the Connecticut River from this location. In addition, this project will re-point the wall facing the river to maintain its proper structural shape. The castle interior will be closed during the upcoming winter holidays and into the spring, but several holiday events are scheduled thanks to the partnership with the Friends of Gillette Castle State Park.

• 11/10/2022 Bishop Swamp Wildlife Management Area Adds Acreage

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is pleased to announce that 284 acres in Hebron, formerly the Fracchia property, have been added to the 752-acre Bishop Swamp Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Andover and will be open for specific regulated hunting seasons starting this fall. Bishop Swamp WMA now consists of two sections: the original section in Andover and the new property acquisition nearby in Hebron. Abutting state lands include Gay City State Park (closed to hunting) and a section of Meshomasic State Forest that is open to hunting.

• 11/4/2022 DEEP Encourages Continued Bear Awareness During Fall

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is reminding residents of several best practices to reduce the likelihood of an encounter with a bear, as bears’ quest for more food makes them very active for the next few months. During the fall season, black bears increase their food intake to add fat reserves needed to help them survive winter.

• 10/25/2022 DEEP Announces Nearly 5 Million in Sustainable Materials Management Grant Awards

  (HARTFORD)-The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is pleased to announce the first round of grant awards for the Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Grant program. The SMM grant program supports the development of food scrap collection and unit-based pricing pilot programs, the type of waste diversion efforts recommended by the Connecticut Coalition for Sustainable Materials Management (CCSMM), a coalition of over 100 municipalities across the state working on ways to reduce waste and increase reuse and recycling. Fifteen municipalities and three regional groups have been notified of the Department’s intent to award funds for their pilots.

• 10/24/2022 Connecticut Celebrates Bat Week From Oct 24-31

  (HARTFORD, CT) –The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP)celebrates Bat Week starting on October 24, as part of an international conservation awareness effort focused on the week prior to Halloween. Across Connecticut, bats are on the move; three species of tree bats are moving south for the winter, while the six cave bat species are moving shorter distances where they will spend the winter hibernating underground.

• 10/21/2022 DEEP Announces More than 1M in Fed Grant Funds Available for Clean Vehicle and Equipment Projects

  (HARTFORD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has announced the availability of up to $1,188,612 in federal funds for grants to local and state governments, as well as businesses and organizations, who want to replace large, older diesel engines and equipment with electric vehicle equivalents or newer, cleaner-burning engines.

• 9/28/2022 DEEP Reports Die-off in Local White-tailed Deer Herd

  (HARTFORD, CT) –​The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today announced that hemorrhagic disease was recently confirmed in white-tailed deer for the third year since it was first documented in our state in 2017. The first positive case of 2022 came from a deer found in Goshen. A second positive deer was found on a property in Kent where an additional five deer have been found dead. The third positive case was from a property in East Haddam where an additional three deer have been found dead. Reports to DEEP of dead deer in multiple other towns, mainly in the northwest and southeast of the state, fit the description of animals affected by the disease.