CT NERR nears official designation

By Judy Benson, CT Sea Grant

This story was originally featured in Wracklines Volume 21, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2021-22 (full issue here).

Kayaks, waders and seine nets will be the equipment of choice for experiences in what is set to become the nation’s 30th federally designated estuarine research reserve. Estuaries are the rich zones where rivers meet the sea. Hiking boots, snowshoes and bicycles will have their place there, too. But the area marked for the 50,000-acre CT NERR—Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve—is a mostly watery world. “The majority of our Reserve is aquatic,” said Jamie Vaudrey, assistant research professor of marine science at UConn and one of the leaders of the CT NERR project. “The land components of the reserve are all connected to each other by the waters of Long Island Sound and Fishers Island Sound.” Continue reading →