The Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge is a 950-acre (384.5 ha) National Wildlife Refuge in ten units across the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the Atlantic Flyway, the refuge spans 70 miles (110 km) of Connecticut coastline and provides important resting, feeding, and nesting habitat for many species of wading birds, shorebirds, songbirds and terns, including the endangered roseate tern. Adjacent waters serve as wintering habitat for brant, scoters, American black duck, and other waterfowl. Overall, the refuge encompasses over 900 acres (364.2 ha) of barrier beach, intertidal wetland and fragile island habitats.[1]
Originally named the Salt Meadow National Wildlife Refuge, the refuge was renamed in 1987 after Stewart B. McKinney, a congressman from Connecticut.[1]
Units, wildlife, and facilities
The refuge consists of ten separate land units. From east to west they are:
Falkner Island Unit: Falkner Island is located three miles (5 km) off the shore of Guilford, Connecticut. It must be accessed by private vessel and is closed to public visitation except during the open house. Falkner Island Unit is home to over 124 pairs of nesting roseate terns (a federally listed endangered species) and over 3000 nesting pairs of common terns. Thus, this unit has been designated an "Important Bird Area" by the National Audubon Society. The Falkner Island unit is closed to public visitation throughout the year due to the fragile status of the roseate terns that nest there. However, the refuge does open the island for a two-day open house each September. During the open house, visitors have an opportunity to visit an actual research camp and an historic lighthouse that was originally commissioned in 1802. The lighthouse, research facility, and the natural beauty of the island allow for many photographic opportunities. This unit is at 41°12′39″N72°39′11″W / 41.210880°N 72.653190°W / 41.210880; -72.653190 (Falkner Island)
Milford Point Unit: This unit is located near Milford, Connecticut, and features an observation deck along the boardwalk. The overlook at Milford Point allows visitors the opportunity to view the 9-acre (3.6 ha) barrier beach. Shorebirds such as sandpipers, oystercatchers, least terns and even the federally threatened piping plover may be seen from the platform. To decrease disturbance to this fragile area, wildlife viewing must be accomplished from the observation deck or the very tip of the peninsula. Fishermen and visitors may walk to the tip of the peninsula by way of a marked fishing access trail, but are discouraged from stopping along the way. This unit is at 41°10′33″N73°06′05″W / 41.1757°N 73.1015°W / 41.1757; -73.1015 (Milford Point).
The ten units of Stewart B. McKinney NWR include a variety of habitats from grassy upland, to tidal salt marsh. Native wildlife populations have diverse habitat requirements. Each species, from roseate terns to American black ducks, has very different needs for food, water, shelter and space. The refuge units along Connecticut's coast fill these needs by providing habitats that are forested, marshy, sandy and secluded island habitats.
History
Assistant Secretary of the Interior Nathanial Reed accepts the donation of Salt Meadow (now part of McKinney National Wildlife Refuge) from Esther Lape, 1972
Salt Meadow was the country house of Elizabeth Fisher Read and Esther Lape. In 1972, after the death of Read, Lape donated over 150 acres (60.7 ha) of land in Westbrook, Connecticut, to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. This donation became Salt Meadow National Wildlife Refuge. As neighbors donated or sold adjacent property to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Salt Meadow grew to be a 274-acre (110.9 ha) refuge.[1]
As the state became more and more populated, coastal areas and islands were being developed at an alarming rate. Citizens began to worry that the long legged wading birds and other shorebirds that use Connecticut's Islands and Coast would soon be without important nesting and feeding habitat. With the help of non-profit groups like The Connecticut Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, and the Westbrook Land Trust, Sheffield, Chimon, and Goose Islands near Norwalk and Milford Point in Milford were acquired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.[1]
In 1984, these Islands were added to Salt Meadow National Wildlife Refuge and the name was changed to Connecticut's Coastal National Wildlife Refuge. In 1987, the name of the refuge was again changed to honor US Congressman Stewart B. McKinney, who had an integral role in the refuge's formation.[1]
In 2003, Calf Island in the town of Greenwich was added to the refuge. In 2005, Peach Island was added to the refuge. Through generous donations and the help of many partners the refuge now consists of ten refuge units spread across 70 miles (110 km) of Connecticut's coastline, from Westbrook to Greenwich.[1]
News
In 2007 and 2008 the town of Stratford debated whether the town would sell town owned lands to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If the property is sold, it would presumably be made part of the McKinney Refuge. From the Connecticut Post:[2]
STRATFORD — One of the former Town Council's final decisions was to direct Mayor James R. Miron in November to enter into negotiations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in an effort to sell the 35-acre (140,000 m2) Long Beach West Peninsula for at least $10 million.
That is now possible because the town last year won its decade-long legal battle to evict the last of 45 cottage owners who once rented property on the peninsula when the state Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision in favor of the town.
describes the desired future conditions of a refuge or planning unit; provides long-range guidance and management direction to achieve the purposes of the refuge; helps fulfill the mission of the Refuge System; maintains and, where appropriate, restores the ecological integrity of each refuge and the Refuge System; helps achieve the goals of the National Wilderness Preservation System; and meets other mandates.[3]
The planning process for Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge was begun in the spring of 2011. Public input is solicited by the Service via public meetings, email, and postal mail.[4] Public scoping meetings were held in June, 2011 at the refuge headquarters in Westbrook, CT and at the Raymond Baldwin Center in Stratford, CT. The public comment period for the scoping phase of the project is open until July 20, 2011. There will be additional opportunities to comment on a draft plan which is expected to be available in March, 2012.
Pleasure Beach, an area in Bridgeport, Connecticut, adjacent to the "Long Beach West" area in Stratford that is being considered for sale to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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