Connecticut seeks to join national estuarine research program
Groton — A site in Long Island Sound would be designated as the focus for research, monitoring, education and increased protection under a proposal for the state to join a federal-state partnership program.
The National Estuarine Research Reserve program, sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, began in 1986 and now includes 1.3 million acres of estuaries at 29 sites in 20 coastal states and two Great Lakes states. NEER sites are located on the Hudson River in New York, at Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island and Waquoit Bay in Massachusetts.
Connecticut and Louisiana are the only coastal states without NEER sites, said Ivar Babb, a member of the steering committee to bring the project to Connecticut.
“One of the questions we want to answer for the site in Long Island Sound is, ‘How is it unique? How would it contribute to a larger research network?’” said Babb, who is director both of the Northeast Underwater Research Technology and Education Center and the Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence — Technology & Engineering for Knowledge. Both centers are at the Avery Point campus of the University of Connecticut.
From 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium of the Academic Building at Avery Point, the public will have a chance to learn about the NEER effort, ask questions and give input.
During the meeting, four areas in the Sound being considered for nomination as a NEER site will be announced, said Kevin O’Brien, environmental analyst for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The agency is working with UConn on the NEER project.
“We’ll present our final candidates and why we picked them,” he said. “They are spread geographically across the Sound, in different habitats.”
All four sites are already publicly owned and have some level of protection, he said. Based on feedback during the meeting and further work by the steering committee, one site would be chosen from the four for nomination to NOAA by the end of the year, he said.
If approved by NOAA, a detailed site characterization and management plan would be written for the site, Babb said.
NOAA provides 70 percent of funding for research, education and stewardship projects at NEER sites, while partner states provide the remainder, Babb said.
Research focuses on ways to keep the estuary where the NEER site is located healthy, while monitoring focuses on making contributions to the larger national project, according to the NOAA website. NEER sites also are used to train local and state officials about the environment and data can be used in land-use decisions. The sites are also used for field-based lessons for children and adults, and to create school curriculums that are made available online. Topics that can be covered in these lessons include: nonpoint source pollution, resilient communities, habitat restoration, invasive species and the basic science of estuaries.
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For more information on the National Estuarine Research Reserve program, visit:
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