Hammonasset Beach State Park has been awarded $2.7 million in federal funds to restore salt marshes and other fragile infrastructure.
The beach is Connecticut’s largest and most visited park in the state, with 3 million visitors annually.
However, due to the rising tide, the beach has lost over 300 feet of shoreline and over thirteen acres of salt marsh over the last 20 years.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) made the funding announcement on Thursday. He said protecting open spaces like Hammonasset is essential.
“The losses in salt marsh and shoreline call on us to invest and restore this treasure before it is eroded further,” Blumenthal said. “And to replace the culverts to do the restoration it takes investment. This $2.7 million is a good step, a start, not the finish.”
Audubon Connecticut will use the money over the next three years to design and build a living shoreline to protect and rebuild some of the lost salt marshes.
The project will also provide paid work and education opportunities for local students.
Jaden Langston, a 16-year-old high school student from Bridgeport, is part of Audubon Connecticut’s Wildlife Guards Youth Employment Program.
“When I heard about Audubon I thought, okay, this will be like a great place to go outdoors, help clean up trash any way I can,” Langston said. “And the fact that I got to learn about some birds and what types of animals are on the beaches is actually pretty cool, so I liked it a lot.”
The beach has around 1500 feet of actively eroding shoreline.
