MADISON, CT (8/14/2024)—On Thursday, August 15, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) will likely be joined by Audubon Connecticut (the state workplace of the Nationwide Audubon Society), the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Affiliation (NOAA), and the Connecticut Division of Power and Environmental Safety (DEEP) to announce $2.696 million in congressionally directed spending for a mission bettering the sustainability and resiliency of Hammonasset Seaside State Park.
Positioned in Madison, CT, this 936-acre state park boasts a various, high-quality coastal ecosystem that gives habitat for birds and different wildlife, and hosts greater than 3 million guests yearly.
Local weather change impacts, akin to coastal flooding and sea stage rise, have led to fast erosion of the park’s japanese shoreline, barrier seashore, and salt marsh. Within the final twenty years, yearly erosion charges have almost doubled, contributing to the lack of 27 acres of salt marsh since 1934.
“Hammonasset Seaside is an important ecosystem that contains a distinctive mixture of marshland, grassland and coast that advantages wildlife and neighboring communities alike,” mentioned Corrie Folsom-O’Keefe, director of chicken conservation at Audubon Connecticut. “The park is residence to Saltmarsh Sparrows, Piping Plovers, and Brown Thrashers. Restoring this web site is crucial to sustaining its ecological, leisure, and financial worth.”
Presently, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut DEEP are main and implementing Section 1 of a multi-phase mission to deal with these points. This primary part has concerned web site assessments, knowledge assortment, and creating mission design plans.
With the $2.696 million in funding offered by the 2024 Minibus Appropriations Invoice, as requested by Senator Blumenthal and Senator Chris Murphy, we will advance Section 2 of this mission.
Along with finalizing planning and allowing, this part will ramp up neighborhood engagement and involvement by neighborhood occasions, academic alternatives for native college students and academics in underserved, environmental justice communities, and employment alternatives for native youth.
“Due to the mix of seashore, forest, and grassland landscapes, this web site has particular academic worth to younger folks to find out about conservation of their space, and supplies a spot for the neighborhood to benefit from the open air,” mentioned Jack Matthias, supervisor of coastal resilience for Audubon Connecticut. “This funding is not going to solely assist preserve the park, but additionally present alternatives for everybody to play a job in sustaining native outside areas.”
A restored Hammonasset Seaside State Park will likely be scale back erosion charges and salt marsh loss alongside 3000 ft of shoreline, defending not solely the inhabitants of the park, but additionally the residents of native communities within the City of Madison and City of Clinton.
“We’re grateful to Senator Blumenthal for championing this lovely web site, and for the chance to preserve and keep it for years to return,” mentioned Robert LaFrance, coverage director of Audubon Connecticut. “Everybody ought to really feel protected and welcome when having fun with their native pure areas, and this funding will permit extra alternatives to interact and make use of the neighborhood in conserving the park.”
About Audubon
The Nationwide Audubon Society protects birds and the locations they want, in the present day and tomorrow. Audubon works all through the Americas utilizing science, advocacy, schooling, and on-the-ground conservation. State packages, nature facilities, chapters, and companions give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches tens of millions of individuals annually to tell, encourage, and unite various communities in conservation motion. A nonprofit conservation group since 1905, Audubon believes in a world wherein folks and wildlife thrive. Study extra at www.audubon.org and on Fb, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.
Media Contact:
Robyn Shepherd, robyn.shepherd@audubon.org
Sharon Bruce, sharon.bruce@audubon.org
Diana Wilson, diana.wilson@audubon.org