Long Beach West now under federal protection

On Tuesday, Stratford Mayor Jim Miron signed the contract to sell Long Beach West to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Long Beach West is home to several types of endangered wildlife. Each year, birds,

News 12 Staff

Nov 19, 2008, 8:09 PM

Updated 5,863 days ago

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On Tuesday, Stratford Mayor Jim Miron signed the contract to sell Long Beach West to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Long Beach West is home to several types of endangered wildlife. Each year, birds, turtles and other creatures set up their nests on the beach. Connecticut's Trust for Public Land's Melissa Spears says the peninsula has extremely high natural resource value. ?We think that preserving a natural amenity like this natural asset within this context makes it a very compelling project,? says Spears. Spears says the first order of business is to demolish and remove dozens of empty cabins she call an attractive nuisance. Meanwhile, Miron says there is still a lot of hard work to do over the next five years, before the federal government takes over. The most important part of the deal calls for money to be appropriated by Washington. Miron says signing the contract is a win-win for both the town of Stratford and Long Beach West. The areas along the beach will now be under federal protection. The contract also states that Long Beach will be free of any future commercial development. No decision on sale of Stratford's Long Beach West