View CT and NY Comments on Great Thicket NWR Proposal Here

Over the past century, many shrublands and young forests across the Northeast have been cleared for development or have grown into mature forests. Our shrubland birds such as Prairie Warblers, Ruffed Grouse, and American Woodcocks have correspondingly declined at alarming rates in recent decades, and are one of the fastest declining groups of birds.

Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to create a new wildlife refuge, the Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge, which would conserve shrublands and young forest habitat across six northeastern states.*

Your letters are urgently needed to support the new wildlife refuge. The deadline to comment is Friday, March 4, 2016.

The Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge would protect vital habitat in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island, addressing an urgent need to permanently protect and manage land to restore wildlife populations. The refuge would be created over time, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service working with willing landowners to permanently protect land through acquisition or conservation easements. The proposal will also help private landowners to improve habitat on their own property.

Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that you support the proposal to create the Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge to help our shrubland birds.

*The Draft Land Protection Plan and Environmental Assessment is available at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge Planning site.