Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge was established in 1997 to conserve, protect and enhance the abundance and diversity of native plant, fish and wildlife species and the ecosystems on which they depend throughout the Connecticut River watershed. The watershed covers large areas of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. It contains a great diversity of habitats, notably: northern forest valuable as nesting habitat for migrant thrushes, warblers and other birds; rivers and streams used by shad, salmon, herring and other migratory fishes; and an internationally significant complex of high-quality
Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge have extensive vernal pool habitat that would benefit several Species of Concern. Coastal marshes, bays, tidal creeks, and rivers support diverse shellfish and finfish populations. Sunfish ("Lepomis" species), creek chub ("Semotilus atromaculatus"), cunner ("Tautogolabrus adspersus"), golden shiner ("Notemigonus crysoleucas"), common mummichog ("Fundulus heteroclitus"), American eel ("Anguilla rostrata"), and white sucker ("Catostomus commersoni") abound. Brook trout ("Salvelinus fontinalis") and brown trout ("Salmo trutta") are stocked in rivers and estuaries each year. The Ogunquit River sustains alewife ("Alosa pseudoharengus"), blueback herring ("Alosa aestivalis"), pollock ("Pollachius virens"), bluefish ("Pomatomus saltatrix"), longhorn sculpin ("Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus"), and winter flounder ("Pleuronectes americanus"). The Webhannet River has