Oyster+River

**Drainage Basin: South Central Coast** toc
 * Oyster River**

=1. About this Watershed= Oyster River forms the border between Orange and West Haven. Further downstream it forms the western boundary between West Haven and Milford. Oyster River’s head waters begin near Bull Hill Lane on the West Haven / Orange town line as a small brook that travels through Meadow Landing Condominiums. This brook is heavily impacted by development. Oyster River continues to flow under I-95 and through the old Bayer Pharmaceutical site. Here it is buffered with trees and is a relatively undisturbed riparian area. In Milford just above Anderson Avenue the river becomes a brackish marsh. Oyster River empties into the Long Island Sound at the Milford / West Haven border located on New Haven Avenue (Route 162).



1A. Map of Watershed
media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Oyster+River,+Orange+CT&sll=41.239655,-72.990318&sspn=0.014683,0.027122&g=Oyster+River,+Orange+CT&ie=UTF8&ll=41.260517,-72.988186&spn=0.014679,0.027122&t=p&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed" width="425" height="350" =2. Geology= Add text and links here.  =3. Hydrology= The sea wall bridge located at New Haven Avenue Route 162 restricts the flow of salt water to the river and the above marshes. This restrictive tidal flow lowers the salinity of the marsh areas allowing invasive species such as // Phragmites australis // to flourish.  =4. History= Even before colonial times, Oyster River was of great value to mankind because of the unique environment it created for oysters to breed. The mixture of fresh water from the river and the salt water from the Long Island Sound allows for the perfect habitat. For Native Americans, the mouth of Oyster River provided a valuable food source. The Native Americans would travel to Oyster River and along the beach dig large holes in the sand and allow them to fill with water. Next they would build a fire on the top of rocks and these heated rocks would be pushed into the water. The Native Americans would then place oysters in the heated water to cook. There were several Native American tribes that lived in the vicinity of Oyster River. The Quinnipiac occupied New Haven and the Wepawaug lived around the Milford area. When the settlers first arrived in New Haven, they lived among the Native Americans. On November 24, 1638, an agreement was reached between the colonists, headed by John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton and Momauguin, the sachem of the Quinnipiac tribe to buy the land the Native American’s possessed in exchange for goods and the assurance that they would be free to hunt and fish the lands. This practice continued for many years. In 1645 the colonists made a purchase with the Native Americans adding the Milford area to the New Haven colony. The first transaction provided land that extended into Milford. A second transaction sold land to the settlers of Milford that extended into West Haven.

At first the Native Americans were very pleased with these negotiations because they never considered they owned the land. They viewed the land as something a person used. Overtime however, the Native American’s realized that these negotiations deprived them of their right to utilize the lands. The colonists put up fences, claiming privacy of both land and water bodies. The Oyster River is an example of one of the many areas the Native American’s were restricted from. Promising not to damage English property and not to work on the Sabbath day, the Native American’s requested permission to spend the summer months along Oyster River to harvest the oysters. The Colonists responded with the following conditions; “They would not allow any strange Indians to live with them, they would not destroy any man’s fence, cut any wood, enter any settlers’ homes without knocking, bear arms in town, or stay late in town. They were also required to kill all of their dogs.” The Native American’s refusing to kill their dogs were no longer permitted to fish the Oyster River.

Soon after the New Haven colonists laid out their city and built their homes, they turned attention toward dividing up the remainder of land purchased from the Native Americans. The 1645 purchase of land in Milford and the extension into West Haven caused a long dispute amongst the colonist as to who owned what territory. Both Milford and West Haven claimed they had purchased the same land. It was not until 1674 that this dispute was settled by the State Assembly who determined the Oyster River to be the border separating Milford from West Haven.

The colonists, who were shown the natural beds by the Native Americans, began harvesting the oysters along Oyster River for market. Raising oysters became an extremely important industry. However, with this profitable industry came restrictions. As early as December 1777, a court order forbid the taking of oysters during the months of May through September and prohibited the carrying of shells away from the shore. On April 7, 1828 during a West Haven town meeting it was voted that oysters could not be gathered without a written permit and a committee of six people were established to oversee the harvesting. Violation of this law was penalized by fine.

 =5. Human Use & Impact= According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Oyster River is on the list of [|U.S. Impaired Waters]. Under the Clean Water Act states are required to develop a list of impaired waters every two years. Impaired Waters are those water bodies in which regulations and or other controls are not stringent enough to meet the State’s water quality standards. Connecticut’s Oyster River has been heavily impacted by organic enrichment, pathogens, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and nutrients.

Oyster River sea wall, located in Milford near the Borough of Woodmont and the West Haven town line, was built one year after the hurricane of 1938 struck New England. During the hurricane a portion of New Haven Avenue Route 162 was flooded. The sea wall was built to protect the integrity of the road and prevent further erosion. After 67 years of withstanding the waves of Long Island Sound, the Oyster River sea wall was repaired in what was a three year project that amounted in $300,000.
 * Oyster River Sea Wall**

March 12, 1998 James DeWitt, a GZA environmental consultant discovered two pounds of mercury in a storm drain catch basin near a loading dock at Light Sources Incorporated, a former fluorescent-light factory in Milford. DeWitt was working on a cleanup of the former factory which had received a consent order four years earlier requiring it to pay a $40,000 penalty for violations of hazardous waste laws including the collection and storage of hazardous waste without a permit and failure to provide spill containment. The mercury in the storm drain leaked into a brook that feeds Oyster River. Mercury was also found in a trash compactor behind the factory building.
 * Mercury Spill at Oyster River**

DeWitt reported the incident to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Upon further inspection the Connecticut DEP determined that the mercury reached the wetlands several hundred feet from the former factory. Remediation of the area consisted of the removal of fifteen barrels of mercury contaminated soil and a large dumpster containing mercury contaminated debris. In addition, oysters were taken from Oyster River about 1 ½ miles from the contamination site and were tested for mercury. Commercial oyster beds in the Long Island Sound were about three miles from the contamination site.

Homeowners living east and north of Oyster River have been burdened with flooding, property damage, and swampy yards. These issues have affected residents on Cooper Road, Winslow Drive, Batt Lane, Pauline Avenue, Rudy Road, Woodvale Road, and Woodmont Road. Residents within these areas explained that the flooding issues did not occur until Milford federally funded the elevation of Woodmont Road. The elevation of Woodmont Road began July 23, 2002 and concluded May 5, 2004. This project was intended to alleviate water issues. According to Abdul Quadir, city Engineer in 2007, the Oyster River water flows could not cause a ground water problem. However, spokesman Dwayne Gardner from the Connecticut DEP explained that other shoreline towns had reported similar problems and a regional study of water table was a possibility.
 * Floods around Oyster River Homes**

 =6. Flora (Plants)= Below Woodmont Road there exists a good mixture of brackish marsh flora such as [|Narrow-leaved Cattail],  Common Three-square, and Silverweed. Common Three-square (//Scirpus americanus) // is a member of the bulrush family. It is a perennial plant that forms dense colonies from rhizomes. Common Three-square grows up to four feet tall and its flowers are small 1 to 2 inch spikes near the end of the stems. Silverweed  (//Argentina anserina//) is a low growing herbaceous flowering perennial plant in the rose family Rosaceae. Its leaves are 10 to 20 cm long and are covered with silvery hairs. 

Oyster River’s marsh edges are bordered by //Iva //  //frutescens //  L. and   //Phragmites australis //. //Phragmites australis// , also known as common reed is a large perennial grass that can spread up to 16 feet per year via extensive root systems. The brackish waters of Oyster River provide an ideal habitat for this invasive plant species. Closer to the Long Island Sound, black grass ( //Alopecurus myosuroides) // and cord grass are found along Oyster River. Cord grass  , also known as <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Spartina  <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, form large dense colonies and grow very rapidly. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> 

=7. Fauna (Animals)= <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Oyster River, along the old Bayer Pharmaceutical site, is home to a few migrant songbirds. Two examples are the warbler and the thrush. This part of the river is also home to wood duck. The wood duck <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">(//Aix sponsa//) is a <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">brightly colored American duck <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">19 inches in length with an average wingspan of 29 inches. Various <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> species of heron have also been known to dwell along this portion of Oyster River; the Green Heron <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> (// Butorides virescens //), the Great Blue Heron (//Ardea herodias//), and the <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Black Crowned Night Heron <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">(//Nycticorax nycticorax//) have all been sited. The Green Heron is a relatively small bird with its neck pulled tight against the body. The Green Heron's call is a loud and sudden //kyow.// The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the family Ardeidae. With a length of 36 to 55 inches and a wingspan of 66 to 79 inches, it is the largest North American heron. The Black-crowned Night Heron is a medium-sized heron that stands still at the banks of a water bodies in order to ambush its prey. They hunt primarily at night and eat small fish crustaceans, frogs, and aquatic insects. Oyster River even provides habitat for various birds of prey like the <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Red-tailed Hawk <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> (//Buteo jamaicensis//) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, the Red-shouldered Hawk //<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> (Buteo lineatus) //<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, the Cooper ’s Hawk <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> (//Accipiter cooperii//) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, and the Great Horned Owl ( //<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Bubo virginianus). //

<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The lower portion of Oyster River, below Woodmont Road, provides habitat for marsh bird such as the American <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Black Duck <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">(//Anas rubripes//) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, the Mallard Duck <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">(//Anas platyrhynchos)// <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, the Marsh Wren <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> (//Ci stothorus palustris //) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, and the Red-winged Blackbird <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">(//Agelaius phoeniceus//). <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Where Oyster River meets the Long Island Sound, rare sea gulls such as the Little Gull <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">(// Hydrocoloeus minutus //) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> and the Black Headed Gull <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> (//Chroicocephalus ridibundus//) <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> have been observed. The freshwater from Oyster River entering the Long Island Sound lowers the salinity and during the warmer months this provides is an excellent habitat for phytoplankton, oysters, and crabs; thus making Oyster River Beach an ideal location for sea gulls. In fact, in the late 1970’s along Oyster River Beach, thousand birders observed the only known sighting of the Ross’s Gull ( //<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Rhodostethia rosea //<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">) in Connecticut.

<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Below is a table of Connecticut’s Endangered Species Act (ESA) birds that have been recorded as using the upper and lower portions of Oyster River. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> || **<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Bird Species ** || **<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> [|Threatened] ** || <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Cooper’s Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, American Oystercatcher, Least Tern || **<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> [|Endangered] ** || <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk || **<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> [|Special Concern] ** || <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Glossy Ibis, Common Tern, Brown Thrasher, Northern Parula, Savannah Sparrow, Salt Marsh Sparrow ||

 =8. Lesson Plans & Field Studies= Add text and links here.  =9. Personal Stories= **West Haven’s Noah’s Ark at Oyster River** Many years ago a man by the name Bill Clinton owned a boat on the Oyster River called Noah’s Ark. During this period the water in the Long Island Sound was clean and little neck clams and streamers were plentiful. Every day Bill went out on his boat and at night he would return bringing his catches of lobsters. He would fish for whatever he could, Eels, bluefish, flatfish. Bill would sell his day’s catch of lobsters and fish here. 

=10. Community Groups= <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">The Connecticut DEP awarded Bayer Pharmaceuticals of West Haven with the 2003 Business / Industry GreenCircle Award for PROJECT SEARCH, a program established in 2002 which allowed students from West Haven High School to come onto the Bayer property twice a year to monitor water quality in the Oyster River. Bayer Pharmaceuticals established a nature trail along Oyster River and a group of employees were responsible for managing the area for wildlife. Bayer Pharmaceuticals <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> won an environmental award from the National Wildlife Federation for there work here. <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Along Oyster River, on the property of Bayer Pharmaceuticals, the Connecticut Audubon Society use to conduct bird banding sessions with grammar school students from the local area and Bayer employees. <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Milan G. Bull, Senior Director of Science and Conservation at the Connecticut Audubon Society once recorded a group of 15 Snow Geese feeding on Bayer’s lawn.  =11. Recreation= <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">There is not a lot of recreational use of Oyster River. The head waters are too shallow to permit canoes and kayaks and the marshes are too small to allow waterfowl hunting. Most of the recreation involved with Oyster River consists of beach walking and birding.
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation Health, Environment & Safety Department ****<span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">West Haven, Connecticut **
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Connecticut Audubon Society **

The mouth of the Oyster River is one of Connecticut’s top areas for birders. Oyster River is an important concentration point for various migratory birds to roost and feed.

During the warmer months Oyster River is a great place for oysters and crabs. Fisherman and crabbers are a common site near the mouth of Oyster River.

 =12. Related Links= <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[]
 * <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Connecticut’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS) **

 =13. Notes/Sources= 1. First reference here. You can add anchored links to the reference from above by placing a [ref#], highlighting ref# and creating a link to the anchor at left (source1 on this page)