Here’s a release from my friends at the Norwalk Land Trust:

The Norwalk Land Trust is looking for a donor to contribute $60,000 towards the final cost of remediating Hoyt Island in return for naming a new bird sanctuary on the entire the three-acre tract on Long Island Sound after himself/herself or a family member or loved one.

    D. Seeley Hubbard, president of the NLT, said a tax-deductible donation is  “a wonderful opportunity for an environmentalist to establish in the spirit of the season an enduring legacy with the movement to conserve the ecological vitality of Long Island Sound.” 

    Additional information is available from NLT director Midge Kennedy at (203) 838-9985.     The island is a natural habitat for 149 species of birds–some of whom are rare or endangered–and other wildlife and native plants. Once the preserve is complete, the island will be closed to humans other than two people designated by the donor.

    G&C Marine Services of Norwalk provided cranes, barges and tugboat services pro bono to haul away the contaminants to an out-of-state dumpsite for hazardous waste. 

    In addition to functioning as a natural habit for birds such as osprey, herons and egrets, the island is a refuge for the northern diamondback terrapin, a species of special concern to environmentalists. 

    A fire set by vandals in 2008 that destroyed an abandoned caretaker’s cottage on the island left an accumulation of PCBs and asbestos on the property.