Speaking of rising sea levels, here is a link to an article from National Wildlife Federation
which tells what the impact of global warming is and will have upon Connecticut.
http://www.nwf.org/globalwarming/pdfs/Connecticut.pdf

For educators:  we need to get the kids out of the classroom and into the fields,
forests, rivers... to help them connect with and experience nature.

Yes, overpopulation is a problem as is:  overconsumption and very poor land use.
There are an awful lot of vacant buildings everywhere sitting idly on land already
built upon.  Recycle the buildings and land instead of spreading/sprawling out
even further and so unnecessarily destroying even more natural spaces.

Keep warm.
Meredith Sampson
Old Greenwich

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And speaking yet again of rising sea levels, that is one of the primary reasons it would have been great to see Griswold Airport acquired as an addition to Hammonasset.  Meadow habitat upland of tidal marshes is getting to be a very rare commodity and such habitat makes for a natural corridor for landward migration of the marsh habitat in an atmosphere of rising sea levels.  Our tidal marshes are significantly ringed with development, which is one of the primary risk factors that makes Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow a globally "Vulnerable" species on the IUCN "Red list".  Quoting from the Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan for the Southern New England Physiographic Area 9 : Management guidelines for tidal marshes:
" ·  Secure adequate upland buffers (drier habitats adjoining wet marsh areas), especially for marshes near agricultural lands and human development" and
"·  Reduce human disturbance , especially from marshes with known breeding sites for any of the priority species in this habitat type" and
"·  Protect marshes from chemical contamination, siltation, eutrophication, and other forms of pollution"

Each of those are good justification for protecting Griswold Airport, but none of them carry much weight in terms of preventing development of private property.

It may seem like Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Species are common and something that we don't need to worry about, but that is only because we are smack in the heart of their range.  They occur at a higher density here than perhaps anywhere else in the world, giving us the illusion that they are a common species.

I do want to thank Ron for his insight.  He is certainly correct in that once some sort of development is proposed on private property, it is very hard to stop it.  This is why I think that perhaps the most important thing we can do for bird conservation is to identify the critical areas and areas most at risk for development and be proactive about conserving those areas before development is proposed for them.  Once something is before a P&Z board, it may be too late, as wildlife and habitat have little bearing in such decisions.  Chris Elphick at UCONN has some great ideas on how to accomplish such an inventory and hopefully we can get the funding to bring his ideas to fruition...and also have the resources available to protect the most important and at risk habitats.  I often say that if a key area is privately-owned, you have to have the assumption that it will eventually be developed unless you work to protect it ahead of time.

Patrick Comins, Meriden