What’s New
Planting 96 Trees at Stratford Point
Sacred Heart students Jenny Gazerro, left, and Caitlin Timoney deliver soil to be planted. Photo copyright Twan Leenders/Connecticut Audubon Society
May 2012 – Connecticut Audubon Society, in collaboration with Sacred Heart University, has completed the next important phase of the one-of-a-kind coastal habitat restoration project at Stratford Point, planting 96 native trees and shrubs to increase foraging, roosting and nesting opportunities for migratory and breeding birds and other wildlife.
Using a tractor and an array of hand tools, CAS staff along with faculty and graduate and undergraduate students from Sacred Heart planted the trees and shrubs on on a muggy Monday, May 14, and then surrounded the plantings with deer fencing.
The work followed two earlier phases that together are the heart of a longer-term project to transform Stratford Point from a hazardous waste site to a vibrant preserve that complements the mosaic of diverse habitats at the mouth of the Housatonic River. We believe it is the most comprehensive habitat restoration project currently underway in Connecticut or on the Sound.
Late last year, workers and volunteers built 900 linear feet of man-made dune, complete with 38,000 individual dune grass plants, along the point’s north cove. And then in February, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection pitched in by conducting a controlled burn on 20 acres of the point, reducing the build-up of dead vegetation and preparing the way for a resurgence of native grasses and wildflowers.
A Rich Ecological Area
With its position on the lower Housatonic, Stratford Point is in one of the richest areas, ecologically, in Connecticut and on Long Island Sound. The Housatonic estuary itself teems with fish and shellfish. Flanking the river are the 699-acre Great Meadows salt marsh in Stratford, the 840-acre Charles B. Wheeler Salt Marsh in Milford, and Milford Point (Great Meadows and Milford Point are part of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge; Wheeler Marsh is state-owned). Connecticut Audubon’s Society’s Coastal Center at Milford Point provides access to an extensive network of beach, dunes, marsh and mudflats.
CAS sanctuary manager John Laiacone plants one of the larger trees, a hackberry. Photo copyright Twan Leenders/Connecticut Audubon Society
The hope is that Stratford Point, which comprises 28 acres of upland habitat and 12 acres of tidal area, will become as biologically diverse as Milford Point, which will significantly increase the amount of first-rate coastal habitat on the Sound.
Even now, with the work still fresh and long-term monitoring just starting, the change at Stratford Point is remarkable.
For most of the 20th century Stratford Point was the home of the Remington Arms Gun Club. Decade after decade of skeet and trap shooting left it and the surrounding marshes contaminated with lead shotgun pellets. The DuPont Corp., which now owns the land, funded a cleanup and preserved the point forever with a conservation easement held by the state DEEP. It also contracted with Connecticut Audubon Society to oversee, manage and restore the property.
This week’s planting was coordinated by Twan Leenders, Connecticut Audubon Society’s conservation biologist, and by Professors Jennifer Mattei and Mark Beekey of Sacred Heart.
Eight Kinds of Shrubs and Trees
They chose eight species: Red bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), Serviceberry/shadbush (Amelanchier canadensis), Southern arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum), Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), Northern bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica), Beach plum (Prunus maritima) and Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina). Most of the specimens were small and relatively easy to plant but seven weighed as much as 600 pounds and required a tractor to get into the ground. The trees and shrubs are all native to the area, are likely to thrive on the site because they are tolerant of the salt spray and other harsh conditions of the area, and will provide food and cover for a variety of wildlife.
Mike Stocker, David Mandeville and Michael McCain, all from Sacred Heart, plant one of the 96 trees and shrubs.
The next step, to be taken in early summer, is to create several small hills and dips in the otherwise flat terrain at the point, and add a small, seasonal freshwater pond, to diversify the habitat. In conjunction with Sacred Heart University, we will embark on a long-term monitoring process, to assess the restoration work and see how it compares to the established habitat at Milford Point.
The work was funded by grants from the Connecticut Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership and the Connecticut Ornithological Society. Other parts of the Stratford Point work have been funded by DuPont, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Long Island Sound Futures Fund, and The Nature Conservancy.
Make a Pledge for Our Coastal Center’s Big Day
May 2012 – The 2012 Big Day is approaching and once again Connecticut Audubon Society’s team will be trying to break its own record – and raise funds to support the conservation and education work at our Milford Point Coastal Center. You can help by making a pledge to challenge us to bird even harder!
Pledge forms are available by clicking here. As many of you know, the Connecticut Audubon team (the Raven Luna-ticks: Nick Bonomo, Patrick Dugan, Dave Tripp, Frank Zygmont, and me, Frank Gallo) broke the New England Big Day record of 191 species last year, besting Connecticut’s record by six, with 192 species.
Our hard-won victory lasted an entire week, when friends from Massachusetts topped our record by one. We should never have told them. Now we’re rallying for another run, with the certainty that all that stands in the way of the mystical 200 species is the right route on the right day.
Our success is in large part due to the generous sharing of sightings by Connecticut birders. We’re making the attempt this year minus Nick, who is birding in Florida, so now, more than ever, we need your help – your eyes and ears – so we can take back the title, and continue to support the important conservation and education work done at Connecticut Audubon Society’s Coastal Center at Milford Point.
Big Day 2012 is on May 21. We need information on the specific whereabouts of lingering waterfowl such as loons, grebes, coots, moorhens, any sea/diving duck, and uncommon nesting ducks such as Common and Hooded Mergansers, Gadwall, and Blue- and Green-winged Teal. Both the bitterns, Pied-billed Grebe, and rail locations, especially for Sora and King, are greatly appreciated. Sites for less-common nesting birds, such as Belted Kingfisher, Cliff Swallow, Hairy Woodpecker, Winter Wren, Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, White-eyed Vireo, Golden-winged, Kentucky, Yellow-throated, Magnolia, Nashville and Cerulean warblers, and Yellow-breasted Chat (especially west of the Connecticut River) are needed.
Nest locations for Barn, Saw-whet, and Long-eared owls, Mississippi Kite, harrier, Bald Eagle, kestrel, Red-shouldered, Broad-winged, Sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, and Goshawk are ALWAYS needed. Obviously, there are many other less-common migrants and nesting species that would be of value to us such as Rusty Blackbird, Lincoln’s and White-crowned Sparrows, Common Nighthawk, Red-headed Woodpecker, Grasshopper Sparrow, Upland Sandpiper, Horned Lark, or even Blue Grosbeak or Clay-colored Sparrow. Updates on the Harris’s Sparrow and a dependable location for Black Skimmer would be great, as well.
Sites should be near a road, as time does not allow long treks into the woods. Email me at Peeplo@aol.com. Let me know if there are nests that are best left unpublicized. We are very careful not to disturb nesting raptors or any other species.
This event is an important fundraiser for the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point. You can find a pledge form here.
We thank you for your continued generosity and support.
Frank Gallo
Director, Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center
1 Milford Point Road, Milford 06460
203-878-7440
A Successful Year on the Conservation Front in Hartford
Hemlock gorge at the our Center at Pomfret. Photo copyright Twan Leenders/Connecticut Audubon Society
May 2012 – The session of the Connecticut General Assembly that ended in Hartford this week resulted in a number of achievements that we think are good for conservation and for the state’s environment in general.
The Senate and the House passed one bill with big implications for land conservation, and another with smaller but perhaps more immediate consequences for wildlife sanctuaries such as the 19 we own and operate.
Two other bills that would have had a detrimental effect on conservation went nowhere, which is also good news. Here’s a summary:
Bills that Passed Both Houses
An Act Concerning the State’s Open Space Plan (SB 347) will make it easier for Connecticut to reach its goal of protecting 21 percent of the land in the state.
The bill requires the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to prepare a strategy for achieving the 21 percent goal, in consultation with the state Department of Agriculture, the state Council on Environmental Quality, municipalities, regional planning agencies, and private land conservation organizations such as Connecticut Audubon Society. The deadline is December 15, and it has to be updated at least every five years.
The strategy must include an estimate of the number of acres preserved statewide, as well as timetables for land acquisition by the state, plans for managing the state’s preserved lands, and an assessment of the resources the state will need to acquire and manage open space.
It has to identify the highest priorities for land acquisition, including wildlife habitat and ecological resources that are in greatest need of immediate preservation, and the general location of each priority.
The bill also requires the DEEP to work with other state agencies to identify lands they own that might have conservation value, and to devise a plan for preserving the tracts with the highest conservation value. This provision is particularly important because it could lead to the preservation of important tracts without having to spend state funds.
Many of the bill’s specific provisions started as recommendations in Connecticut Audubon Society’s annual Connecticut State of the Birds reports. Connecticut’s conservation community supported the bill and worked collaboratively to help get it passed, in particular the state Council on Environmental Quality and Audubon Connecticut, the state office of National Audubon Society.
An Act Increasing the Penalty for Poaching (HB 5263) did exactly what its name suggests – increase the fine for hunting illegally on private land, to a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $1,000.
Illegal hunting has been an occasional problem on our sanctuaries, in particular the 700-acre sanctuary at our Grassland Bird Conservation Center in Pomfret. Andy Rzeznikiewicz, the Land Manager at the center, said this:
“I have personally caught and reported many people poaching on our sanctuary in Pomfret. In the end, these people get a little slap on the hand, and face virtually no consequences for their actions.
“In late December of 2010, after deer season was finished, I found where an abutter to the sanctuary had been baiting deer on our sanctuary and shooting them from his house. He had shot and killed three deer and injured a fourth that particular day. Judging by what I saw there this wasn’t his first time that year.
“When the conservation officer approached him at his house he readily admitted guilt. He was only fined $100 and he got his gun back! Just beyond where he was shooting the deer, we have a public hiking trail. Someone could have been hurt! The poacher asked the conservation officer if it was the women walking her dog five minutes after he shot the deer who reported him. That’s how close we were to a potential injury.”
Bills That Did Not Pass
An Act Modernizing the State’s Telecommunications Laws (SB 447) contained sections that would have declared the construction of cell towers in state parks and forests to be compatible with other traditional parks and forests activities. Cell towers can be built in parks and forests only after a specific review by the DEEP but this bill would have made it much easier to build towers in those areas.
Because cell towers can damage and fragment habitat, we opposed that provision. The sections of the bill that would have made cell towers compatible with state parks and forests were deleted; the revised bill did not pass.
An Act Modifying the Ban on Pesticide Applications on School Grounds (SB 5155) would have rolled back a law that prevented the use of cosmetic pesticides on school lawns and playing fields.
In addition to exposing school children to unnecessary risks, it also would have posed a threat to many of the state’s most common birds, which glean insects from lawns and fields. The bill did not make it out of the Environment Committee.
Connecticut Audubon Society thanks the General Assembly for taking these common sense actions and sends its congratulations to the state’s conservation community for working hard to achieve these results.
Creating the Next Generation of Conservationists Will Require Changes Big and Small
May 2012 – If we want our children to spend more time out of doors and to build a stronger connection to the natural world, we’ll have to look to solutions that are as small as parents insisting that kids go outside or as big as changes to school curricula.
And those solutions will have to be numerous and carried out consistently.
That was the consensus of the discussions at Connecticut Audubon Society’s 2012 community forums, held on March 14 at the CAS Center at Glastonbury, April 12 at the Center at Fairfield, May 3 at the Milford Point Coastal Center and May 10 at the Center at Pomfret.
Well over 100 people, including a two dozen experts from around the state, participated in the forums, which were based on our Connecticut State of the Birds 2012 report, “Where Is the Next Generation of Conservationists Coming From?”
The underlying concern expressed in Connecticut State of the Birds 2012 is that children spend so much time inside on computers and playing video games, and engaging in highly-structured, carefully-scheduled activities, that they are not forming the bond with the natural world now that will translate into a commitment to conservation in 10 or 20 years.
The community forums were designed to give our members and others a chance to talk about the problem and to offer solutions.
The panelists were led by Milan Bull, our senior director of science and conservation, and Michelle Eckman, our director of education, who discussed our science-based approach to conservation education, and our goal of bringing education programs to more school districts and age groups.
One of the Glastonbury panelists, Courtney MacDonald, the mother of two young children, said parents need to resist the lure of structured activities for their children and give them more time out of doors. “We need to say no more often to structured activities,” she said.
Older kids would be more inclined to spend time outdoors if their friends were doing so, said Joseph Sands, a 13-year-old middle school student who was on the Glastonbury panel. He suggested that groups of friends volunteer together at places like the CAS centers. An audience member suggested that Connecticut Audubon Society hold more programs for children and parents together, rather than drop-off programs.
Caroline Hron Weigle, a senior at Masuk High in Monroe, who was on the Fairfield panel, said that even if kids develop a good connection with nature when they are young, by the time they are in high school they are overwhelmed with school work and with extracurricular activities needed to get into a good college.
Michelle Eckman responded, “We need to do a better job of providing experiences that look good on resumes for college.”
Another Glastonbury panelist, Sandee Brown, a retired elementary school teacher, said schools should encourage outdoor teaching but, even if they did, science is a weakness for many elementary school teachers. She would often use the buddy system, working in partnership with a colleague who was tentative about the outdoors to take two classes outside together, thereby working with twice as many students and also building the other teacher’s confidence.
“There isn’t one approach that’s going to solve the issue,” Laura Magnotta, program director at the Wakeman Boys and Girls Club, in Bridgeport, said at the Fairfield forum. “Schools need to make instructional time for it. There needs to be places to take kids that parents feel are safe. There’s going to have to be many angles, many approaches.”
Connecticut Audubon Society sends its thanks to our panelists.
In Glastonbury, the panelists were Courtney MacDonald; Joseph Sands; Sandee Brown; Peter Marteka, a reporter and columnist for the Hartford Courant; Tom Swarr, co-chair of the Chemical Innovation Institute at the University of Connecticut; and Rachel Caldwell, an anthropology student at Central Connecticut State University.
In Fairfield, the panelists were Caroline Hron Weigle; Laura Magnotta; Pamela Iacono, president of the Fairfield Board of Education; David Brant, executive director of the Aspetuck Land Trust; Tom Ellbogen, director of the Webb Mountain Discovery Zone in Monroe; and Mary Hogue, former president of the Fairfield PTA Council.
The Milford panelists were Mark Beekey, associate professor of biology at Sacred Heart University; Chris Bosak, reporter and columnist for the Norwalk Hour, and host of Bird Calls Radio; Kevin McFadden, Zoology and Marine Biology major at the University of Maine, Orono, and CAS instructor; James Purcell, Fairfield high school student and CAS volunteer; April Kelley, science teacher at Lauralton Hall, in Milford; and Florence McBride, Partners in Science Specialist, Hamden Public Schools, author of Take Flight!, film maker.
OIn Pomfret, the panelists were Ross Tomlin, President of Quinebaug Valley Community College; Tim Hotchkiss, a science teacher at Pomfret Community School science teacher; Kathleen Hart, a librarian and longtime CAS volunteer; Richard Telford, a Woodstock Academy teacher and a Masters Degree candidate in environmental studies; and Jackie Bellanceau, a senior at Woodstock Academy.
Connecticut Audubon will be compiling a report this summer based on the four forums.
Summer Camp Is Approaching! Register Now
April 2012 – Registration is moving quickly for our amazing summer camps at Birdcraft Sanctuary, the Center at Fairfield, the Milford Point Coastal Center and the Center at Pomfret, but we still have plenty of room.
Kids in our summer camps develop a respect for the natural world, and they have the kind of fun that can come only from exploring the woods and tide pools, visiting marshes and brooks, or handling crabs and sea stars in a touch tank.
We offer real natural science presented so it’s fun, fascinating and tactile. Our teacher-naturalists and educators are well-trained, knowledgeable and expert in finding ways to instruct — and delight — anyone who wants to learn about the natural world.
If you are interested in Summer Camp in Pomfret, please go to the Center at Pomfret page for a brochure and registration information.
Click these links if you are interested in summer camp at Birdcraft or Fairfield. You will find links to a brochure and online registration pages.
If you are interested in summer camp at Milford Point, click this link. You will find links to a brochure and online registration pages.
New Education Programs for Schools
April 2012 – Connecticut Audubon Society has been providing first-rate educational programs for school children for over a century. Our goal is to keep improving, and in 2012 we are expanding and enhancing our school programs to provide innovative outdoor science education to more students throughout the state.
Our new programs are designed for 3rd through 8th graders, and will engage them in the scientific process via outdoor, hands-on, inquiry-based investigations – one of the largest growing needs for public school students in Connecticut.
The new programs will focus on four habitat types – woodland, freshwater marsh, meadow and pond – and on how they are affected by weather and climate and by rocks and soil; and how plants and animals have adapted to live in those four habitats.
Starting in the fall of 2012, we’ll be introducing these programs at our Center at Fairfield and the adjacent 155-acre Larsen Sanctuary, with over a dozen classes in public and private schools from Bridgeport, Trumbull and Fairfield.
We will roll out the new programs at our other centers over the next several years, and will be designing new environmental science programs for high school students.
For younger children, we’ll continue our pre-K through 2nd-grade programs, which focus on an appreciation of nature through demonstrations with our own birds of prey, both at our centers and in the schools.
Studies show that outdoor science education in concert with classroom instruction results in higher student achievement than classroom-based curricula alone. We are working with science curriculum coordinators, school teachers, and other education experts in the state to develop curricula that provide an essential resource for teachers in their efforts to meet state and national science, math, and literacy content standards.
The CAS centers and their sanctuaries, staffed with expert teacher-naturalists, serve as ideal living laboratories for these field-based science education programs.
Our aim is to teach as many young people as possible about Connecticut’s natural history and science, to improve their performance as students, and to prepare them to be good citizens and conservationists. Just as important, we want to do so while providing engaging, hands-on experiences that are fun and interesting.
Controlled Brush Fire Helps Restore Habitat at Stratford Point
DEEP workers light the blaze at Stratford Point. Photo copyright Twan Leenders, Ph.D., for Connecticut Audubon Society
February 2012 – As part of our ongoing work to restore the coastal habitat at Stratford Point, Connecticut Audubon Society collaborated with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to carefully burn about 20 acres of the Point’s grassland on Tuesday, February 28.
The prescribed burn was designed to get rid of invasive plants and remove the build-up of decaying, nutrient-rich vegetation, which will help native grasses and wildflowers to flourish, and reduce the risk of wildfires. The practice mimics the periodic fires that occurred in the northeast in pre-Colonial times when Native Americans burned grasslands and woodlands to manage habitat for game, and when lightning strikes caused occasional natural fires.
Overseen by a crew of 13 from the DEEP’s Forestry Division, the prescribed burn was actually a series of sequential fires set by using drip torches fueled by diesel and gasoline, and controlled using water hoses, rakes and rubber mats.
The burn had been planned for more than a year and included meetings with and notifications to neighbors in the adjacent Lordship neighborhood of Stratford. After we secured our final permits in late February, the DEEP monitored weather and air quality forecasts to find a a day with suitable, safe conditions.
At a briefing for the crew and observers before the burn started, DEEP staff said that with the temperature at 45 degrees, the relative humidity 37, and the winds at zero to 10 knots, the day was close to ideal. Most importantly, winds were from the north-northwest, which meant the fire would progress away from neighboring houses and the smoke would be blown over Long Island Sound.
The Point sits at the mouth of the Housatonic River, in the midst of an area that is extremely varied and productive ecologically. The Housatonic estuary itself is rich with fish and shellfish. Nearby are the 699-acre Great Meadows salt marsh in Stratford, the 840-acre Charles B. Wheeler Salt Marsh in Milford, and Milford Point. Connecticut Audubon Society’s Coastal Center at Milford Point provides access to an extensive network of beach habitat and mudflats.
The fire burns along a hillside, clearing the way for native plants. Photo copyright Twan Leenders, Ph.D., for Connecticut Audubon Society
But for most of the 20th century Stratford Point was damaged goods. Long the site of the Remington Arms Gun Club, it was contaminated with lead shotgun pellets and was the subject of an extensive cleanup funded by the DuPont Corp., which owns the Point. In 2001, DuPont protected Stratford Point with a conservation easement, held by the DEEP; Connecticut Audubon Society has an agreement with DuPont to oversee, manage and restore the property.
We’ve been working with ecologists from Sacred Heart University and Yale Peabody Museum to design and carry out a plan that will restore Stratford Point as an important piece of the mosaic of ecosystems that surround it. Most recently, we finished construction of 900 linear feet of man-made dunes along the Point’s north cove – the first time a habitat restoration project of that kind has been attempted in Connecticut.
The dunes will provide important new habitat for birds and other wildlife and also help prevent the point from eroding away, a serious concern at a sanctuary that has seen the shoreline recede by 100 feet over the last decade. The restored coastal grassland will help complement the dune project.
We believe our work at Stratford Point constitutes the most comprehensive ecological restoration project currently being carried out on Long Island Sound.
We would like to thank the many partners and funders we’ve worked with over the years on the Stratford Point project: the DuPont Corp.; the Connecticut DEEP; Sacred Heart University; the Yale-Peabody Museum; The Nature Conservancy; the Long Island Sound Futures Fund; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Job Opportunity: Teacher-Naturalist at Milford Point
Position Title: Seasonal Teacher/Naturalist
Salary: $340-$350 per week (depends on exp.) + housing
Location: Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center, Milford, CT
Temporary, Full-time 40 hours per week
Start and End Dates: June 1, 2012 (negotiable) to June 23, 2013 (includes 2012 summer camp employment.)
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in EE, biology, or related field; knowledge of marine biology, coastal ecology, and/or ornithology preferred.
- Must be at least 21 years old with current certification in Standard First Aid and CPR for the Professional Rescuer; lifeguard with waterfront module and canoeing certifications preferred, or willingness to acquire.
- Minimum of 1 year’s experience teaching children; sound teaching ability, enthusiasm, and ability to work with children both outdoors and in a classroom setting a must!
- Some experience with program scheduling and volunteer coordination preferred.
- Knowledge of the care of reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates preferred.
- Experience teaching mixed-aged general public/family programs preferred.
- Must be able to work independently.
Duties/Job Description:
The focus of this varied position is on teaching, animal care, and program promotion.
- Teach, assist, and develop education programs predominantly on freshwater, coastal, and terrestrial ecology, marine biology, and birds to school and summer camp classes for grades Pre-K to 8.
- Teach and assist with various youth and family education programs, including scouts, after school, summer and EE birthday party programs.
- Assist with various aspects of educational mission and daily operation of nature center, including some program scheduling and publicity.
- Maintain collection of animals used in programs. Supervise animal care volunteers.
- Complete individual project to benefit Coastal Center’s programs or exhibit room.
- Live on site. Some assistance with upkeep of building and grounds as needed.
- Work 40 hour week, (Tuesday – Saturday with occasional Sundays and evenings.)
Apply: E-mail cover letter, resume, and 3 references to fgallo@ctaudubon.org
Closing Date: May 31, 2012, or when filled
Contact: Frank Gallo, Director
Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center, 1 Milford Point Road, Milford, CT 06460
Phone: 203-878-7440 x 501; E-Mail: fgallo@ctaudubon.org
Policy Agenda 2012: How We Are Making a Statewide Difference
March 2012 – Advocating for issues of statewide importance on your behalf is one of the ways we fulfill our mission of conserving Connecticut’s birds and their habitats. Our advocacy takes the form of legislative policy work in Hartford and grassroots work on the local level. You can follow our progress in Hartford.
To see the status of bills to revise the state’s open space plan, weaken pesticide regulations and increase the penalties for poaching wildlife (including on our sanctuaries), click here.
You can learn more about our 2012 legislative work in general by clicking here.
For 2012, our priorities include reforming Connecticut’s land preservation program; reducing bird mortality through a Lights Out program; and increasing outdoor educational opportunities for Connecticut’s children. Here are the details:
1 Reforming the state’s land preservation program.
We will push for passage of a bill that requires the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to identify lands that are the highest priorities for open space acquisition, including wildlife habitat and ecological resources, and the general locations of these highest priorities.
The legislation will also require the DEEP to work with other state agencies to identify state-owned lands that are important for conservation but which are not protected open space, and to plan a strategy for preserving them in perpetuity.
The legislation also broadens the number of stakeholders that the DEEP must consult with when it works on these projects. Added to the list are municipalities and regional planning agencies, in addition to the Council on Environmental Quality and private nonprofit land conservation organizations such as Connecticut Audubon Society.
These revisions to Connecticut’s open space acquisition process are among many that we have enumerated over the years in our Connecticut State of the Birds reports. This year’s legislation was drafted by the Council on Environmental Quality and is supported by other conservation organizations as well.
The proposed legislation is important, we believe, because it will help focus the state’s land acquisition program as we move toward the goal of preserving 21 percent of the land in Connecticut by 2023. As things stand now, state officials know how much land has been preserved but they do not have a good idea of what kinds of lands have been preserved — whether it be conservation land, farmland, recreation land, etc.
The proposed legislation also is important because it will require the DEEP to make careful judgments about what kinds of lands should be preserved and to identify in general where those lands are located, so they can be viewed in the larger landscape context that is essential to serious conservation.
In addition, we know that state agencies other than the DEEP own large tracts of land, some of which have habitats that are rare or play an important role in a larger mosaic of habitats. This legislation will require the DEEP to work with its sister agencies to find and evaluate those lands. Because they are already state-owned, it would be a relatively-easy next step to protect them with conservation easements so they remain preserved forever.
2. Reducing Bird Mortality Through a Lights Out Program.
Connecticut Audubon Society will work with municipalities and landlords in the state on a voluntary “Lights Out” program to reduce the vast number of migratory birds that get killed when they fly into lighted buildings at night.
Across North America, the estimated number of migrating birds killed annually in collisions with buildings ranges from 100 million to 1 billion. In cities throughout the U.S. and Canada, building owners, conservation groups and local governments are working together to reduce this mortality by taking the simple step of turning out lights at night.
We will work to get a similar program underway in one or more Connecticut communities, and will plan to expand the program over the years.
3. Increasing Outdoor Educational Opportunities for Connecticut’s Children.
Based on the findings of our Connecticut State of the Birds 2012 report, “Where is the Next Generation of Conservationists Coming From,” we are calling for a renewed emphasis on environmental education for our children, in school and out of school, and are increasing our own education efforts.
The goal is to help create a deeper, long-term commitment to conservation, as well as contribute to the health and academic success of our state’s children. To do ourpart, CAS has hired a new statewide director of education, Michelle Eckman, who will focus on developing oureducation programs into a lifelong educational experience, with a goal of working with all of Connecticut’s school districts.
To engage the public in this topic, we are organizing round-table discussions this spring at four of our centers (in Glastonbury on March 14, Fairfield on April 12, Milford Point on May 3, and Pomfret on May 10), featuring a panel of local experts including educators, parents, students and other stakeholders.
Those are Connecticut Audubon Society three highest priorities. But there are other proposals and initiatives we will be following.
Connecticut Audubon Society will work, for example, for passage of a law that increases the penalties for poaching wildlife on private property, including land protected for conservation purposes. We’ve had a problem with this on some of our sanctuaries and we hope this will help solve the problem. CAS would also support passage of a law that allows bow hunting on Sundays on private property with the landowner’s permission as a way to help control the deer population that has damaged the state’s woodland ecosystem.
Connecticut Audubon Society will work with partner organizations to fight a rollback of a 2010 pesticide law that bans the use of “cosmetic” lawn pesticides by day care centers, nursery schools and K-8 schools. The ban is important for the health of our children but also has implications for our bird populations.
Connecticut Audubon will oppose attempts by the General Assembly to take money in the Community Investment Act that is intended for land conservation, farmland protection, historic preservation and affordable housing, and use it for other purposes.
Connecticut Audubon will continue to work for passage of the Community Preservation Fund, which would give communities the chance to ask local voters if they want to create a dedicated source of funds for open space acquisition.
Register Now for Our Great Summer Camps!
Wading in streams, exploring the woodland floor, ponding, swamp tromping … these are what childhood memories are made of. The Connecticut Audubon Society’s Summer Camps provide the perfect setting for children to build memories and discover the wonders of nature through exploration and investigation. It is here in the sanctuary’s boundless classroom where young minds learn to become environmental stewards and where a lifelong love for nature is fostered.
You can use this secure site to register online for camps at Birdcraft or the Center at Fairfield.
Use this secure site to register online at the Milford Point Coastal Center.
Or download a brochure and register by mail.
For over 30 years CAS Summer Camps have offered outdoor exploration, curiosity, discovery and hands-on learning to thousands of young people. This year’s programs include eight weeks of enriching half-day sessions tailored to each age group designed to pique campers’ knowledge, curiosity and awareness of our natural world. Outdoor adventures will provide campers the opportunity to use scientific tools like binoculars, insect nets, hand lenses and dip nets while studying freshwater ecology, wildlife biology, entomology, conservation, and more. Camp sessions include programs like Dirt, Worms, and other Ickys, Fantastic Flyers, Swamp Tromp and Wilderness Skills.
This year, CAS has expanded its camp offerings to include science lab camps for ages 10 to 14 designed to prepare campers academically for their upcoming school year. Science lab camp offerings include Bits and Bones: Forensic Science, Machine Mania: Physics and Design and Wings of Wonder: Bird Science.
The Summer Camps are led by expert teacher-naturalists while counselors and junior volunteers provide additional support. Staffed trained in First Aid, CPR, and Epi-Pens are present throughout the duration of the program. Our high staff-to-camper ratio ensures all campers have a safe, fun, and educational camp experience.
Registration for Summer Camp began Monday, February 13. For more information call 203-259-6305 ext. 117.