Up to 3,500 acres in Groton, Ledyard, North Stonington and Stonington would be preserved as part of a new wildlife refuge being proposed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to protect the New England cottontail rabbit and up to 65 other species dependent on shrubland habitat.

In an announcement Tuesday, the wildlife service said the proposed Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge would extend through up to 15,000 acres in 10 areas of Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

In Connecticut, that includes about 400 acres in Litchfield County and about 3,500 acres in four towns in New London County.

Rick Potvin, refuge manager of the Stuart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge in Westbrook, said the area of southeastern Connecticut was identified because it supports a core population of New England cottontails.

New England’s only native rabbit, the wildlife service decided last year not to list the cottontail as an endangered species because of numerous conservation efforts underway to increase habitat for the species. The proposal to create the new refuge is the next step in continuing those efforts, he said.

“We picked this part of the state because it’s a stronghold for the rabbits already,” he said of the area identified in New London County. “We’re going to be picking areas that will do the most good for the rabbits.”

If the plan is approved after the public comment period, the Fish & Wildlife Service would begin working with interested landowners to acquire property through conservation easements or acquisition.

Creating the refuge could take decades, the wildlife service said in a news release, since it relies on willing landowners for the acquisitions and easements and funding availability.

“Any land that becomes part of the refuge would still be open for people to visit and hunt,” said Potvin.

Potvin noted that the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and land trusts in southeastern Connecticut have already worked to improve and increase shrubland habitat, including areas of the Pachaug State Forest in Voluntown and North Stonington.

The habitat work benefits not only the New England cottontail, he noted, but also numerous bird, insect and other wildlife species that depend on shrubland.

While progress has been made to restore cottontail populations, the wildlife service and conservation groups have determined that more permanently protected and managed land is needed to ensure that shrubland habitat remains available to the species that depend on it, the wildlife service said.

Throughout the Northeast, many acres of shrubland and young forests have been cleared for development or grown into mature forests, and as a result “the populations of more than 65 songbirds, mammals, reptiles, pollinators and other wildlife have fallen alarmingly,” the service said.

“We’ve had incredible success in restoring New England’s only native rabbit and its habitat,” said Rick Jacobson, New England cottontail executive committee chairman and director of DEEP’s Wildlife Division. “Yet our work is far from done. We need to preserve and manage more land as shrublands and young forests to continue to advance conservation for the cottontail. But it isn’t just about a rabbit. It’s about American woodcock, ruffed grouse, golden-winged warblers, monarch butterflies and a whole suite of wildlife that depend on this habitat.”

Other wildlife that would benefit include box and spotted turtles, whippoorwhill and blue-winged warblers.

j.benson@theday.com

Twitter: @BensonJudy 

Commenting on the plan:

The draft plan is available at: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/refuges/planning/lpp/greatthicketLPP.html.

Public comment will be accepted through March 4.

Send comments to: northeastplanning@fws.gov with “Great Thicket LPP” in the subject line. Comments can also be mailed to: Beth Goldstein; natural resources planner; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; 300 Westgate Center Drive; Hadley, Mass. 01035-9589 or by fax at: (413) 253-8480.