Upcoming Habitat Enhancement at Great Meadows Unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge

Later this month, United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) staff will be conducting habitat enhancement at the Great Meadows Unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge located on Long Beach Blvd. in Stratford.

The work includes connecting the saline pond that is viewable from the pond trail to a tidal channel located ~150ft to the south, placing excavated fill in the areas of degraded marsh along the northern edge of the marsh trail, and replanting and reseeding disturbed areas with native vegetation. The work will result in improved tidal flow and water quality, reducing the risk of diseases that impact waterfowl (die offs occurred in 2021 and 2024). Daily flushing will also inhibit the spread of the invasive reed, Phragmites australis.

As many will recall, 44 acres of the Great Meadows unit were the focus of a large restoration project that broke ground in 2021. Project partners include USFWS, NOAA, the State of Connecticut, and the National Audubon Society. While the work planned for this fall to connect the pond to a tidal channel was an option mentioned in the plan on which the public had an opportunity to comment, that option was not pursued due to the interest in retaining a freshwater pond habitat at the site.

However, with the removal of a berm that surrounded the restoration site, which was done to allow the marsh to migrate landward in response to sea level rise and to give estuarine turtles access to nesting habitat, flooding during storms events has resulted in elevated salinity levels in the pond.  Salinity levels were tested, both in the field and laboratory testing, during the summer of 2023 and varied from 2.5 ppt (1-3 ppt is considered slightly saline by the USGS) to 32.5 ppt (10-35 ppt is considered highly saline, 35 ppt is sea water). The salinity varies depending on the time of the last over wash and recent rainfall events. 

In keeping with best practices of adaptive management, now that a freshwater pond habitat is not an option, all partners are now supportive of connecting the pond to the nearby creek to address invasive reeds and waterfowl diseases. Permits from CT Dept of Energy and Environmental Protection and Army Corps of Engineers are already in place.

This work will commence on Monday Sept. 29th and conclude on Thursday Oct. 2nd. During this period, the parking lot on Long Beach Blvd will remain open. The trails will close temporarily when USFWS staff are moving equipment. It is expected that when one trail is closed, the other will be open. 

Following these activities, the pond will be about 1/3 the size at low tide but fill to the current perimeter at high tide. Disturbance along the south side of the pond will be temporary, with newly planted and seeded areas filling in over the course of the next year or two. 

The Great Meadows Marsh project has restored the area to as natural a system as possible, reducing the abundance of mosquitoes and vector borne diseases, improving visibility for birding and other recreational opportunities, and proving valuable habitat for Saltmarsh Sparrow (which has declined by 87% since 1998 according to the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture Saltmarsh Sparrow Conservation Plan) and other salt marsh obligates.

We appreciate the interest the public has taken in the work planned for this fall and the comments that we have received. However, the partners feel that increasing tidal flow in and out of the pond is best for the area long term. 

Those with additional comments are welcome to reach out to the below email addresses:

• Corrie Folsom-O'Keefe—Director of Bird Conservation, Audubon Connecticut (email)
• Richard Potvin—Refuge Manager, Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge (email)