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<DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN STYLE="font-size:10pt">The proposed CT NERR upland area (approximately 1,955 acres) include the following properties:</SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-size:10pt">• Bluff Point complex in Groton: including Bluff Point State Park, Bluff Point Coastal Reserve (CR), and Bluff Point Natural Area Preserve (NAP)</SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-size:10pt">• Haley Farm State Park in Groton</SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-size:10pt">• Roger Tory Peterson NAP in Old Lyme; formerly Great Island Wildlife Management Area</SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-size:10pt">• Lord Cove NAP in Lyme and Old Lyme; formerly Lord Cove Wildlife Management Area</SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-size:10pt">• Pine Island in Groton, a State Archaeological Preserve</SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-size:10pt">• DEEP Marine District Headquarters in Old Lyme</SPAN></P><P><SPAN STYLE="font-size:10pt">• UConn Avery Point Campus in Groton</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN>NOAA’s criteria for determining the boundaries of a NERR are outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations (15 C.F.R. § 921.11). These criteria are summarized below:</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>• Key land and water areas that approximate an ecological unit: Reserve boundaries must encompass an adequate portion of key land and water areas of the natural system to approximate an ecological unit and should encompass resources representative of the total biogeographic habitat.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>• Encompass areas with adequate controls: NOAA regulations require there be a level of control over uses and activities to ensure the ecological integrity of the reserve is maintained for sustained research and education. Specifically, the regulations indicate that reserve boundaries must encompass an area within which adequate control has or will be established by the managing entity over human activities occurring within the reserve.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>• Management considerations: The administrative burden and responsibility for operating a reserve and associated research, stewardship, and educational programs should be a significant consideration in the site selection process and in the delineation of the reserve boundaries. Given the limited funds available to support reserve programs, it is also important to develop a reasonable boundary that will establish a credible reserve without creating an overwhelming administrative burden.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>• Research, monitoring, education, and stewardship needs and goals: The research, monitoring, education, and stewardship needs and goals of the reserve are important considerations in developing a boundary. These needs and goals define the purpose of establishing a reserve and should play a primary role in defining boundaries and guiding future land acquisition needs.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>The federal regulations implementing CZMA (15 C.F.R. Part 921) state that reserve boundaries generally encompass two areas: core areas and buffer zones. (See 15 C.F.R. § 921.11.) The regulations define “core” land and water areas as containing ecological units of a natural estuarine system which preserve, for research purposes, a full range of significant physical, chemical, and biological factors contributing to the diversity of fauna, flora, and natural processes occurring within the estuary. From 15 C.F.R. § 921.11: [The core area is] so vital to the functioning of the estuarine ecosystem that it must be under a level of control sufficient to ensure the long-term viability of the Reserve for research on natural processes [. . . These areas] should encompass resources representative of the total ecosystem, and which if compromised could endanger the research objectives of the Reserve.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>The proposed CT NERR core areas were selected based on the following criteria:</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>1. They represent natural habitats vital to the ecological functions of the estuary.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>2. The state can maintain a sufficient level of control over the areas to ensure the long-term viability of the proposed CT NERR for research and natural processes.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>3. The areas encompass resources representative of Long Island Sound and Fishers Island Sound estuaries and natural coastal lands of the watershed.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>4. The preservation of the core areas will contribute to the preservation of a full range of significant physical, chemical, and biological factors essential to the diversity of fauna, flora, and natural processes occurring within the estuary.</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>5. They exclude areas where uses occur that are considered resource manipulation under Reserve System regulations (15 C.F.R. § 921.1(d)).</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN><SPAN>Upland core areas (approximately 1,564 acres) are defined by the existing boundaries of Bluff Point CR and Bluff Point NAP parcels within the Bluff Point complex: the largest and eastern most parcel of Haley Farm State Park; Pine Island; and those areas of marsh at Lord Cove NAP and Roger Tory Peterson NAP that are currently high marsh dominated but may transition to low marsh as suggested by Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) land cover scenarios for 25-50 years in the future (Clough et al. 2019).</SPAN></SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN>The Reserve System regulations (15 C.F.R. § 921.11) define a buffer area as an “area adjacent to or surrounding key land and water areas and essential to their integrity. Buffer zones protect the core area and provide additional protection for estuarine-dependent species.” The buffer area may include areas for research and education facilities.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 11 0;"><SPAN>Upland buffer areas totaling roughly 333 acres include the Bluff Point State Park, the smaller western parcels at Haley Farm State Park, and those areas of marsh at Lord Cove and Roger Tory Peterson NAP that are identified as likely areas of maintaining or transitioning to high marsh as suggested by SLAMM land cover scenarios for 25-50 years in the future (Figures 2-2, 2-3, 2-4) (Clough et al. 2019). The DEEP Marine District Headquarters property and the UConn Avery Point campus constitute approximately 58 acres of facility-based buffer areas.</SPAN></P><P><SPAN /></P></DIV></DIV></DIV> |