September 2024 

Cedar Island Environmental has a Facebook Page and a Cedar Island Enviro Facebook Group.  There is also a photo Gallery on the website.  The new Instagram account has the best photos and videos. If you wish to receive the newsletter, use any method in Contact Us to subscribe today.  The Intertidal Zone is an electronic publication on local environmental issues and news about the Long Island Sound and its surrounding estuaries including our harbors and rivers.

Happy Autumn Season ’24 

July 2023 

The strong influx of rain has closed numerous local beaches across Connecticut and the entire northeast United States. The Clinton Town Beach closed due to high bacteria levels on July 6th and reopened by July 10th according to Clinton CT Parks & Rec. Madison closed beaches due to extensive debris in Long Island Sound resulting from recent regional flooding. No swimming or boat launching was allowed at any Madison Town beach until further notice. This included The Surf Club, West Wharf and East Wharf. 

Rhode Island researchers tag 3rd white shark this year

Published July 07. 2021 12:29PM | Updated July 07. 2021 12:30PM

WAKEFIELD, R.I. (AP) — Researchers have tagged their second great white shark on the Rhode Island coast in two weeks. 

The Atlantic Shark Institute said in a statement that the female juvenile shark is about 5 1/2 feet long. It was tagged and released on Saturday.

The tag will allow researchers to trace the shark whenever it passes within 500 to 800 yards of an acoustic receiver. The tag should record the time that the shark swam by and it should for last 10 years, the Providence Journal reported.

Jon Dodd, executive director of the Atlantic Shark Institute, said this was the third shark they tagged this year. Fewer than 300 sharks have been tagged with this technology in the Northwest Atlantic, he said.

The tag will allow the institute to collect insightful information about complexities of white sharks, he said.

“That’s what makes this work so exciting and so important," Dodd said. “These juvenile white sharks aren’t easy to find, tag and release so every one of them is really important if we are to understand how size, age and sex plays a role in what they do and where they go.”

The Institute is studying sharks in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the newspaper said.

2.1 Million Gallons Of Raw Sewage Leaks Into Mill River

Sewage emptied into river and LI Sound. Branford, East Haven, Madison, West and New Haven beaches are closed and shell fishing scuttled.               By Ellyn Santiago, Patch Staff Jul 8, 2020 11:13 am ET | Updated Jul 8, 2020

East Haven Town Beach (pictured) is one of many beaches closed due to a sewage spill into the Mill River. Beaches and shellfishing areas were closed in East Haven, Branford, West Haven and New Haven. (Ellyn Santiago/Patch)

NEW HAVEN, CT — More than 2 millions gallons of raw sewage leaked into the Mill River and Long Island Sound this week, forcing officials to close beaches and shellfishing areas.

All beaches and shellfishing areas in Branford, East Haven, Madison, West Haven and New Haven were closed until further notice.

The Greater New Haven Waste Water Treatment Plant confirmed Wednesday the sewage was "released" into the river.

In a message to residents, the town of Branford said the beach closures will last for 2-3 days depending on water quality tests. The East Shore Health Department posted a notice about the closures on its website.

The conservation group Save the Sound said it learned of the leak Tuesday.

"We received word that a sewer main break was spilling raw sewage into the Mill River below the Whitney Dam in Hamden," the group wrote on Facebook. "The pipe has been fixed, but not before 2 million gallons of raw sewage flowed into the river."

Save the Sound said it is monitoring the situation, and "Soundkeeper Bill Lucey is on the lower Mill River (Wednesday) morning to take water samples."

The Greater New Haven Waste Water Treatment Plant has confirmed that 2.1 million gallons of raw sewage was released into the Mill River and it entered Long Island Sound. The discharge affects the cities of New Haven, West Haven and the towns of East Haven and Branford. Effective

— CTALERT (@CTALERT) July 8, 2020

Town of Branford, CT

July 8 at 10:45 AM · 

Community Message

Beach and Shellfishing area closures

July 8, 2020

The Greater New Haven Waste Water Treatment Plant has confirmed that 2.1 million gallons of raw sewage was released into the Mill River and it entered Long Island Sound. The discharge affects the cities of New Haven, West Haven and the towns of East Haven and Branford.

Effective immediately all Branford beaches and shellfishing areas are closed until further notice. We anticipate that the closures will last for the next 2-3 days depending on water quality testing. This applies to all public and private beaches.

"Unfortunately due to a leak that was not immediately stopped in New Haven the nearly 2 million gallons of untreated sewage was discharged into the water," East Haven Mayor Joseph A. Carfora said Wednesday. "The beaches unfortunately need to be close for several days to fishing, shell fishing and swimming."

In Madison, First Selectwoman Peggy Lyons first said the town's health department is "actively monitoring the situation and coordinating with DEEP on testing. If it is determined there is a risk to areas along our shoreline, we will close our beaches immediately and notify the community. " An hour later, Madison closed its beaches.

"The Madison, CT beaches are closed to swimming, fishing and shellfishing as we await testing after a sewage leak in the New Haven area," the town posted on its website.

Did You Know Seagulls Learn?                                  December 2015

Seagulls are very clever. They learn, remember and even pass on behaviours, such as stamping their feet in a group to imitate rainfall and trick earthworms to come to the surface. Seagulls can drink both fresh and salt water. Most animals are unable to do this, but seagulls have a special pair of glands right above their eyes which is specifically designed to flush the salt from their systems through openings in the bill. A small claw halfway up their lower leg enables them to sit and roost on high ledges without being blown off.

Keeping tabs on invasive shrimp in local waters

Published 07/21/2014    theday.com

Tali Greener/Special to The Day

Clockwise from bottom left, Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program interns Andrea Dunchus, Hugh Cipparone and Jess Groeneweg are assisted by Ellie Bors, a Ph.D. student from the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

College program assesses their impact

Old Saybrook — On just her third sweep with the long-handled dip net, Ellie Bors found what she was looking for.

"Guys," called Bors, a doctoral candidate at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, to the four marine sciences interns working with her at the Town Dock. "There's huge ... lots of shrimp here. And you know what's interesting? I got all these from the sediment."

She emptied the net into a shallow metal bin, examining each of the translucent, antennaed shrimp, the smallest about the size of a teardrop, before placing them into a sealed container for lab analysis.

"Sometimes it's really hard to tell what kind of shrimp they are until you get them under a microscope," said Bors. "On some level, shrimp just look like shrimp."

Bors and the four interns, part of the Williams College maritime studies program at Mystic Seaport, sampled three sites on the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook Friday as part of an East Coast survey this summer for three types of invasive shrimp, two from Europe and one from Asia. They were also looking for a fourth type native to Florida that was found last year at Woods Hole, far north of its normal range. The purpose of the surveys is to determine the distribution and abundance of these shrimp, and at the same time assess how populations of native grass shrimp are faring.

"It's a matter of whether the invasive shrimp will disrupt the role the grass shrimp play," said Nancy Balcom, associate director and extension leader at Connecticut Sea Grant, which is helping fund the surveys along with other Sea Grant branches from Maine to New Jersey and the state of Massachusetts. Connecticut Sea Grant is based at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus in Groton.

Tali Greener/Special to The Day Rebecca Barnard, a 2013 Temple University graduate, uses a large net to sweep the water for native and non-native shrimp along the dock at the Old Saybrook Town Dock Friday. Barnard is part of a group of interns from the Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program participating in an assessment survey of shrimp species and populations along the East Coast.

There are multiple efforts to try to prevent invasive species from entering estuaries such as Long Island Sound, including controls on where ballast water from shipping vessels can be discharged, Balcom said. Once a species enters an ecosystem, there is little that can be done to stop its spread, other than to keep tabs on how it's affecting other marine life, she said.

The European and Asian species, first found on the East Coast in 2001, are important parts of fish diets in their native ecosystems. Locally, the invasive shrimp project is being led by James Carlton, professor of Marine Sciences and director of the Mystic Seaport-Williams College program. Each week since June, the four interns have been sampling the Mystic River near the Seaport, at high and low tide and various times of day, to establish baseline data on the invasive shrimp and any changes in their abundance.

Since June, the group has collected one set of samples at brackish waters throughout the Northeast, finding them in some places they expected and others they didn't, Bors said, and are now working on their second set. Before coming to Old Saybrook, the group had been to Maine, New Hampshire, Cape Cod and Rhode Island, and were heading next to three sites in Milford before traveling to New York and New Jersey next week.

"It's not uncommon for invasive species to be in estuaries, because they have higher tolerances" for differences in salinity, Bors said. "And also a lot of ports are in estuaries."

Hurricane Season in the Atlantic begins June 1 and ends Nov 30

History teaches us that a lack of hurricane awareness and preparation are common threads among all major hurricane disasters. By knowing your vulnerability and what actions you should take, you can reduce the effects of a hurricane disaster. Hurricane hazards come in many forms, including storm surge, high winds, tornadoes, and flooding. This means it is important for your family to have a plan that includes all of these hazards. Download the Tropical Cyclone Preparedness Guide.  But remember, this is only a guide. The first and most important thing anyone should do when facing a hurricane threat is to use common sense.

Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Center. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. The original name lists featured only women's names. In 1979, men's names were introduced and they alternate with the women's names. Six lists are used in rotation. Thus, the 2009 list will be used again in 2015. Atlantic names for 2014:

Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna, Isaias, Josephine, Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky and Wilfred. The Clinton Harbor Hurricane Awareness Brochure is in this website's Resources section.

 SPOTLIGHTED COASTAL RESOURCE: 

Dredged Material from Clinton Harbor

Enhances a Beach at Hammonasset State Park 

Dredged material is not usually considered a valuable coastal resource.  More often than not, the material scooped from navigation channels and marina basins is mucky, fine-grained sediment that is unsuitable for beneficial reuse, and instead is deposited at carefully managed locations in Long Island Sound.  In fact, in an effort to deal with this issue and plan for potential alternatives for managing dredged material in Long Island Sound, the States of Connecticut and New York are working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the development of a comprehensive dredged material management plan for the Sound  (please see the June 2011 issue of Sound Outlook for more information on the plan).   

There are occasions, however, when dredged material is of such great quality that it can be beneficially reused rather than disposed of at sea.  Such was the case when the federal navigation channel in Clinton Harbor was being filled in by clean, uncontaminated beach sand migrating from adjacent Cedar Island.  Beaches are extremely dynamic resources, subjected to wave action and currents.  Just as sand is moved back and forth across the face of the beach by wave action, it is also swept along the shoreline by longshore currents.  In this way, sand from Cedar Island was being swept by currents along the shoreline and into the federal navigation channel, filling in the channel so much so that boaters had to time their Clinton Harbor arrivals and departures with high tide! 

The Connecticut DEEP authorized dredging of the federal channel in Clinton Harbor in 2008.  The partners involved in planning for the dredging project included the DEEP, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and  the Town of Westbrook, and the project was strongly supported by the operators of the marinas and facilities on the Indian and Hammonasset Rivers that were impacted by the filled-in channel.  The project was put on hold until financing could be secured.  In 2012--four years after the dredging was authorized--approximately $1 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and $1.7 million of State bond funds were pledged to cover the cost of this important project.    

During the four-year period that the project was on hold, conditions on Cedar Island had changed from those identified in the initial dredging application.  Representatives from DEEP, ACOE, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service visited the site again in 2012 to assess new conditions and develop a plan to protect and enhance habitat on Cedar Island for land-nesting birds and other wildlife.  The plan included a recommendation that vegetation that could serve as cover for predators of piping plovers and other shorebirds would be removed to protect nesting sites.  

Another significant benefit of the project was that the high-quality sand dredged from the channel would be deposited onto the beach at Hammonasset Beach State Park at no cost to the State of Connecticut!  The sand renourished an area of the park that had experienced chronic erosion.  In fact, the renourishment plan was developed during the application review process initiated in 2008, well before Topical Storm Irene and Super Storm Sandy hit the state.  

Piping Plovers Discovered on Cedar Island    23 June 2011

 By Joe Lanza, @IslandEnviro

Piping plover on the beach at Cedar Island, Clinton, CT     -     July 2011     -     Photo by Joe Lanza 

In late May, the CT DEP discovered a piping plover nest with 4 eggs on the Cedar Island Point. The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is a small sand‐colored, sparrow‐sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The breeding habitat includes sandy beaches and sand flats of the Atlantic coast.  Generally, Piping Plovers will forage for food around the high tide wrack zone and along the waters edge.  They mainly eat insects, marine worms, and crustaceans.  The Piping Plover is globally endangered. Critical nesting habitats are now being protected to help the population during its breeding season. Populations have significantly increased since the protection programs began, but the species remains in serious danger.  Current conservation strategies include identification and preservation of known nesting sites, public education, limiting or preventing pedestrian and/or off‐road vehicle traffic near nests and hatched chicks, limiting predation of free‐ranging cats, dogs and other pets on breeding pairs, eggs and chicks, and removal of predators.  Why should the residents of Cedar Island care or know about Piping Plovers?  Because in between Hammonasset State Park and Cedar Island is a protected area for birds that is home to Piping Plover nests.  The eggs are the color of sand to blend in and not be seen by predators and can easily be stepped on.  These birds are near threatened in our area, and their nesting sites should be avoided by humans and pets.  The piping plover became a protected species under the Endangered Species Act on January 10, 1986.  Along the Atlantic Coast it is designated as threatened, which means that the population would continue to decline if not protected.  The Endangered Species Act provides penalties for taking, harassing or harming the piping plover and affords some protection to its habitat.  http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pipingplover/

Piping plovers on the beach at Cedar Island, Clinton, CT     -     July 2011     -     Photo by Joe Lanza 

20 acres at former Griswold site in Madison to be preserved

Published: March 15, 2011     New Haven Register

MADISON — After about a month of talks, the Board of Selectmen decided Monday that 20.6 acres at the former Griswold Airport will be protected for conservation under easement.

Four of the five board members voted on that acreage, reasoning that it would not limit future use of the land. Selectman Joe MacDougald did not attend the meeting.

“I’d hate to have something locked in and then say, ‘Boy, things would work better if they were moved over by 5 feet,’” said First Selectman Fillmore McPherson.

The Ad Hoc Park Development Committee previously recommended a design that would include three multipurpose fields for active recreation and an open lawn of at least 3 acres for passive recreation, in addition to the conservation area. The 42-acre property may also include a nature and fitness trail, a kayak launch and a shellfish restoration facility.

The conservation area would include the southerly portion of one a hangar, which could potentially be used as a pavilion.

“The initial recommendation for the conservation area was 17.4 acres, but that had to be expanded in order to get land acquisition grant money,” said Alicia Betty, development manager at the Trust for Public Land. “I think this is a good compromise.”

Lobsters heading for the deep

Published 03/14/2011    theday.com

While their plight might not be as dramatic as that of polar bears drowning in the melting Arctic seas, the lobsters of Long Island Sound could be this region's poster child for climate change.

Lobster populations across all of southern New England, from the elbow of Cape Cod to the Sound, have sunk to what fisheries biologists consider dangerously low levels. Meanwhile, their kin to the north flourish, accompanied by a healthy fishery for this favorite culinary crustacean.

Since a major die-off in the Sound in the late 1990s, researchers have been studying possible causes, with most pointing to some convergence of factors including shell disease, overabundance of predators, toxins and pesticide residues from efforts to eradicate West Nile virus, overfishing and environmental changes in the Sound.

Now, however, one cause - water temperature - seems to be emerging as the chief perpetrator, the one that opens the door to the cascade of shell disease, pesticide sensitivity and increased vulnerability to predators attacking a weakened species. At least that's the conclusion reached by Penny Howell, fisheries biologist for the state Department of Environmental Protection, in cooperation with colleagues at the marine sciences department at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus in Groton.

When the waters of the Sound and elsewhere in southern New England warm to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and stay there for two months or more - a condition occurring more frequently with climate change - lobsters, it seem, become chronically distressed. The gills on their undersides flutter rapidly, they don't draw in the oxygen they need from the water and their off-kilter respiration leaves their blood saturated with carbon dioxide. Adding to that, warm water holds less oxygen than colder water, so the lobsters are working harder for less.

"They start to pant, just like a dog," said Howell, showing a slide of data correlating lobster respiration rates and water temperatures during her presentation at the Connecticut Conference on Natural Resources last week at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. "They have no other way of cooling themselves off. This causes respiratory stress."

Her data show an overall trend of warming seas in southern New England since the 1960s, and more extended periods over 68 degrees in the Sound since the '90s. From Cape Cod north, though, the waters have stayed cooler.

"This is not a linear effect," Howell said. "Lobsters are very tolerant (of changing water temperatures) until they can't tolerate it. It's a threshold effect."

Twice as many lobsters, she said, die from causes other than fishing in the sustained warmer waters versus cooler, and those that survive have compromised immunity.

The research is part of Howell's work at the DEP on issues involving management of lobster populations and rules governing the Sound's remaining commercial lobstermen, as the state and East Coast regulators try to figure out how to help this population recover and keep a culturally and economically important, but struggling, fishery alive. There are about 130 full- and part-time commercial lobstermen in Connecticut, down from a high of 707 in 1980. In the late 1990s, just before the die-off, there were 445.

"This is a management program that ran right smack dab into climate issues," Howell said. "There's no good news here."

Lobsters head for deep water

From sources including annual DEP sampling studies of the Sound, called trawl surveys, as well as thermometers attached to the traps of commercial lobstermen, Howell has determined that lobsters are surviving in the deepest waters of the Sound, where temperatures are likely to stay colder.

"In the 1980s we used to catch them in less than 30 feet," she said. Now, it's rare to find them in depths less than 90 feet.

"We've looked at the commercial catch, and it tells the same kind of story."

In the Sound, the deepest areas lie mainly in an east-west band across the center, although also in this region's waters of the eastern end and The Race. These have the added benefit of being cleaner than the western end due to more tidal flushing from the ocean and lack of the hypoxic, or oxygen-poor, conditions found in the western Sound.

These deeper waters, Howell said, are serving as refuges for the surviving lobsters, and she hopes a viable population will be able to hang on there until future generations have emerged with a greater tolerance for warm water.

"These animals can adapt, as long as things don't happen too fast," she said. "The problem is, we don't know how fast is too fast."

If recovery is possible, it won't be swift, her findings suggest, adding further information to persuade fisheries regulators that the already reduced commercial fishery must endure more catch limits if the lobster population is to survive.

New quotas possible

On March 21, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Lobster Management Board, a multi-state panel, will meet to consider new rules that would cut the current harvest south of Cape Cod by up to half or more, and could also curtail the season for the now year-round fishery. These measures are only slightly less drastic than the main proposal on the table last year - a five-year closure of the fishery - that now appears less likely to be adopted.

"It's the reduction the board feels is necessary," said Toni Kerns, senior fisheries management plan coordinator for the board. "If the environmental conditions don't change, yes, this will be a long-term issue."

A final decision is not likely to be made at the March meeting, she said. If the board agrees on a proposed action, public hearings and more meetings will follow until a final decision is made, possibly by the end of the year.

"There are legal regulatory demands, so we have to do something," said Nancy Balcom, associate director of Connecticut Sea Grant, based at Avery Point. "We thought by now we would have seen a recovery. We know this is hard for the fishermen to know so many things are against them."

Both she and Howell would like to see the research continue, to incorporate the effects of areas with low oxygen, factor in the effects of Connecticut River outflow on water temperature and accurately map the refuge areas with viable habitat. Howell would also like to determine what effect the warm water periods are having on reproduction, because it appears that either lobsters are laying fewer eggs, or the young are not surviving.

Lobstermen dispute findings

The seemingly inevitable direction in which the Atlantic States board is taking the fishery, however long it takes, leaves local lobstermen Mike Theiler of Waterford, Ray Konikowski of Norwich and Michael Grimshaw of Stonington frustrated and angry, as the chances of their long-term survival in their chosen careers seem to grow ever smaller.

For Theiler, who keeps his vessel at State Pier in New London, this isn't about a stressed natural resource, but rather jobs and economics. He questions Howell's research and conclusions, asserting that, "there have been other warm water periods. Water temperature has an effect, but not as extreme (as her findings indicate). Lobsters in this area are used to warm water. They move around.

"What the DEP is doing is drawing conclusions and trying to find the data to back it up," said Theiler, who is head of the Connecticut Commercial Lobstermen's Association.

The association, he said, will tell the regional fisheries board that any further effort to curtail the southern New England fishery would effectively kill it, meaning devastating losses for the fishermen from their investments in vessels, gear and knowledge of their trade and the waters of the Sound. His profits have been cut repeatedly in recent years by increases in the minimum legal size for lobsters, required widening of escape vents on traps and other measures.

"My margins now are only 10 to 15 percent," he said. "I have two crew on my boat, so that means this boat supports three families, and that doesn't include the fuel guy, the bait guy and the restaurants (that buy the lobsters). How are we going to replace those jobs?"

In his view, the regulators should back off and let the fishery find its own sustainable level. If the lobsters aren't there, fishermen will stop on their own - fuel and bait are too costly these days to make a paltry haul worthwhile.

"We'd be better off with less regulation," he said. "We're guys who just want to work. We don't want handouts."

Konikowski, who fishes with his wife, Jean, out of Groton, also questions whether the data being used by regulators is really giving an accurate picture of the fishery. He began lobstering 20 years ago, after the commercial fishery for striped bass was shut down due to overfishing.

"I got shut out of one fishery, and I invested $150,000 to get into this," said Konikowski, who is 68 years old. "It's very frustrating. I really believe they want to put everybody out of business."

These days, he said, up to half of the lobsters that end up in the 400 to 550 traps he has out at any one time end up getting thrown back for not meeting the legal size.

"And 85 to 90 percent of the ones we throw back would have made it under the last gauge size," he said.

Grimshaw said he doesn't think the regulators have given the legal size increases and other measures enough time to spur the population's recovery. Before they take steps that would effectively shut the fishery, he said, they should give more consideration to how the fishermen would be hurt.

"They might as well give us a five-year ban and pay us to stay home, like they do the farmers," said Grimshaw, who is president of the Southern New England Fishermen and Lobstermen's Association. "We're the ones bearing the brunt of the recovery efforts, as far as how they're going to rectify it."

Howell said she's hoping in the future to do cooperative studies with the commercial lobsterman who are able to hang on, to collect more information about the population and how it might be helped to rebuild. She stressed that while further reductions in the fishery appear necessary, lobstermen are not being blamed for the state of the population.

"It's not their fault, but the stocks are in deep trouble, and in order to keep it in viable shape we have to cut back," she said.

New England, Mid-Atlantic Beaches Eroding, Losing 1.6

Feet Per Year on Average

ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2011) — An assessment of coastal change over the past 150 years has found 68 percent of beaches in the New England and Mid-Atlantic region are eroding, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report.

Scientists studied more than 650 miles of the New England and Mid-Atlantic coasts and found the average rate of coastal change -- taking into account beaches that are both eroding and prograding -- was negative 1.6 feet per year. Of those beaches eroding, the most extreme case exceeded 60 feet per year.

The past 25 to 30 years saw a small reduction in the percentage of beaches eroding -- dropping to 60 percent, possibly as a result of beach restoration activities such as adding sand to beaches.

"This report provides invaluable objective data to help scientists and managers better understand natural changes to and human impacts on the New England and Mid-Atlantic coasts," said Anne Castle, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science. "The information gathered can inform decisions about future land use, transportation corridors, and restoration projects."

Beaches change in response to a variety of factors, including changes in the amount of available sand, storms, sea-level rise and human activities. How much a beach is eroding or prograding in any given location is due to some combination of these factors, which vary from place to place.

The Mid-Atlantic coast -- from Long Island, N.Y. to the Virginia-North Carolina border -- is eroding at higher average rates than the New England coast. The difference in the type of coastline, with sandy areas being more vulnerable to erosion than areas with a greater concentration of rocky coasts, was the primary factor.

The researchers found that, although coastal change is highly variable, the majority of the coast is eroding throughout both regions, indicating erosion hazards are widespread.

"There is increasing need for this kind of comprehensive assessment in all coastal environments to guide managed response to sea-level rise," said Dr. Cheryl Hapke of the USGS, lead author of the new report. "It is very difficult to predict what may happen in the future without a solid understanding of what has happened in the past."

The researchers used historical data sources such as maps and aerial photographs, as well as modern data like lidar, or "light detection and ranging," to measure shoreline change at more than 21,000 locations.

This analysis of past and present trends of shoreline movement is designed to allow for future repeatable analyses of shoreline movement, coastal erosion, and land loss. The results of the study provide a baseline for coastal change information that can be used to inform a wide variety of coastal management decisions, Hapke said.

The report, titled "National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Historical Shoreline Change along the New England and Mid-Atlantic Coasts," is the fifth report produced as part of the USGS's National Assessment of Shoreline Change project. An accompanying report that provides the geographic information system (GIS) data used to conduct the coastal change analysis is being released simultaneously.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Beach erosion

I thought the following article on beach erosion was worth a read: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110223154430.htm

Essentially it details how over the past 150 years 68% of beaches in New England and the Mid-Atlantic (650+ sites) have been eroding at an average rate of -1.6 feet per year. The article details some of the reasons behind this and that the past few decades seem to be reversing the trend slightly with the possible solution being beach restoration activities. This has been one of the feared outcomes of climate change for quite some time. As the sea-level rises and takes more of the beach with it the sand or marsh may naturally move inland as it comes. However, between the incredibly fast rate this is occurring (in relative terms) and the fact that many beaches and marshes are surrounded by human development these habitats cannot spread inland and will end up disappearing entirely.

Beach erosion seems to me to be one of those occasionally under-appreciated conservation issues. Let me use Long Beach and Pleasure Beach in Stratford and Bridgeport as an example. This extensive barrier beach hosts several pairs of Piping Plover and often tens of pairs of Least Tern each summer. These ESA birds are protected by the Connecticut DEP and volunteers who watch over their nesting sites and track their progress. String fencing is put up to prevent humans from impacting them too much yet allowing people passive recreation nearby. Cages are put over the Piping Plover nests so protect them further from predators. All of this is a well-tested and very successful system.

What if these birds do not have the available real estate to make a home? When the sandy beach erodes all the way to the dunes covered in vegetation, they will not be able to construct their nest. High tides and storm waves will wash out nests that are not a sufficient distance from the water. Beach erosion can essentially render all of our efforts meaningless. Last year a major March storm washed away a sizable part of Long Beach and Pleasure Beach, putting some of it in the parking lot and temporary USFWS road and more in Great Meadows Marsh. Too many of these storms and sea-level rise will eventually mean the end of nesting on beaches like this one if we do nothing to combat it.

Posted by Scott Kruitbosch 

Whale watching                    Published 02/08/2011  theday.com

Photo by Dana Jensen/The Day

Kela, a beluga whale at Mystic Aquarium, wears a crittercam while working with trainers for a short period of time Tuesday, February 8, 2011.

Mystic - Kela, a beluga whale at Mystic Aquarium, wears a Crittercam while working with trainers for a short period of time Tuesday. National Geographic and Mystic Aquarium are working together to test the Crittercam on beluga whales in captivity to see if it is possible to use the cameras in the wild.

National Geographic's Crittercam systems are research instruments worn by wild animals.

Day reporter Joe Wojtas will detail the project in Wednesday's newspaper.

Malloy proposes new state agency to coordinate energy

and environmental policies

Published 02/08/2011  theday.com

The state Department of Environmental Protection and the several state offices that oversee energy issues would be combined into a single agency, under a proposal announced by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy late Tuesday afternoon.

The new Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, or DEEP, would “allow for more effective coordination of state energy and environmental policies,” Malloy’s office said in a news release. David Bednarz, spokesman for Malloy, said the proposal would be presented to the state Legislature in the current session, and would need lawmakers’ approval to go forward.

He referred further questions on issues such as staffing levels of the new agency and overall budget in comparison to current spending to another spokesman, who could not be reached.

In the news release, Malloy said the merger would enable the state to have cohesive energy and environmental policies that would be especially beneficial for economic, development, siting, permitting and other issues.

“Under this new agency,” he said, “we will better integrate and coordinate our state’s energy and environmental policy in order to strengthen our ability to protect the environment; to clean, conserve and lower the cost of energy; and to set the table for rapid and responsible economic growth.”

Dennis Schain, spokesman for the DEP, declined to comment. However state Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, co-chairman of the Environment Committee, said he will be eager to hear the details, including the budgetary implications. Malloy is scheduled to present his proposed budget Feb. 16.

“Wow,” Roy said. “We’ve all been talking about how we’re going to have some big changes that will surprise people. I admire the governor for doing something that’s bold.”

He cautioned, however, that he wouldn’t want to create a bureaucracy that is too large to function efficiently. Also, he said, bringing together the different cultures of different offices, particularly those that may at times have opposing missions, could prove challenging.

“But if you have the right people, those things can be worked out,” he said.

Currently the DEP oversees a wide variety of areas ranging from environmental permitting to enforcement of anti-pollution laws, wildlife protection, state parks and forests, waste management and natural resource regulation and protection, among others.

Energy-related functions are carried out by various state offices, including those located within the Office of Policy and Management and the Department of Public Utility Control.

The new department would “continue its environmental conservation and regulation functions,” according to the news release, and “couple them closely with energy policy and pricing.” Energy policy would become centralized in two bureaus within DEEP, the Bureau of Energy Policy and Efficiency and the Bureau of Utilities Control.

The first bureau would develop the state’s energy policy and work for greater economy and efficiency in energy use by state buildings, Malloy’s office said. OPM staff from its energy unit would be transferred to this bureau.

The Bureau of Utilities Control, which would be staffed with transferred DPUC employees, would conduct management audits of utility companies, issue legal notices, conduct public hearings, adjudicate contested cases and conduct investigations, among other duties, according to the news release.

Conn. DEP OKs dumping snow into Long Island Sound

Published February 04, 2011        New Haven Register

The state Department of Environmental Protection today announced it is giving municipalities some flexibility to dispose of snow in salt water and certain waterways when “all options for upland storage or other disposal methods have been exhausted.”

Dennis Schain, communications director for the DEP, said New Haven had been in touch with the agency about possibly using New Haven Harbor as a dumping place for snow. A message has been left with the city seeking comment.

“The DEP recognizes that the amount of snow accumulating this winter is creating unique issues for cities and towns,” DEP Commissioner Amey Marrella said in a statement. “When it comes to disposing of all this snow, we must strike the right balance between environmental protection and public safety.”

The statement said DEP’s revised best management practices, which provide guidance on the issue, “are consistent with EPA guidelines and those of neighboring states such as Massachusetts and New Jersey. This revised guidance takes effect only when authorized by the Commissioner of DEP, applies only to cities, town and other government entities, and applies only to snow and ice not visibly contaminated with material other than salt and sand from road clearing activities.”

But the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, a nonprofit environmental legal and advocacy organization based in New Haven, said it urges communities not to use the Sound for snow dumping.

“Taking the massive buildup of snow we currently have and dumping it in our waterways is the equivalent of dumping municipal garbage into our rivers and Long Island Sound — it should remain illegal in all but the most extreme and controlled circumstances,” Roger Reynolds, senior attorney for CFE. said in a statement.

“The snow that is currently on the ground is not just water — it contains garbage, motor oil and feces from animals, among many other toxic and bacterial pollutants. We urge the DEP to ensure that towns and cities dispose of snow in waterways only when there are true public safety threats and only when it has been objectively documented that all other options, such as storing snow in parks or ball fields or melting it with equipment, have been thoroughly and genuinely exhausted," he said in the statement

 The DEP "must closely monitor compliance with its relaxed guidelines and strictly enforce any deviations or the result could be a disaster for our waterways," the CFE statement said.

Marrella said, also in the statement, that “the preferred practice has been – and remains – for plowed snow to be stockpiled at upland locations, such as parks and playing fields, due to the presence of contaminants in the snow that can adversely impact water quality and aquatic life.”

The BMPs have recommended disposing of snow in upland areas and away from water bodies due to the presence of dirt, salt, litter, pet waste and other debris, which are routinely mixed in the accumulated snow. These types of contaminants can be cleaned after snow melts at inland storage areas but has an adverse effect when placed in water bodies and waterways.

Marrella said, “The DEP will assess the experience and impacts of any snow disposal in water this winter so we can make sound and scientific decisions about best practices in the future. As a result, it is critical for municipalities to notify us either before or as soon as possible after snow has been disposed of into a water body so that we can later assess the environmental impact on specific water bodies.

The DEP revised BMPs include these terms and conditions:

* Upland storage and disposal of snow (i.e., athletic fields, parks and other flat, open-field sites) and other snow management methods (i.e., snow melting equipment) must be the first alternatives explored and exhausted. Environmentally sensitive areas must be avoided;

* This applies only to snow and ice which is not visibly contaminated with material other than salt and sand from road clearing activities

* For coastal communities, preference should be given to snow disposal in salt water where available

* Disposal in rivers or streams must be limited to those water bodies that have adequate flow and mixing and are not prone to ice jams

* Disposal must occur only in open water in areas that will not interfere with navigation

* Disposal must be conducted in a manner so as to prevent ice dam formation or damage to bridges, docks, or other structures

* Disposal in ponds and lakes is discouraged

* There shall be no disposal in coastal or freshwater wetlands, eelgrass beds, vegetated shallows, vernal pools, shellfish beds mudflats, public water supply reservoirs and their tributaries, or others areas designated as being environmentally sensitive;

* The activity must comply with local laws and requirements;

* Precautions must be taken to avoid shoreline or stream bank damage or erosion from truck/equipment activity; and

* Governmental entities must notify the Department by e-mail (kevin.sowa@ct.gov) prior to disposing of snow and ice in waterways or, if advance notification is not possible, then the Department must be contacted as soon as possible after snow disposal has begun.

Revised BMPs for snow removal can be found at http://www.ct.gov/dep/snowdisposal

Environment Chairman Wants more DEP Permiting and

Enforcement

Published 02/03/2011

Press Release

HARTFORD – State Sen. Ed Meyer (D-Guilford), the Senate Chairman of the Environment Committee, said today that his top environmental priority for the 2011 legislative session is to have enough DEP permitting and enforcement personnel in place to carry out last year’s Democratic ‘DEP permit streamlining’ bill, Public Act 10-158, and to provide adequate staff to enforce Connecticut’s environmental laws and standards.

That permitting bill was touted by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) as a “historic” bill “that will help Connecticut’s economy and jobs” and “make the state a more attractive place for business investment and job creation.”

Sen. Meyer has introduced Senate Bill 60, which requires the DEP to establish staffing levels that enable it to fully perform all of the department’s permitting and enforcement responsibilities “in a timely and responsive manner.” The bill will receive its public hearing this Monday, January 31, beginning at Noon in Room 1-E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

“No business would ever set sales quotas without the people, machinery and materials in place to achieve that goal. No army would ever go to war without the men and munitions needed to win the battle,” Sen. Meyer said. “The DEP is no different in that it must have a sufficient number of people in place to review and inspect business applications if we are to ever see new job growth in this state. And for the past decade the DEP has been moving backwards in that regard. That’s why this bill is so important.”

Sen. Meyer noted that: 

DEP’s total positions are at their lowest level since 1987 (942 in 2010 vs. 964 in 1987.) Positions peaked at 1,151 in 2002 and have declined every year since.

DEP’s budget, adjusted for inflation, is lower now than at its creation in 1972.

The number of DEP inspections conducted in 2006 (6,791) was less than half the number conducted in 1997 (14,587).

For the first time since 2005, the overall rate of compliance with pertinent environmental regulations fell below 90% (in 2009). 

“The DEP can shift employee duties internally, or hire new employees, but the bottom line is that we need to make this investment immediately if Connecticut is to pull itself out of these economic doldrums,” Sen. Meyer said.

Don's Dock, Port Niantic win 'clean marina' awards

Published 02/01/2011     New London Day

The state Department of Environmental Protection has recognized marinas in Stonington and Niantic for participating in voluntary measures to help keep waterways clean.

Don's Dock and Port Niantic were presented with Clean Marina certification during a ceremony at the Hartford Boat Show, sponsored by the Connecticut Marine Trades Association this past week. The two marinas join 27 others that have received the designation for efforts that go beyond the required compliance with environmental regulations.

Don's Dock on Lamberts Cove in Stonington has 82 dock slips, 11 moorings, and a fueling station, and stores up to 125 boats in the winter. Most boats serviced at Don's Dock are between 12 and 23 feet in length.

"Since the environment is such a large part of our day-to-day operations, we are proud to be a part of the Clean Marina Program," said Ian Hetherington of Don's Dock. "We have always felt that protecting our surrounding environment is a crucial part of our continuing business and appreciate being recognized for our extra efforts."

Port Niantic, on the Niantic River, has 81 deep water slips and 100 indoor storage racks with a valet launch service. Indoor and outdoor winter storage is available.

Scott Bowden, manager of Port Niantic said, "Accepting this award as a member of the original Clean Marina Committee, I have the satisfaction of seeing everyone's hard work rewarded."

"I want to thank the staff and the customers at Port Niantic Inc. for their continuing dedication to improving the environment."

Both marinas voluntarily reduced their environmental impacts with the use of dustless sanders and tarps under boats when boats are being maintained. Don's Dock maintains a plant buffer between the uplands and the marina basin and provides bags to customers for pet waste.

At Port Niantic, customers have access to a pumpout cart and two fish cleaning stations. In addition, the Niantic marina has limited its paved areas on site to reduce stormwater runoff at the marina and it also provides plastic bags for customers for waste.

Other local DEP-approved Clean Marinas include: Saybrook Point Inn Marina and Spa in Old Saybrook; the Shennecossett Yacht Club in Groton; Dodson Boatyard in Stonington; Gwenmor Marina in Mystic; Connors & O'Brien Marina in Pawcatuck; Mystic Shipyard West in Mystic, and Three Belles Marina in East Lyme.

Also, the Spicer's Marina in Noank; Reynolds Garage & Marine in Lyme; Brewer Dauntless Marina and Brewer Dauntless Shipyard in Essex; Brewer Yacht Yard at Mystic; Brewer Ferry Point Marina in Old Saybrook, and the Mystic Shipyard East in Mystic.

Seaweed Bioextraction Project Highlighted in UConn Today

December 14, 2010

Read about the efforts of Charles Yarish, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus, to improve water quality in the Sound by cultivating and harvesting algae to reduce (bioextract) nutrients in Long Island Sound at UConn's campus newspaper, UConn Today. Yarish received a $110,000 grant from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund to pilot test the project off the coast of Bridgport and in the mouth of the Bronx River in the Bronx.

Wayward manatee visits Clinton

Published 08/21/2010

Clinton - Cedar Island Marina was buzzing with excitement as a manatee circled the dock today around noon. Marina staff said the manatee had been swimming in visible areas for several hours.

Staff member Craig Lennon grabbed his camera to photograph the manatee and reported in an e-mail, "He stopped under our storm drain and sipped on some water for a while and then swam off."

Lennon said staff notified Mystic Marinelife Aquarium and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

Mike Gilman, a biologist who works at Cedar Island Marina, arrived to find the manatee swimming in two feet of shallow water. Gilman said that "every year there are a couple of [manatee] spottings" in the Sound. He said manatees tend to follow the warm water, which is why they wander from southern areas up to the Sound.

Gilman said the manatee was unique in that it had two scars on his back, which he believes were caused by boat propellers.

Photo by Craig Lennon / Cedar Island Marina

A manatee stopped to drink some fresh water dripping from the storm drain in Clinton's Cedar Island Marina area.

Manatee spotted in Clinton marina

Published : Friday, 20 Aug 2010

Clinton, Conn. (WTNH) - A manatee, not usually seen this far north, was spotted at a marina in Clinton.

Folks at the Cedar Island Marina were surprised to see the manatee, about 9 or 10 feet long, Friday morning.

"The water at the time was about two and a half three feet deep. It just came over, rolled right on his back and just drank water. Right from that pipe right there. Right from the drain and he just stayed there and just drank water," said Beth Patrizzi.

Beth Patrizzi who works in the research lab at Cedar Island Marina says the manatee looks a lot like one seen in Bridgeport two days ago. It may be rare, but these mammals, known as sea cows, do sometimes make their way into the warm New England waters.

"It was amazing. I never saw anything up close like that up close. It was fun," said boater Donna Silks.

"It was completely carefree. It just laid on its back. Everyone was just looking over the dock and taking pictures," said Larry Silks.

Someone even tried to feed it lettuce. But it wasn't interested and eventually swam out with the tide.

"I'm a mammal lover. When it comes to marine mammals it's just what gets me excited. So to see a manatee here in a marina I've been working at is just absolutely breathtaking," Patrizzi said.

Patrizzi believes by now the manatee has already left Clinton harbor and is back out into the Long Island Sound.

Jellyfish showing up early at local beaches

Published 07/27/1010

Most summers, swimmers at local beaches don't start seeing those annoying, tentacled creatures known as jellyfish until sometime in August.

This summer, the translucent blobs started undulating through coastal waters at the beginning of July, though in moderate numbers.

"It's been very early," Bonnie Mello, beach manager at Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly, said Monday. "We're seeing one or two stings a day."

Moon jellies, the clear and smaller of the two most common types locally, are most of what's been seen so far. But a few of the reddish, larger lion's mane jellies have been carried with the tides into the region as well.

Of the two, lion's mane packs the stronger sting, though neither's sting is usually serious enough to warrant treatment stronger than a spray of vinegar to quell the sensation.

"Last week it was pretty bad, but today we've had none, so maybe they're gone," said David Sugrue, manager of Ocean Beach Park in New London. "They started coming in the second week of July instead of in late August. It used to be you knew the end of summer by when the jellyfish came in."

At Waterford Town Beach, jellyfish arrived just after the beach opened for the season and children were starting swim lessons. Ryan McNamara, assistant recreation and parks director for the town, said their small numbers didn't interfere with the lessons.

Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme also had an early appearance by jellyfish, but their numbers have gone down lately, said Dennis Schain, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. When the waters were flush with jellies, the first aid station at the busy public beach had been seeing two to three people a day for jellyfish stings, he said.

The reason for the early arrivals appears at least in part due to warmer-than-normal water this summer. At Misquamicut, for example, the water is 76 degrees, Mello said, a temperature usually not reached until mid-August. At Ocean Beach, the water is 74 degrees.

At the New England Aquarium in Boston, a special exhibit on jellyfish running through the end of August is highlighting some of the factors helping them to thrive, said Tony LaCasse, aquarium spokesman.

"Over the last several decades," he said, "there's been a documented significant increase in the density and numbers of jellyfish in all the coastal areas of North America."

Their early arrival this year in Long Island Sound, as well as in other areas of New England, LaCasse said, could be due to a combination of warm water temperatures, particular patterns of ocean currents and nutrient overloading. He noted an incident at a New Hampshire beach last week in which about 150 people were stung by the stray tentacles of a huge lion's mane jellyfish that had broken apart when a lifeguard tried to remove it from the water.

LaCasse recalled the spring floods that caused overflows at many sewage treatment plants in New England that empty into coastal waters, releasing nutrients that fed algae blooms. When the algae die, they consume oxygen and become food for jellyfish, which also eat plankton, fish larvae and fish eggs. An abundance of jellyfish also means fewer adult fish, some of which eat jellies.

"If you have polluted water with reduced oxygen and increased temperatures, you'll see more jellyfish," LaCasse said. "They're able to compete better against the finfish."

Officials warn beachgoers of vulnerable birds

Westbrook (AP) - Connecticut officials have issued a public plea to beachgoers to beware of vulnerable birds nesting near some busy shoreline parks and islands.

Some of the birds, including the piping plover, are endangered or threatened.

The state Department of Environmental Protection says beachcombers and sunbathers can accidentally trample the nests. It says eggs and hatchlings will die if the birds abandon the disturbed sites.

Besides the piping plovers, officials are concerned about herons, least terns and egrets. They're nesting through September in areas where people or pets might disturb them.

Charles Island in Milford and Duck Island in Westbrook already are closed to the public through Sept. 9 to protect vulnerable nesting areas.

Enter Our 1st Annual Cedar Island Nature Photo Contest!

Your favorite nature photos could win the Cedar Island 2010 Nature Digital Photo Competition and inspire others to protect nature. 

Your own original digital images of our lands, waters, plants, animals and people in nature from the greater Cedar Island region (Hammonasset State Park, Madison to Duck Island, Westbrook) are all eligible for the competition.

This year, at least 15 photos will be selected as honorable mentions and finalists. Our online community will then vote on the favorite image, which will determine the Grand Prize Winner. To enter one or more images, use the Cedar Island Environmental Web site or you can complete our online form and e-mail each photo, one at a time to island.enviro@gmail.com.

The competition is open to all photographers age 18 or older regardless of residence or citizenship, so long as the laws of their jurisdiction allow participation. Photo submissions must be uploaded by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time Monday, September 6, 2010 (Labor Day).  Please read the full rules before entering.

Thank you for all you do to showcase and celebrate the beauty of our Cedar Island natural world — inspiring others to protect our most critical natural resources.  And good luck!

Cedar Island Recycling Proposal by Renee Lanza, 28 May 2010

Marine Waters Fishing Licenses

Marine Waters Fishing Licenses are required for anyone 16 years of age or older fishing from shore or from a boat in the

marine district or landing marine fish or bait species in Connecticut taken from offshore waters. Licenses are issued on a calendar year basis and expire on December 31st.

The Marine Waters Fishing License (also known as a Saltwater Fishing License) is an annual sport fishing license issued on a calendar year basis. Anyone age 16 or older, fishing (taking or attempting to take fish or bait species) from shore or from a boat in the marine district of this state or landing marine fish or bait species in Connecticut taken from offshore waters is required to have one.

Most of state fishing and hunting licenses are available on our website through the

Online Sportsmen Licensing System at ct.outdoorcentral.net/InternetSales   Licenses are also available at Clinton Town Clerk at Town Hall.

Clean Boater

The cumulative impact of the approximately 165,000 recreational boats on Long Island Sound can be considerable, which is why it is important for each boater to share the responsibility for keeping our water clean.

Clean water and clean air make boating experiences more enjoyable. By becoming aware of some of the environmental hazards that are associated with boating, and using sound environmental boating practices, you can help protect our resources and ensure the future health of Connecticut’s waters.

The Clean Boater Program encourages the state’s boaters to learn about and implement clean boating techniques.

It doesn’t matter if you are a sailboater, motorboater, or a paddler, we all get enjoyment from clean water, which is thriving with life. If you unintentionally leave trash, plastic, sewage, fishing line, or invasive species, you can have a negative impact on the quality of Connecticut’s waters.

Long Island Sound (LIS) is a valuable natural resource. It provides us with food, jobs, recreation and beauty, as well as provides unique habitat for fish, birds and wildlife.

NEMO's Focus on the Coast, Your Online Resource Center

Focus on the Coast is an online resource for information on Connecticut's coastal natural resources and current issues and projects along our coast. The website provides descriptions of major coastal habitats that you will find in Connecticut and some of the threats that are impacting these habitats as well as ongoing projects that are restoring or managing these resources.

At this site, you can link to digital maps and information via the Community Resource Inventory on priority coastal resource areas and land cover or, link to a variety of other sites that can help you protect your valuable coastal habitat areas.      http://nemo.uconn.edu/tools/fotc/index.htm

This website was developed as an educational resource and technical tool that is complementary to the NEMO Focus on the Coast workshop, which is available for the asking to come to your town (click here to learn more). Focus on the Coast is a collaborative effort between the Connecticut NEMO Program and Connecticut Sea Grant.

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