Reporter's Note: Following a July 12 announcement from the Federal Rail Administration (FRA) on changes to a proposed plan for a high speed, Northeast Corridor Future rail expansion to include a segment in Branford-Guilford, organizations involved in the battle to raise awareness and include those impacted in the process are praising the news. Today, the Connecticut Audubon Society issued following press release and hailed the decision as "a major victory for conservation:"

July 12, 2017: Statement on today's decision by the FRA, from Claudia Weicker, chair of the Connecticut Audubon Society's Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center: The decision by the Federal Railroad Administration to abandon the proposed Connecticut-Rhode Island bypass of its Northeast Corridor project in favor of having state officials study an alternative route is a considerable victory for conservation and environmental protection in southeastern Connecticut.

In comments opposing this proposal, the Connecticut Audubon Society pointed out that the FRA's Preferred Alternative ignored the impact on four endangered or threatened species: Atlantic sturgeon, shortnose sturgeon, Roseate Terns, and Piping Plover.

Based on that flaw, Connecticut Audubon called for further study of the route through southeastern Connecticut, and for greater involvement by local officials and residents.

The decision has taken into account the opposition of residents of the area and the concerns of the Town of Old Lyme, which issued an 82-page report on the proposal that included an environmental assessment prepared by the Connecticut Audubon Society's Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center.

Old Lyme's First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder deserves credit for her dogged work and foresight in putting together a strategy team to assess this issue.