Projects and Research

1) Tern Monitoring Project - participate in a range-wide research project focused on the endangered roseate tern that encourages the collection of productivity, provisioning, and tern movement data.

2) Salt Marsh Integrity Study - a region-wide program to asses the health of our salt marshes

3) Shorebird Monitoring - annual surveys of nesting shorebirds on the refuge - species include piping plover, American oystercatcher, and least tern

4) Invasive Plant Mapping - we are currently mapping all of our Units for priority invasive plant species so we have a better idea of the density, location, and management options for these populations

5) Long-term Bee Monitoring - in partnership with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, we are sampling the bees at the Salt Meadow Unit to contribute to baseline data on these populations for the state

6) Stratford-Great Meadows Restoration – in partnership with NOAA, CTDEEP, Audubon Connecticut and several others – this project will restore hundreds of acres of salt marsh salt marsh
Salt marshes are found in tidal areas near the coast, where freshwater mixes with saltwater.

Learn more about salt marsh
habitat so that at-risk species like salt marsh sparrows can survive and nuisance species like mosquitoes are reduced

7) Kirtland Landing Improvement Project – in partnership with the Town of Westbrook, USDOT, CTDOT and others – this project will provide major improvements so visitors can more easily access the Menunketesuck River and the water portion of the refuge’s Salt Meadow Unit for non-motorized watercraft and small boats.