bluff point was proposed as a state recreation facility as early as 1914. the state acquired the western one-third of bluff point from henry a. gardiner iii in 1963. during that time, the state sought to acquire the land because bluff point was the "last remaining significant portion of undeveloped shoreline in connecticut" and that its "rocky bluffs standing behind narrow beaches typified the connecticut coast." the bluff point advisory council, a committee formed of local citizen groups and government representatives, successfully petitioned the state to acquire the land and protect it. the connecticut legislature established bluff point as a coastal reserve in 1975. the act gave bluff point state park the highest possible protection in the state park system and serves to protect the high number of endangered and threatened species that are found within the park.