REPLACING THE "LOVELY" CHERRY TREES
TheMondayGarden.com, Eco-gardening at its best
May 14, 2006, Issue 206
As mentioned in the Mill River Picture Tour, the Army Corps of Engineers' plan to restore and revitalize the Mill River calls for tearing down the Mill River Dam and the high concrete walls that currently surround the mill pond north of the dam. The plan's goal is restore this stretch of the river to its pre-1640 state with gentle, sloping flood plains, and gentle, moving currents. Fish would once again migrate up the stream to spawn; people would be able to kayak for miles and fish for days; and the stream-side critters would be able to make proper homes for themselves.
So what's not to like? Right behind the mill pond walls, and dependent on the walls, are the Kwanzan cherry trees given to the City on Arbor Day in 1957 by Junzo Nojima, a Japanese-American who had made his home in Stamford. When the typical Stamford resident (who has never actually set foot under the cherry trees but does drive by occasionally) first hears about the plan, the reaction is "Eek! No Way! You can't tear down the lovely cherry trees! Don't you know they were a gift?"
Not so fast. Let's take it a step at a time. Then, perhaps you'll agree that the best thing for the environment, and our view, is the Army Corps of Engineers' plan.
Picture: Looking north from the old West Main Street Bridge. Stamford CT April 2006. This dam was built in 1922 as the final successor to a series of mill dams first erected here in 1641. The 1922 construction also included the high concrete walls around the pond that significantly narrowed the pond, creating more useable land but restricting the river's proper flow.