By Marilyn May
Milford History
Volunteers and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection workers cleared the ground and fenced areas to keep deer away from new trees that have been planted on Charles Island off the Milford coast in recent years. Just 216 more trees to go to reach the goal of 1,000. Photo courtesy of Charles Island Restoration LLC.
Even the most casual observer could see that the trees on Charles Island were beginning to thrive again this past summer. Its lush, dense forest was recovering after years of decline. That means new trees will again grow an upper canopy, creating nesting habitats for ospreys, egrets, glossy ibis and other birds.
There’s no Capt. Kidd’s treasure out there as local legends proclaim, but 1,000 trees are worth more than gold.
Thanks to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and hundreds of Milford volunteers, the island is healing and beginning to look healthy again. Neither the state nor Milford volunteers could do all the work, but together the partnership is getting the job done.
It’s amazing that what started out as a two-person, citizen-led, grassroots effort will end up with the planting of 1,000 trees and the saving of a vital bird sanctuary. Not only that, but enough money for the project has been raised, and organizers Dolores Hannon and Bill Pursell have lined up all the volunteers needed to clear the island and do the planting. That’s a success story in itself.
This past spring’s planting brought the number of new trees to 784 that have been planted since about 2020. It will take three or four more fall and spring plantings to reach their goal.
“I was driving by Gulf Beach maybe about seven years ago, and I saw there was something wrong with the trees on the island,” said Hannon, whose many phone calls to DEEP put her in touch with Pete Picone, a wildlife biologist for the state. “I kept calling and calling him and asking what was going on with the island.”
Picone told her there was another person, Bill Pursell, who also kept calling about the same thing.
“Why don’t the two of you get together, and then we’ll all meet,” Picone suggested.
When the three went out to Charles Island, Picone showed Pursell and Hannon what was going on. He wanted very much to restore the once-vibrant environment, but the few trees left were being destroyed by a fungus. An invasive, fast-growing vine commonly called mile-a-minute was covering and choking everything.
Picone told them the state had been trying to maintain and replant the land since 2014, but the work became overwhelming. He said the island was on a list of environmental issues that needed attention, but the state did not have the money to get new trees.
“So, I said, ‘Listen, I can get the money,’” Hannon recalled. “I knew I could get the money, because Charles Island means so much to the people of Milford. I think people would donate.”
“My name is very well known, because I taught in every school in Milford in the last 30 years,” Hannon explained to Picone. “Let me put out a flyer and…oh, my God…I was deluged (with responses). I kept all the cards and letters with people asking how much money we needed.”
People wrote about their memories. “Oh, I used to go out there when I was a kid,” one said. Another wrote, “My father always told me it was his island, because his name was Charles.”
Ever more confident she could raise the money, a Charles Island Reforestation LLC was formed. They circulated another flyer with information on how to donate or help. The Devon Rotary got on board, and with the help of the Milford Rotary, they raised $45,000 for the project. Former Mayor Benjamin Blake also helped secure a grant. He even had t-shirts made up for the volunteers.
A plan began to emerge. Picone would oversee the work and advise the volunteers beginning in spring 2020. He got the state to lend a small boat (and life jackets) to transport volunteers and scheduled state workers to bring out heavy equipment to clear the land and dig holes for larger trees. The equipment was driven out on the tombolo (sandbar) when it was exposed at low tide.
Picone made a grid of the island and indicated where trees should be planted, while selecting species that could tolerate salt exposure and survive the cold, blustery winters. The best trees are the American sycamore, red maple, sassafras, red cedar, black cherry, American basswood and bitternut hickory. He inspects the health of every tree before it’s taken to the island.
The rule on the island is “birds have priority.” Reforestation is not done when the birds are nesting and raising their young. From late May until October, no foot traffic is allowed in the interior. But still, people ignore the warning signs. The state uses a drone to see if people are disturbing the birds, Hannon said. Also, Silver Sands State Park workers and lifeguards on shore keep watch, and if necessary, park workers go out and ask those people to leave.
Visitors may walk around the island’s edge at any time, but because a full circuit can take an hour, they must plan around the tide before it covers the tombolo.
Wildlife control was another problem, so some 8-foot fences that the deer cannot jump over to get food had to be built. Deer are very good swimmers and are drawn by hunger.
“The only problem was that the mile-a-minute vine started crawling up on the fences,” Hannon said. “So, then every time we went out, we had to spend more time stripping away as much of it as possible.”
They realized that no matter how much weed was removed there would still be roots and seeds that would grow the next summer. The only solution was to spray the island. But that became a very complicated issue. The island is a bird sanctuary, and the Audubon Society did not want chemicals sprayed out there. It took a lot of research, but eventually the state and Audubon Society did agree on a spray product that would work. It can be used only three times a year.
“The mile-a-minute invasive will probably always still be there, but now we can control it,” Hannon said.
And then they saw that the island was hopping with rabbits – lots of rabbits that traveled along the tombolo and damaged early growth on trees. Plastic tree protectors were wrapped around the trunks so there wouldn’t be enough food available to tempt the bunnies to hop back out there.
In a few years, when the 1,000 trees are planted, DEEP will again take over full responsibility for the area. But Hannon’s work may not be done.
When the island’s interior is open to the public, October through most of May, she said she would like to set up a self-guided educational walk designed with signs describing the flora and fauna.
“I come from a family of teachers,” she said.
The walk could also have signs to remind people about the power of the Long Island Sound and the need to pay attention to the tide and weather when walking the tombolo. Even good swimmers can be swept off it by a wave and immediately end up over their heads with currents pulling them down.
Always remember, Hannon said, “When the wind’s from the east, the Sound is a beast.”
Marilyn May is a lifelong resident of Milford and is on the board of the Milford Historical Society.