Milford Point/Wheeler Marsh WMA/Mouth of the Housatonic River

The Wheeler Marsh Wildlife Management Area is a ~615-acre Spartina alterniflora–dominated low marsh at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The area receives substantial use by waterfowl hunters and some use by rail hunters. Milford Point is an 8.5-acre barrier beach with two large state-owned sandbars that are generally not covered by mean high water. The smaller of the two is often covered by storm or spring tides and the larger sandbar has recently become contiguous with the mainland. The Connecticut Audubon Society has a nature education center located on the barrier beach, which is operated under a lease agreement with the State of Connecticut, and the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge owns the 8.5-acre point proper. The area has much potential for education and research, and has been the site of Manomet International Shorebird Surveys since 1998, and location of an ongoing migrant banding station.