After the habitat conservation victories of the past year and a half, Audubon is now engaged in municipal conservation planning processes at Griswold Airport in Madison, East River Preserve (Goss) in Guilford, and Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport.

In Madison, the Town has created a 9-member planning committee, chaired by former Conservation Commission chair, and UCONN professor, George McManus, to determine the future development and use of the 42-acre Griswold Airport site. Audubon is actively participating in the committee process, which is expected to take 9-12 months. The property is currently closed to the public, but we hope to be able to host periodic bird walks during the summer and fall. Recently, we led a bird walk on the property that highlighted the wide range of bird species utilizing the area, including Saltmarsh and Seaside Sparrows, Little Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, Northern Waterthrush, and Blackpoll Warbler.

Guilford's East River Preserve Management Planning Committee is working hard to develop a plan for the 624-acre property adjacent to Audubon's Salt Meadow Sanctuary. Audubon participated in a recent public forum on the process and submitted written comments outlining planning priorities. We will also serve as a resource to the Committee going forward. Strong representation from our local Menunkatuck Audubon Society Chapter on the Committee brings an added level of bird expertise to the process. Senator Ed Meyer and Representative Patricia Widlitz successfully secured authorization for $2 million in state bond funding for the project ($1M each in FY11-12), but the current economic and fiscal climate may make it unlikely that the funds will be released by the State Bond Commission any time soon.

At Great Meadows, USFWS has completed construction of a temporary access road and plans to begin cottage demolition after the end of nesting season. Plans are actively underway for the 3rd Annual Stratford Bird Festival scheduled for September 23-25th. At a recent meeting of the Pleasure Beach Revitalization Committee, we learned that the City is preparing an RFQ to develop a plan for the site. The City is exploring options that may include more active recreation than is compatible with sound habitat conservation goals. Audubon is engaged in conversation with the City and partners around these issues. Education and outreach around the benefits of conservation at both Pleasure Beach and long Beach West will be a top priority this summer.