A Walk In The (New) Park With Bill (With Video)

Ten years ago, Bill McCullough didn’t know much about the environment. He was just a guy who thought it was crazy to build hundreds of houses on a beautiful piece of salt marsh right next to Long Island Sound.

And so he fought it.

He started with a small group called Stop Griswold from OverDevelopment; that became a bigger group; and finally with that group, several large environmental organizations, and state and local officials helping, he accomplished his objective and the Griswold property was saved. This past weekend McCullough quietly took a victory lap, at a leisurely stroll, around the Griswold Airport, which is in the midst of a multi-year clean-up and development process that will turn it into the town’s newest park.

Group touring park includes commissioners, state senators and representatives, selectmen, and Friends of Hammonasset

He was accompanied by a large group, organized by Madison Selectman Al Goldberg, that included state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Daniel C. Esty, state Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith, state Sen. Edward Meyer, Madison's former state Rep. Deborah Heinrich, and numerous others people, most of whom fought hard to make the project happen.

Also in the group was at least one person who had initial reservations about the amount of money the town paid for the land, Tom Banisch. After the tour he said he was impressed by the potential opportunities for recreation presented by the new park.

While walking and talking Saturday, McCullough was modest about his accomplishment and quick to give credit to many others who helped save the land from development.

"In 100 years, they will remember you"

And they were quick to give it right back to him.

“What you see here is a gift to the generations that will follow,” Esty said, shaking McCullough’s hand and giving him a pat on the back. “And, you know, once it goes the other way it never comes back.  In 100 years someone will come here and remember you.”

Specific plans for the park are still being developed. At this point, several multi-use ball fields are being contemplated, and about half of the 42-acre site will be protected and set aside in perpetuity for passive recreation such as hiking and walking trails. A kayak launch is being considered.

Here is what the group discussed as they walked and talked:

• The little houses where the cross-country pilots stayed overnight are run down to the point where they probably cannot be salvaged
• The old Griswold homestead is in pretty good shape and might be salvaged
• One of the hangars, while in pretty rough shape, may be salvaged in part
• The tarmac is coming up and the plan is to have all of it, 100 percent, recycled. That process could start as soon as Thursday
• It was last used as an airport about three to four years ago
• The property, adjacent to Hammonasset Beach State Park, includes warm season native grassland, salt marsh and coastal forest
• The bordering coastal forest is particularly rare in this part of the state and it includes trees that are probably no more than 70 years old

McCullough, the bad economy, and Duo Dickinson praised for their roles

In addition to McCullough’s tenacity and determination, many at the event this past weekend gave credit to the bad economy, which made it difficult for the developer to follow through on its plans and brought the price of the property down to a level that the town and its partners could afford. The group also credited local architect Duo Dickinson with creating a visionary plan that allowed town residents to imagine what the plot of land could be, creating enough enthusiasm for the proposal so that it passed at referendum.

Tom Banisch, from the town’s Beach and Recreation Commission, originally opposed the plan to buy the airport.

He said Saturday he thought at the time that the price was too high. After the walk Saturday, he agreed the property presented many wonderful opportunities for recreation.

Town's ability to maintain more fields raised as a concern

Banisch remains concerned, however, about the cost of maintaining ball fields, noting that the town has a hard time properly maintaining the fields it has already.

Still, he said, the opportunities for passive recreation on the land are enticing.

He cited Rockland Park, in the north end of town, as an example of a resource where maintaining property as a passive recreation area with hiking and biking created a valuable resource for the town.

A buffet for birds

Sandy Breslin, the head of government affairs for Audubon Connecticut, said that Griswold Airport is “one of the largest remaining undeveloped coastal grasslands left along the Atlantic flyway … where birds in the millions migrate from down south to where they are going to spend the summer, some of them as far up as the Arctic.”

“They’re looking for a place to rest and stop, and Griswold Aiport, it’s a buffet,” Breslin said.

She said the combination of grasslands, coastal forest, and salt marsh provides an ideal stopping off point for many species, including some of the more rare and “showy” migrant species valued by birders.

At a stop earlier that day, during an event at Hammonasset Beach State Park, she noted that resources like Griswold, which is right next to Hammonasset, make Madison a destination point for birders and other people who love the outdoors, spend money, contribute to the economy and help create jobs.

"A big patch of green"

“You can see an amazing suite of birds here,” she said. “As the sun comes up, they see a big patch of green like that forest and they drop out of the sky. We’re looking forward to having families come here for generations and enjoy the birds.”

Species that might be seen in the area include the Saltmarsh sparrow, ospreys, Red-tailed Hawks, Meadow Larks, Bobolinks, and maybe even an eagle every once in a while, said Breslin and David Skelly, a Madison resident, member of the town’s Park Development Committee, and a faculty member at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. On Monday evening an American kestrel, a small falcon that is a state threatened species, was spotted.

“This is a sizable piece of property to birds and many wildlife species,” he said. "There will be many species that will take up residence here, a while range of species that have not been here in a long time, and it will become a destination for people who care about that.”