After decades of off-and-on effort and several intense years of final preparations, the Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve officially joined the NERR System today. The 52,160-acre site along Long Island Sound becomes the 30th reserve across the country. Now every coastal New England state is represented.

The Connecticut NERR will be managed by the University of Connecticut in close partnership with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Connecticut nominated its NERR site in January 2019 and promptly went to work on an Environmental Impact Statement and Management Plan. The process involved numerous partners, including Connecticut Sea Grant and the Connecticut Audubon Society, and solicited broad public input.

Ceremonies to welcome the Connecticut Reserve into the system will take place in the spring, but we'll say it now:

Welcome to the NERRS, Connecticut!