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Layer: CTNERR_offshore_2021 (ID: 1)

Name: CTNERR_offshore_2021

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Description: The proposed CT NERR offshore boundary includes a substantial area of public-trust and deeper-water riverine areas. The subtidal area (approximately 50,205 acres) is generally described by:a) Eastern Long Island Sound from approximately Crane Reef and Long Sand Shoal west of the mouth of the Connecticut River, east to Mason’s Island in western Fishers Island Sound, and southward to just north of the Connecticut-New York state boundary line in The Sounds.b) The lower Thames River from approximately the Gold Star Bridge south to the area described in (a).c) The lower Connecticut River from approximately Lord Cove south to the area described in (a); which also includes the Lieutenant River, Black Hall River, and Back River to CT Route 156.d) The embayments of Baker Cove / Birch Creek / Birch Plain Creek, Poquonnock River, Mumford Cove, and Palmer Cove.With the following exclusions:• Two areas proximal to the General Dynamics Electric Boat facility in the Thames River (65 acres) and the Dominion Millstone Power Station in Waterford (45 acres) that are designated as subtidal security zones pursuant to 33 C.F.R. § 165.154.• The entire area of the designated Eastern Long Island Sound Open Water Disposal Area and the inactive disposal site immediately adjacent and to the east, plus a surrounding gap zone defined by a buffer of approximately 0.3 miles between the proposed CT NERR (approximately 1,940 acres).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:• 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.• 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.• 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.• 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.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.The proposed CT NERR core areas were selected based on the following criteria:1. They represent natural habitats vital to the ecological functions of the estuary.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.3. The areas encompass resources representative of Long Island Sound and Fishers Island Sound estuaries and natural coastal lands of the watershed.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.5. They exclude areas where uses occur that are considered resource manipulation under Reserve System regulations (15 C.F.R. § 921.1(d)).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.The proposed CT NERR buffer areas were selected based on the following criteria:1. The areas provide additional protection for species that rely on the core area.2. The buffer areas provide an opportunity to accommodate future shifts in the core area resulting from ecosystem changes.3. The areas are located adjacent to or are essential to the integrity of the core area.4. Managers can maintain a level of control over the areas sufficient to support the long-term viability of the proposed CT NERR for the support of natural processes, as well as for research and education.5. They may contain offshore areas of resource manipulations that involve general coastal structures, dredging, offshore infrastructure (e.g., cable and pipeline areas) and higher concentrations of water-dependent uses.The subtidal buffer was designed to include:1. Approximately 450-feet extended from the shoreline adjacent to core (or more when needed to contain a particular structure or activity).2. Navigation channels and turning basins as depicted on nautical charts, or in anchorages depicted on nautical charts where the depth range is less than approximately 30 feet.3. Any other areas that involve or are known to be involved with past dredging activities not already addressed by items 1 & 2.4. Areas depicted as submerged cable or pipeline areas on nautical charts.The designation of the proposed CT NERR will not change any existing uses in which they occur.

Copyright Text: Data generally derived from NOAA Electronic Nautical Chart (ENC) data (https://encdirect.noaa.gov/) and supplemented by the Connecticut Blue Plan (https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Coastal-Resources/LIS-Blue-Plan/Long-Island-Sound-Blue-Plan-Home)

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