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08/11/2023 05:49 PMIn order to increase community education and safety this summer, the Conservation Commission used three interns at various town properties.
“The interns maintain the trails on our open space properties as well as Salt Island. They work to maintain the trails, mark new trials, and interact with the public as well,” Westbrook Environmental Planner Heidi Wallace said. “People have really responded positively to them,” she added.
The three interns were Zach Zanzalari, Justin Heilmann, and Ryan Engels.
Zanzalari has been a volunteer with the town for three years and as an Eagle Scout, he noted that the work the interns were tasked with was right up his alley. “As an Eagle Scout, conservation is something especially important to me,” Zanzalari said. “My favorite part was interacting with people, and working with Heidi has been awesome. All the people who work in town hall are very nice,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Heilmann said he likes exploring more of the town that most people don’t get to see. “My favorite part was hiking and clearing the trails and getting to explore the town a little more.
In the past, the town had used two interns; however, in May, the Board of Selectmen approved the idea of hiring a third intern so that they can be placed on Salt Island to ensure visitors to the island are safe, following a rise in emergency rescues from the island in 2022.
The interns were primarily there on an educational rather than an enforcement basis. Salt Island is home to a bird sanctuary watched over by the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. Access to the sanctuary portion of the island is prohibited, but with the island’s increased popularity, there have been several trespassing cases on that portion of the island in the past.
“This year, I wasn’t aware of any issues. There were some times we didn’t send them out because of the dangers with debris in the water, but that was it,” Wallace said
Salt Island is a small island only a few hundred feet off the coast of Westbrook in the Long Island Sound that is easily accessible at low tide. It has long been a popular trek for nature lovers, guests at the Water’s Edge Resort and Spa, and the curious. Unfortunately, in the summer of 2022, the island also became the source of numerous rescue calls from people stranded.
However, Heilmann echoed Wallace and said there were no issues this year. “We made sure the birds and people were safe, and people stayed away from the restricted area and obeyed the signs. We really didn’t have issues this year, and it was an amazing experience being out there,” Heilmann said.