State (Conn.) Receives $1 Million Federal Grant for Land Acquisition to Protect Coastal Wetlands

Contact: Terri Edwards 413/253-8324 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today awarded a $1 million National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for the purchase of 144 acres adjacent to the Barn Wildlife Management Area in Stonington. The combined acreage of the acquisition and the wildlife area will become the largest protected coastal land holding in Connecticut. The federal grant will supplement a $1.3 million contribution from the state and donations totaling $184,600 from other public and private entities, including The Nature Conservancy, Connecticut Waterfowl Association, New Haven Bird Club, Connecticut Wetlands Restoration Partnership, town of Stonington, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center and Audubon Society of Hartford.