Hammonasset Chapter Regular Monthly Meeting

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Our speaker for the March regular Chapter meeting is Joe Cassone,  a Fisheries Biologist for the CT DEEP in the Habitat Conservation and Enhancement (HCE) Program. Joe covers the eastern district of the state. In this role he works to protect fisheries habitats from potential impacts from regulated activities and works with partners to conduct habitat enhancements.  Joe will provide a brief overview of the HCE program and how it fits into the Fisheries Division.  He will also go over some of the issues they look for when reviewing projects, some of the different stream habitat enhancement measures they use, and then discuss ways the HCE Program staff partner with organizations like TU chapters.

Prior to joining DEEP in the fall of 2021 Joe spent almost 8 years working as a fisheries and environmental scientist for HDR Engineering in NY where he got to work on a wide range of projects including: Environmental Compliance for the Tappan Zee Bridge Replacement, relicensing of hydropower projects, offshore wind permitting and planning, water quality sampling in and around NYC, and fisheries programs along the Erie Canal/Lake Ontario tributaries associated with the Reimagine the Canals Project. Before joining HDR he also worked for the Town of Greenwich Conservation Commission and on a lobster boat off of his home town in Branford, CT.

Joe received his Bachelors from UCONN in the Natural Resources in the Environment Program and completed a Masters at Sacred Heart University in the Environmental Systems Analysis and Management Program. He currently live in Fairfield CT, with his wife Jenn and their two wild children. In his free time he enjoys fishing (especially for false albacore), building fishing rods, and making his own tackle. 

The Hammonasset Chapter meets each month from September through May at the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association building at 540 Oregon Road in Meriden.  Meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month. The doors open at 6:15pm. The monthly programs start at 7pm sharp. Each meeting features special programming related to fly fishing in and around Connecticut.  Sometimes guides share knowledge of local rivers and at other times state officials will come speak about hatchery, conservation or other water & fly fishing related themes.  In addition we talk about current fishing conditions, hold a raffle and of course socialize.  Directions to the QRWA Headquarters