Wildlife Refuge a Secret Treasure
Spanning sixty miles of the beautiful Connecticut coastline with a variety of habitats from grassy upland to tidal salt marsh, the refuge owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has several units including Westbrook, Branford, Milford, Norwalk, Guilford, and Stratford.
Visitors can walk a unique 1.5 mile trail at the 9-acre Salt Meadow Unit off Salt Meadow Road in Westbrook.
Along the way, they will see historical structures including an original 1700’s house serving as quarters for refuge employees, a house donated by Esther Lape and Elizabeth Reed housing the refuge’s headquarters, and a log cabin visited by Eleanor Roosevelt.
It is expected the log cabin will be a visitor center in the future, Outdoor Recreation Planner Ava Kahn said.
Walking further, visitors will see the common tern, roseate tern, and long-legged wader in addition to wintering habitat creatures in adjacent waters such as brant, scoters, American black duck, and other waterfowl.
The center encourages visitors to observe and photograph the wildlife but asks them to stay on the trail and that pets and camping are prohibited.
The Salt Meadow Unit is the easiest accessible unit by car, Kahn said, and is located between exits 64 and 65 of Interstate 95.
The parking lot at Westbrook is under construction but the facility is open daily from thirty minutes before sunrise to thirty minutes sunset.
The refuge recently acquired the 4.6 acre Menunketesuck Island in Westbrook but Kahn said the island is closed to the public for bird breeding but could open in September.
The island, located on the western arm of Westbrook harbor, was recognized as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society in June 2004.
The 5-acre Outer Island Unit, located on the southern-most Thimble Island Chain in Branford, is accessible by ferry and private boat.
It is managed by the Friends of Outer Island, a volunteer group who staffs the island typically on weekends between July 4 and Labor Day.
Public access is only allowed when the island is staffed, Kahn said.
A unique agreement in 2001 between the Connecticut DEP, Connecticut State University system, the Community Foundation for Greater Haven and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was developed to ensure the island’s protection and for educational and research initiatives.
“The DEP is pleased to provide this endowment to support environmental education, habitat restoration, research and improved public access in Connecticut,” said DEP Commissioner Arthur J. Rocque, Jr.
Research classes usually use the island during the late spring and summer, Kahn said.
According to the service, CSU professors, refuge staff, and Friends of Outer Island volunteers typically lead public tours on the island, for two days in September, and explain its unique history and ecology.
The Milford Point Unit offers visitors the ability to view many shorebirds, including the federally threatened piping plover, on an observation deck overlooking the 9-acre barrier beach.
Access is provided by the Audubon Coastal Center in Milford and is open one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset.
The 57-acre Sheffield Island Unit in Norwalk has a fully accessibly self guided Island Ethics trail exploring the island’s history and importance of island habitats.
Visitors can see a tidal saltwater pond utilized by egberts and belted kingfishers as well as take tours of an 1868 stone lighthouse with a view of the New York City skyline on clear days.
The Norwalk Seaport Association provides transportation from the Maritime Aquarium to Sheffield Island while Sound Navigation has a ferry service to the island from Westcott Cove in Stamford.
The 4.5-acre Falkner Island Unit, located three miles off the shore of Guilford, “supports one of the last colonies of federally endangered roseate terns and 97 percent of nesting common terns in the state,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Kahn said there is limited access to the island but there usually is a two day open house each September when visitors can visit a research camp and a historic ten-room lighthouse constructed in 1802 and commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson.
The lighthouse is the second oldest in Connecticut and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The refuge has $150,000 available for rehabilitation of the jetty, pier, and boathouse on the island, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The service’s website stated its Great Meadows Unit in Stratford is closed until the opening of a new fully accessible trail offering voice recorded messages for the visually disabled.
The unit provides feeding and nesting habitat for over 270 species of birds and is an important nesting and wintering area for the American black duck.
The history of the refuge started as the Salt Meadow National Wildlife Refuge in 1972 when 150 acres of land were donated to the service by Ester Lape.
After neighbors donated or sold adjacent lands, the refuge grew to be 274 acres.
Concerned about the development of coastal areas and islands, non-profit groups such as the National Audubon Society, Saugatuck Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Lands, and the Westbrook Land Trust, assisted the service in acquiring Sheffield, Chimon, and Goose Islands near Norwalk and Milford.
The islands were added to the refuge and the name was changed in 1984 to Connecticut’s Coastal National Wildlife Refuge.
The refuge was renamed again in 1987 after the late U.S. Congressman Stewart B. McKinney from Connecticut who played an integral role in formulating the refuge.
The Stewart B. McKinney Wildlife Refuge System is part of more than 550 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System and for more information visit www.fws.gov.
Information on special use permits, refuge conditions and regulations, and other questions should be directed to the refuge headquarters at the Salt Meadow Unit open Monday thru Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or at 860-399-2513.
