|
Whereas, the mission of the Environmental Ministry Team (EMT) of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) is “To engage the churches of the Conference in an active program of caring for God’s creation via environmental stewardship and restore creation for our descendents and for all living things on Earth”; and
Whereas, the Environmental Ministry Team of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) is the ecological ‘voice and arm’ for the 245 congregations and approximately 100,000 members in this state; and
Whereas, the property of the Connecticut Yankee Atomic Company in Haddam Neck comprises 582 acres, mostly within the Salmon River Division of the Silvio O. Conte Wildlife Refuge, which drains a 97,000 acre watershed within 10 towns in Central Connecticut extending from Bolton to Haddam, has three miles of river frontage on the Salmon and Connecticut Rivers, has a globally recognized tidal marsh, is the location of Native American sites dating back as far as 5,000 years, is the location of the respected freed African-born slave Venture Smith and is, to quote from an international meeting of The Nature Conservancy, “one of the last great places” on Earth; and
Whereas, the preservation of this land and water in the middle of Connecticut will be an extraordinary accomplishment, one which reflects the goals of this Environmental Ministry of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ;
Therefore, Be It Resolved that that we, the Environmental Ministry Team of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ support the work of the Connecticut Yankee Conservation Project to save these 582 extraordinary acres; and
Be It Further Resolved, that we, the Environmental Ministry Team of the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ, urge the current owner, the Connecticut Yankee Atomic Company, to facilitate the purchase of this land by a qualified conservation entity in order to restore, preserve and steward this resource for the people of Connecticut and all their descendents forever and for all other living things which depend on this land for life.
Resolved, this 13th day of July, 2010 at a meeting of the Environmental Ministry Team.
