Stonington — Popular with hikers, boaters, hunters and bird watchers, with diverse and ecologically important habitats and significant scientific and historic assets, the Barn Island Wildlife Management Area is in need of an overall plan to guide how the property is used and cared for.

That’s the reasoning behind the decision by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which owns the salt marsh and forest complex, to develop its first comprehensive management plan for the 1,014-acre property. As a first step in that process, DEEP earlier this month released a report detailing all facets of Barn Island, from its rare plants and birds to its uses for hunting, hiking and boating, its historic sites, threats from sea level rise and invasive species and research.

Now, DEEP is seeking comment on the “Management Assessment Report — Barn Island Wildlife Management Area,” which will be used as the basis for the management plan the agency plans to create.

“We gathered as much information as we could,” said Glenn Dreyer, botany professor director of the Connecticut College Arboretum.

Using a $25,000 federal grant , the DEEP contracted with Dreyer, Connecticut College botany professor Chad Jones and Ronald Rozsa, a retired DEEP coastal ecologist, to prepare the assessment report. They completed the project in March after two years of research and field work. The property is located off Stewart Road, between Wequetequock Cove and Block Island Sound. It is the largest coastal wildlife management area in the state.

Ann Kilpatrick, a DEEP wildlife biologist, will be the lead author of the plan. The purpose, she said, is to "look at all aspects of the property to manage it for fish and wildlife, education, research, recreational uses and cultural resource protection."

"Unlike a park," she said, "the primary purpose of wildlife managment areas is to enhance the fish and wildlife habitat. But we do want the public to continue to use the property."

The public is being asked to review and comment on the report by June 30. Conservation groups, user groups including hunters and boaters, and researchers and educators are also being invited to comment. Input will be considered by the DEEP’s Wildlife Division as it writes the management plan, the agency said in a news release.

"We're trying to reach out to the public with this report," Kilpatrick said. "We didn't want to ask for input on a management plan until we could provide all the background information about Barn Island."

Dreyer said report he helped create identifies several areas that should be addressed in the management plan, including how the marshes are being affected by sea level rise, specific parcels that should be added to the complex, and how to accommodate conflicting public uses. For example, he said, better communication including more signs about when and where hunting is allowed on the property, as well as restrictions on mountain biking and motor bikes there, may be needed. A system to coordinate the various scientific research projects there is recommended, along with identification of priorities for future research projects.

As part of the assessment report, Dreyer said, Jones led Conn students in identifying invasive and native species in forest areas at Barn Island, and compared old aerial forest maps to current conditions to determine what changes had occurred.

“We developed some really good maps showing the invasive species and characteristics of the forests,” he said.

Along with inventories of endangered and threatened plant and animal species at Barn Island, the report also addresses how the property could be managed to provide habitat for New England cottontail rabbit, and recommends how public access should be improved and managed.

Kilpatrick said the plan will list management actions that would be taken over the next five to 10 years. Based on the findings of the report, she said, some of the actions that may be included are more signs informing the public about the need to keep dogs leashed and the importance of hikers staying on marked trails and off the marshes to protect wildlife and habitat. Unauthorized trails may be closed off.

"There are things we need to convey to the public about how a wildlife area is managed differently from a state park," she said.

DEEP said a draft of its management plan will be available for public review and comment by this fall.

j.benson@theday.com

Barn Island Wildlife Management Area

More information:

To view the report, visit: www.ct.gov/deep/BarnIslandWMA

Public comments should be sent by June 30 to: Ann Kilpatrick, DEEP wildlife biologist, at: deep.WildlifeHabitat@ct.gov; by fax at (860) 295-8175; or by mail at: DEEP Eastern District Headquarters, 209 Hebron Road, Marlborough, CT 06447.