New Canaan panel backs Bristol grant search, hears leaf blower data
Conservation · Meeting of April 9, 2026
New Canaan Conservation Commission backs Bristol Preserve invasive-species grant, hears leaf blower health data. The commission voted unanimously to let the New Canaan Land Trust seek grant funding for a contractor to clear invasive Japanese barberry at the Bristol Preserve, tying volunteers to the town's grant writer, Greg Riley. Mount Sinai researcher Dr.
Sarah Evans told the panel Fairfield County lawn and garden equipment produces particulate pollution equivalent to roughly 1.3 million cars annually and that the county received an F grade for ozone in the latest American Lung Association report. "An hour of a backpack leaf blower is as polluting as driving a sedan for 15 hours, or 1,100 miles," Evans said. The commission is awaiting word from the Charter Revision Commission on proposed leaf blower regulation language and approved its March 12 minutes and a swap shop staffing plan to manage rising non-resident use.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,100 words
Source: the Conservation meeting of April 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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