Darien To Close Off Section Of Great Island To Protect Bald Eagles

DARIEN, CT — In an effort to protect two bald eagles who live on Great Island and to comply with federal and state regulations, Darien will close a portion of a pathway on the property from Feb. 1 through July 15.

The Great Island Advisory Committee on Jan. 22 unanimously approved customized recommendations for a partial closure of the property's bridle path from the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT-DEEP).

Federal and state regulations note that a 330-foot radius must be kept from an eagle's nest during the nesting and early fledgling period, which is from Feb. 1 through July 15.

Officials from the town and Reed Hilderbrand, the landscape architecture firm working with Darien on the island's vision and master plan, met with a CT-DEEP wildlife expert earlier this month who came up with a customized recommendation that considers the area's environmental features and the fact that the birds are already used to a certain level of human activity on the island.

"For instance, the road that takes you to the beach house, which I think is roughly 315 feet from the eagle's nest. As we stood there... [the wildlife expert] said this feels fine," said Reed Hilderbrand principal Beka Sturges. "There are enough features between topography and evergreen trees, cover, that it doesn't seem, based on his 10 years of experience in the state in similar conditions, he said I think it's highly, highly unlikely that the eagle pair will be disrupted by continuous use of this trail."

Officials continued to walk the trail, stopping routinely to evaluate and observe conditions between the trail and the eagle's nest, Sturges said.

The portion of the bridle trail between points C and B can remain open for use year-round, Sturges said. Residents must stick to paved paths and keep dogs on leashes.

"[The wildlife expert's] recommendation to us that the portion of the trail between A and B be closed on Feb. 1 and stay closed through July 15, or until the baby eagles have fledged," Sturges added. "He said if they're very healthy and happy, they could potentially be flying around and out of the nest in June. The standard is July 15 to make sure they are fully happy, strong, young birds, and can exist on their own without the care of their parents."

Public Works Facilities Supervisor Tony Campanella suggested moving the closure date up a few weeks to Jan. 15, saying this time of year is crucial as the eagles are deciding whether to stay and make a nest or move to a safer location.

Other members expressed a desire to be more conservative and move up the closure date, which could be considered for future years.

"If this is really the important first period, then the harm that we might do to the eagles while we sort through the process and technicalities and the efficacy could harm them, and we can't recover that," said Selectman Michael Burke, a member of the Great Island Advisory Committee. "If we go conservative now, we can still engage in some very thoughtful investigation and consideration and amend those regulations or the particulars of the areas of the path that we close down now."

Signage is expected to be in place to denote the closure.

You can view the full Great Island Advisory Committee meeting on demand on Darien TV79.