Partner Network Newsletter

Summer 2026

Quarterly updates, opportunities, and resources for those working to help Connecticut's vulnerable species and habitats.

In addition to protecting local communities from flooding, coastal dune and salt marsh ecosystems support, and are supported by, numerous Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Photo from Hammonasset Beach State Park. Madison, CT. June 2026.

Wildlife Action Plan Implementation

To date, we have logged 30 projects in the Conservation Action Tracker that address 10 species, 10 habitats, and 7 different conservation issues. Examples of projects include:

Development of a Natural Resources and Wildlife Inventory for the City of Bridgeport, by GEI Consultants;
Maintaining of nesting structures for Purple Martins, by the Town of Greenwich Conservation Commission; and
Forestry mowing that created 7.5 acres of young forest habitat at Quanduck Brook Wildlife Management Area, by CT DEEP.

Explore more projects on the Conservation Action Tracker. Are you part of an organization that has projects to add to this map? If so, please email Brian Hess at brian.hess@ct.gov to have an account set up for your group.

Yellow Thistle (Cirsium horridulum). Photo by Bill Moorhead / CT DEEP Wildlife Division. June 2006.

Species Spotlight: Yellow Thistle

Yellow Thistle (Cirsium horridulum) is a spiny plant native to the eastern United States. It sports an attractive flower that can sometimes be purple, pink, or white, but is typically bright yellow. Its nectar and seeds support a variety of pollinators and birds. In Connecticut, Yellow Thistle occurs exclusively at and just above the borders of salt marshes. It is listed as Endangered at the state level and is a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Connecticut’s Wildlife Action Plan.

Yellow Thistle is threatened by rising sea level. The plant cannot tolerate more than a very occasional and brief flooding by salt water. In many cases, it has no habitat into which to migrate to escape rising sea level, because the area landward of the salt marsh border is often developed or occupied by closed canopy forest or shrub-vine thicket. Yellow Thistle is a light-demanding plant that cannot thrive in dense shade. It is also threatened by invasive Common Reed (Phragmites australis), which often dominates salt marsh border zones.

Due to its scarcity in Connecticut and its habitat needs, Yellow Thistle is closely monitored and meticulously protected. These precautions include careful invasive plant control, which also benefits other sensitive native plant species. The identification and documentation of rare plants is a critical first step to protecting them, the wildlife they support, and the benefits they help natural ecosystems provide to people.

What you can do:

Occurrences of state Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern species should be submitted to the CT DEEP Natural Diversity Data Base.
With tools such as iNaturalist.org, anyone can identify and document plants. Learn what's growing in your yard or places you visit! It is advised that locations of rare species not be made public. Location settings may be adjusted to be obscured if iNaturalist does not do this automatically for the species you are documenting.
Get more involved with your local conservation community! By working together, the public, municipalities, land trusts, and other groups can make an enormous impact to protect our natural resources.

Yellow Thistle (Cirsium horridulum). Photos by Sarah Wall / CT DEEP Wildlife Division. June 2026.

Huckleberry Sphynx (Paonias astylus). Photo by Lukas Keras / Earthplace. July 2024.

Partner Successes: Moth Surveys at Earthplace

Extensive moth surveys at Earthplace in Westport, CT, have revealed rare species and interesting year-to-year variations. For the last five years, local lepidopterist Lukas Keras has used methods such as UV light traps and fermenting fruit baits to attract moths across the 62-acre wildlife sanctuary. Two hundred fifty-three species of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) have been documented thus far, with over 1,400 observations posted on iNaturalist by Lukas alone. Some observations are the first in the area for certain species, including Huckleberry Sphinx (Paonias astylus), which has no other iNaturalist records in Western Connecticut. Long-term studies such as these allow for the observation of fluctuations in moth species abundance. Lost Sallow Moths (Eupsilia devia), for example, were common in winter 2024, but have not been observed before or since. This study has informed conservation efforts in the sanctuary and brought public awareness and appreciation for these often-overlooked fauna through the nature center’s annual lightsheeting event (Moth Ball).

Earthplace

Earthplace's moth surveys help implement Connecticut's Wildlife Action Plan through research and monitoring, which was identified as a priority conservation action that would benefit 84% of invertebrate Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Seventy-five moth species are on the Connecticut Wildlife Action Plan's list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need and State Assessment Priority Species. Although surveys at Earthplace haven't detected moth species from this list yet, 36 other species from the list have been documented on their property.

Implementation of Connecticut’s Wildlife Action Plan to conserve our wildlife resources depends on the work of many conservation partners. We love to hear stories about conservation work that benefits Connecticut’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need! If you have a story you would like featured in this newsletter and on our Partner Stories webpage, please send a brief description and a relevant photo or two to Brian Hess (Brian.Hess@ct.gov).

Upcoming Events

Bat Appreciation Day: Saturday, September 19, 2026, at Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine in East Granby, Connecticut.
Durham Fair: Thursday, September 24 through Sunday, September 27, 2026, in Durham, Connecticut. Find the Wildlife Division tables in the T Barn.
Family Nature Day: Saturday, September 26, 2026, at White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Connecticut's Wildlife Management Areas

Connecticut has over 100 wildlife management areas (WMAs) that collectively protect more than 35,000 acres of habitat. WMAs are maintained by CT DEEP Wildlife Division staff to provide a diversity of wildlife habitats, including young forests, wetlands, grasslands, and more. While a major function of WMAs is to provide opportunities for hunting, they also protect critical habitat for Connecticut’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Hunters and sportspersons provide support for habitat protection through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937), which derives funds from an excise tax on sporting equipment. Federal funding through this program is used, in part, to acquire and maintain Connecticut’s WMAs. The images below are from Barn Island Wildlife Management Area in Stonington, Connecticut.

Tidal creek, salt marsh, and forest habitats at Barn Island WMA. Photo by Sydnee Foster / CT DEEP Wildlife Division. June 2026.

Great Egret (Ardea albus), a Connecticut Species of Greatest Conservation Need, in flight at Barn Island WMA. Photo by Sydnee Foster / CT DEEP Wildlife Division. June 2026.

Though the majority of Connecticut's WMAs are inland, Barn Island and several other Connecticut WMAs are included in the Long Island Sound Partnership's Stewardship Atlas, which includes 33 Stewardship Areas along the coast of Long Island Sound that provide exceptional ecological and recreational value.

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