Of Plovers and People

The Connecticut Post

Sunday, May 2, 2008

It is Saturday afternoon, and spring has arrived on Long Beach in Stratford. A cool breeze is carrying hundreds of Canada geese in from South America, the sun is warm, but the beach is nearly deserted. This spit of sand on Long Island Sound may soon become part of a national wildlife refuge. Judging by the difficult public access now, that would be a good thing, not just for piping plovers or for people, but for both. I head west toward the abandoned cottages. One local, carrying two fishing poles but no fish, tells me, "I've been coming here a long time. If they put up signs saying 'Keep Out,' I'd really hate that." It would be hard to find anyone in Stratford or Bridgeport to argue with that.

Long Beach West and Pleasure Beach are a rare bastion of peace and quiet, thanks to the existing Great Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, which buffers the beach from Connecticut's biggest city, not to mention Interstate 95. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to buy Long Beach West and Pleasure Beach, then remove their biggest barrier to public access: the 45 abandoned cottages that have prevented people from comfortably, or legally, visiting two-thirds of the peninsula for over a decade. This isn't about people versus plovers, it's about improving one of our area's crown jewels for both wildlife and public access.

Half a mile down the beach, I pass several warning signs and head into one the eeriest place on Long Island Sound — a post-apocalyptic neighborhood of boarded-up houses. One living room floor is covered in broken glass and "Trivial Pursuit" cards; next door, more broken glass and puzzle pieces. I find some bikes — 5-year-old sized — one pink and one black. The startling noises that sometimes turn out to be rabbits and sometimes turn out to be teenagers or squatters have me thinking how far I am from help. No doubt about it, fear keeps people off of Long Beach. Twelve years after Stratford brought this land back into the public domain, you still can't visit without looking over your shoulder. Besides, I hear they have been fining people for trespassing lately. Considering the risks posed by the cottages, three of which burned down last month, that seems reasonable. But it is also the opposite of public access. Before I head back toward Stratford, I stop by cottage No. 44 and pick up the two bikes. I carry them back to the parking lot and put up a note: "FREE." It's probably illegal, but there are kids without bikes, and these bikes don't have riders — both seem like a shame. If you know any 5-year-olds who need bikes, two are up for grabs at Long Beach — they just need a little elbow grease. As for everyone else, one of the nicest, most solitary beaches in Connecticut is ours for the taking, right here in Stratford and Bridgeport. It needs some elbow grease, too.

Abandoned cottages, full of broken glass and squatters, ready to burn down or collapse any day, are more than enough to keep people away even in the spring. In the newspaper and Stratford Town Hall, residents are debating public access; no one wants to lose the chance to look out over Long Island Sound. That's exactly why Stratford and Bridgeport should sell these beaches. The sale will come with a legally binding agreement to allow public access, just like we have now. More important, the sale will come with a rapid demolition of 45 derelict cottages — a project that will cost half a million dollars. That's not just good for piping plovers, it's good for people too.