Connecticut Port Authority Begins Monitoring Project Following Housatonic River Dredging

The Connecticut Port Authority, in conjunction with the Connecticut Audubon Society, is beginning a program to monitor the population of Piping Plovers at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison.

The program is part of the follow up work required as a condition of federal approval for a dredging project that took material from the Housatonic River to re-build part of the beach at Hammonasset. The project was funded and completed by the Connecticut Port Authority at the end of 2017.

Monitoring of the restored section of beach, supervised by Connecticut Audubon, will begin on March 15 and continue at least until mid-July. If plovers begin to populate the rejuvenated beach area, appropriate fencing and signage will be put in place to prevent beach-goers from disturbing the bird’s nesting areas. Up to $100,000, covering the next five years, was set aside in the project budget to pay for this environmental protection initiative.