52K acres of coastland designated as estuarine research reserve
Expected to boost recreation, economy, conservation efforts
HARTFORD — More than 52,000 acres of estuaries along the lower Connecticut and Thames rivers have been designated as a National Estuarine Research Reserve, the first in the state, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In addition to the research elements, the action is expected to bring recreational and economic benefits, an increase in funding for conservation and to help in setting priorities, among other things.
The designation of the total of 52,160 acres of estuaries— areas where rivers meet the sea, and the wetlands around them — as a reserve area has been in the works for decades and is the result of collaborative efforts by environmental organizations throughout the state. The designation was made official Friday when it was noted in the Federal Register. A public event honoring the new NERR is being planned for the spring.
This is the first such reserve in Connecticut, the 30th in the United State and the first research reserve system to be designated
since 2017 (in Hawaii). Until now, Connecticut was one of the few remaining coastal states without an estuarine reserve system.
The new Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve will be part of a 24-state (plus Puerto Rico), 1.3 million acre network that began with the passage of the Coastal Zone Management Act by Congress in 1972.
Making the Connecticut area a reserve allows for greater funding for conservation and research, as
well as improvements in stewardship of the land and environmental
educational opportunities. The reserve will receive funding from NOAA, which also will provide guidance to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the University of Connecticut and Connecticut Sea Grant, which will be doing the day-to-day management of the reserve. Those entities will follow a 338-page management plan prepared by Uconn’s Department of Marine Sciences and viewable by the general public online.
According to a Connecticut Audubon Society statement welcoming the designation, “as much as $1 million a year will be earmarked for both sections of the reserve, to be used by scientists engaged in researching water quality, habitat quality, fish and wildlife, and other topics.”
In Connecticut, the reserve area includes the Pine Island islet near Groton, Bluff Point Coastal Reserve and the University of Connecticut Avery Point campus (both in Groton), Lord Cove Natural Area Preserve in Lyme and Roger Tory Peterson Natural Area Preserve in Old Lyme.
Six rivers are represented: the Connecticut River, the Thames River, the Lieutenant River in Old Lyme, the Black Hall and Back rivers (which meet in Old Lyme) and the Poquonnock River. The reserve also includes portions of Long Island Sound, Fisher’s Island Sound, Baker Cove, Mumford Cove, and bays on Groton’s Palmer Cove and Birch Plain Creek.
Patrick Comins, executive director of the Connecticut Audubon Society, describes the path to designation as “a holistic approach that’s been ongoing for years.
“When the concept was first brought up, we said, ‘Let’s get one for Connecticut.’ We started with a blank slate, just asking, ‘What is an environmental concern?’ with no assumptions,” he said. “When I first got involved, it was before I was with Audubon, and I was advocating for a completely different area, at the mouth of the Housatonic. All working together, we arrived at this area, That gave me the perspective of a defense attorney who became a prosecutor.
“Any work we’re doing here is globally important. The estuary goes all the way up to Quebec. It’s a fascinating ecosystem.”
As an example, he gives the semipalmated sandpiper, which figured prominently in the society’s latest annual Bird Report.
“We may actually be a key to the sandpipers’ continued existence. Having this NERR and the tools we develop because of it will pay off immeasurably,” Comins said. “The funding is only the tip of the iceberg. We are building a grass roots army that takes local knowledge and puts it in the national and global framework. It’s a proactive approach to conservation.”
Creating a National Estuarine Research Reserve does not add any protections to the land, or change who has access to it. Most of the land in the Connecticut NERR is already public.
But the formal designation can help in a variety of areas, such as when environmental organizations advise on purchases of land for conservation purposes. Studying coastal conservation techniques can also lead to new approaches that ultimately help protect the land. Having an NERR “helps us refine our priorities,” Comins said.
The Connecticut Audubon Society will directly benefit, Comins said, from the reserve being used for field trips and education programs. The society has existing programs for schools in Old Lyme and New London, where much of the estuarine reserve land is.
The designated land is a habitat or migration stop for hundreds of species of birds, including ospreys and saltmarsh sparrows. The water itself has smallmouth and largemouth bass, northern pike, perch, migrating shad and other fish. Comins said that a sandbar in the area is a “critically important habitat” for an endangered insect, the Puritan Tiger Beetle. It is among dozens of “Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species” from the list maintained through the Connecticut Endangered Species Act that exist in the NERR.
Connecticut’s U.S. senators, both Democrats, lauded the new NERR in separate statements: “This designation is a momentous scientific and environmental milestone for Connecticut,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, while Sen. Chris Murphy noted that “a vibrant Long Island Sound is vital to Connecticut’s economy and quality of life. This designation is a huge win for our state and will increase the funding Connecticut gets to improve the health of the Sound.”
Tom Wheatley, senior manager of Pew Charitable Trusts’ Conserving Marine Life in the U.S. project, one of the key forces behind making the designation happen, said in a statement that “the NERR system contributes to the health of the nation’s coasts through research, education, stewardship and training. We look forward to continuing our work with Connecticut and other states and territories to expand the environmental, economic and recreational benefits research reserves provide to their communities and the entire country.”
Gov. Ned Lamont called the NERR designation “a win for science-based decision-making and helping to enhance environmental education at all levels for the people of Connecticut.”
A Connecticut Audubon Society statement adds that “estuaries also are a big driver of coastal economies, both in direct economic benefits and in protecting economic assets from sea-level rise and climate change.”
NOAA, in a press release announcing the designation, connects the Connecticut NERR to new federal programs, stating that “this new research reserve is consistent with the Biden-harris Administration’s America the Beautiful initiative, which commits to conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by the year 2030, including by expanding the national estuarine research system.”