•.V.:
Long
Island
Sound
Study
2009-2010 LONG ISLAND SOUND STUDY BIENNIAL REPORT
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PROTECTION + PROGRESS
RECONNECTING A CITY TO ITS RIVER
Restoring and protecting a river brings many benefits to
communities, including experiencing the joy of seeing
river herring return to areas where dams had previously
prevented fish passage for more than 300 years. On April
20, 2010, the Connecticut Department of Energy and
Environmental Protection released 400 alewives into the
Mill River in Stamford, close to where two large, dilapi-
dated dams were removed in 2009. A variety of partners,
including the city's Mill River Collaborative, are improv-
ing water quality, planting native plants along the banks,
and building pathways and parks to reunite Stamford's
downtown community to the river and Long Island
Sound. Learn more about LISS's involvement on page 9.
2009-2010
LISS BIENNIAL REPORT
3 LISS Principles
4 Director's Remarks/
The Sound Futures Fund
6 Water Quality
8 Watershed Management
10 Habitat Restoration
12 Stewardship
14 Monitoring & Assessment
16 Monitoring for Climate Change
18 Research
20 Public Involvement & Education
22 Budget
For more Information on LISS, please visit:
www. longislandsoundstudy.net
STUDENTS FROM the Cloonan
Middle School watch CT DEEP
staff release alewives into the
Mill River to spawn before
returning to the Sound.
ACRONYMS AND SHORTENED NAMES:
CCMP: Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan
CT DEEP: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
EPA: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
FWS: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
LISFF: Long Island Sound Futures Fund
LISS: Long Island Sound Study
NFWF: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
NOAA: U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NYSDEC: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
SBU: Stony Brook University
STP: Sewage Treatment Plant
SOUND FUTURES FUND: Long Island Sound Futures Fund
THE STUDY: Long Island Sound Study
UCONN: University of Connecticut
Unsure about a term used in this report? See www.LI5health.net for a definition.
2\\
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LISS PRINCIPLES
The Long Island Sound Study (LISS),
sponsored by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and the states
of Connecticut and New York, is a
partnership of federal, state, and local
agencies, universities, businesses, and
environmental and community groups.
Its mission is to restore and protect
Long Island Sound, an ecologically vital
coastal body of water where fresh water
draining from the Sound's large water-
shed mixes with salt water from the
ocean. Its principles are to be adaptable,
collaborative, effective, and efficient in
the implementation of a Comprehensive
Conservation and Management Plan
that will lead to improved water quality,
restored habitats to protect marine life
and shore birds, and increased opportu-
nities for human use.
EFFECTIVE In 2010, the
Study met its target to reduce nitrogen
pollution by upgrading sewage treat-
ment plants, and is now 70 percent
toward reaching its 2014 goal.
ADAPTABLE Pilot projects to
plant eelgrass and culture shellfish and
seaweeds are helping resource managers
evaluate how the Sound's natural
resources can improve water quality.
•
EFFICIENT From 2006-2010, for every
dollar spent by the Study to implement the Sound's
Comprehensive Conservation and Management
Plan, an additional $67.11 was spent by federal,
state, local or private partners.
COLLABORATIVE Federal and state agencies
partner with local communities, environmental groups,
and universities to restore habitats, improve water quality,
monitor environmental conditions, and develop a greater
understanding of emerging threats to the Sound.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The SHARON demonstration project at Wards
Island Sewage Treatment Plant, NYC; ribbed mussels are being adapted for
use in a water quality project in the Bronx River; 2009 Sound Futures Fund
Award recipients at Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford, CT; and
volunteers restoring a dune at Rocky Neck State Park, East Lyme, CT.
LISS is a member of both the EPA's National Estuary Program and the
Council of Large Aquatic Ecosystems. Visit water.epa.gov/type/oceb/
for information.
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DIRECTOR'S
REMARKS
4\\
In a 1971 article, Newsday posed the question, "Who's killing
Hempstead Harbor?" Victim to industrial chemical and munic-
ipal sewage discharges, Hempstead Harbor, an embayment
in western Long Island Sound, fell into decline. Contrast that
story with a recent Newsday editorial lauding the June i, 2011
reopening of 2,500 acres of shellfish beds in outer Hempstead
Harbor. For the first time in 40 years licensed fishermen were
busy harvesting clams from the harbor. This overnight sensa-
tion can be traced back decades to the work of multiple part-
ners: EPA for cleaning up Superfund sites, New York State for
upgrading wastewater treatment, local towns for organizing a
protection committee to oversee storm water improvements,
and local citizens for monitoring the harbor's water quality.
Think 40 years is a long time? In 2010, alewives, a type
of herring, were reintroduced to the Mill River in Stamford,
Connecticut for the first time in hundreds of years. Dams
and degraded water quality had long prevented alewives
from swimming up the Mill River. But through work by the
City of Stamford, the nonprofit Mill River Collaborative,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection, alewives are again
swimming upstream to spawn, with the hope of establishing
a new and permanent run of herring in the river.
In another sign that persistence pays off, the total load
of nitrogen to the Sound from wastewater treatment plants
steeply declined in 2010. Connecticut, continuing its highly
successful and innovative upgrade program, is ahead of
schedule, even meeting the 2014 target during portions of
the year. And New York took a big step forward with the
complex engineering projects to upgrade the large New York
City wastewater treatment plants. One of the projects, using
a new technology to remove nitrogen from sewage, received
an Engineering Excellence Award from the American
Council of Engineering Companies.
Yes, we are in an era of deep skepticism over the poten-
tial to collectively solve problems. But these examples
and others highlighted in this report demonstrate that the
demise of working together to accomplish big things has
been greatly exaggerated.
MARKTEDESCO
Director,
U.S. EPA Long Island Sound Office
LONG ISLAND SOUND FUTURES
FUND GRANT PROGRAM:
A 'SURROUND SOUND' PARTNERSHIP
IN 2009-2010 THE SOUND FUTURES FUND awarded nearly
$3.5 million in grants to groups that matched these funds with an
additional $6.14 million to conduct 67 stewardship, restoration,
watershed management, and education projects. During this
period, LISFF was funded by EPA, National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation (NFWF), Shell Oil's Marine Habitat Program, FWS, the
Carolyn Conklin Trust, FedEx and settlements administered by
NFWF from environmental cases provided by the U.S. Department
of Justice and U.S. Coast Guard. Since the grant program started
in 2005,176 projects have been funded, including projects that
have opened up 68 river miles for fish passage, and restored or
protected 405 acres of critical fish and wildlife habitat. Other
projects have included educating and involving more than 350,000
residents. See www.longislandsoundstudy.net/futuresfundhf
descriptions of all projects.
Projects Awarded in 2009 r
HUTCHINSON RIVER CLEANUP (NY)
The Hutchinson River Restoration Project
organized a canoe-born expedition of
volunteers to clean up floatable debris from
the shore of the Thomas Pell Wildlife Refuge
in Pelham Bay in the Bronx.
Saugatuck River
Fish Passage
Pequonnock River™
Fish Passage
Norwalk River
Pollution Levels
V
Sheffield
Island Restoration
Environmental
Education and
Internships
2009 and 2010K
Coastal Clean-up
Program(~
f
: Mill River
tormwater Treatment
Oyster Bay/ Cold Spring
Harbor Committee
Hutchinson
River Clean-up
Project
Beach Nesting
Social Marketing
r
Bronx River
Water Quality
Monitoring
)—i
Hempstead
Boater Harbor Water
Pollution Monitoring
Prevention Program
Little Neck
Bay Festival
Parking Lot
Stormwater
Remediation
Planning
Waterfront
Park Education
Septic System
Management
o
b-rS~^
'Creature
Encounters
Long Beach
Restoration
o
I
i
Seaweed
Nutrient
Bioextraction
Flax Pond
Habitat
Monitoring
Invasive—i /-
Pepperweed j
Removal I
LI Beach Nissequogue River r
Clean-upQ Stewardship Plan
Harrison Pond ParkCJ
Wetland Restoration'
HEMPSTEAD HARBOR (NY)
The Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee
expanded its weekly water quality monitoring
program to include new locations to help
municipalities in their efforts to open more
areas for shellfish harvesting.
)
•:
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Housatonic Valley
Low Impact
Development Plans
Pond Lily
Dam Removal
Planning
.Road Water *
J Remediation (J
Swale ,, i n i i
Yale Peabody
Museum Outreach
Storm Sewer
Stencilling
Silver Sands
State Beach
Wa
'allace
Dam Fishway
Solar Youth
|Community Projects
QLittle River
* Tidal Restoration
Solar Youth
Leaders in Training
>Tankerhoosen Watershed
Land Use Planning
r~) Stormwater Solutions
r \o\ Salmon River
* P"
Coastal Clean-up Outer Island
Program (CT) Education Center
O Harbor to River
' Interpretative Si
iterpretative Signs
Acquisition Former
Griswold Airport
Stormwater Neighborhood
Management Plans Save the Steward
A River Teams
Outreach ^
'.
Ripanian
Buffers
; Anguilla
Celebration Brook Fish
Weekends Passage
Stewardship Area
Management Plans
Water Pollution
_Monitoring
Q Aquatic Phytoplankton
F Invasives Guide
NY/ CT Eelgrass Control
Restoration Education
Beach-nesting
Bird Stewardship
OUTER ISLAND EDUCATION CENTER (CT)
The Friends of Outer Island is building a
revitalized educational centre on Outer
Island, including a marine lab, learning
stations, and a classroom pavilion, to provide
hands-on learning and research opportunities
about Long Island Sound.
Goldsmith Inlet
Stormwater
Remediation
1)51
Coastal
Resilience
Beach-Nesting
Social Marketing
P
Conscience Bay
Stormwater
Control
i
SOUND EXPERIENCES (NY)
Cornell Cooperative Extension provided
educational experiences to more than 500
underserved students through land and
shipboard-based activities about Long Island
Sound's marine ecosystem.
WtmtL.
BEACH NESTING (NY)
Audubon New York worked with property
owners and local groups to increase
protection and reduce threats to piping
plovers on eastern Long Island beaches.
ORGANIC LANDSCAPING (CT)
CT Northeast Organic Farmers Association
ran workshops and created a Web site to
help homeowners move from chemical
to organic landscaping in order to reduce
pesticide and fertilizer use.
:r
NEIGHBORHOOD
STEWARD TEAMS (CT)
Solar Youth delivered an after-school pro-
gram that engaged New Haven youth to
investigate the local ecology of their com-
munity and Long Island Sound, and identify
environmental issues that affect the health
of people and the natural environment.
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PROTECTION + PROGRESS
WATER
QUALITY
LISS's partners in 2009-2010 made significant strides toward
fulfilling a long-term goal of improving water quality by reduc-
ing nitrogen, a pollutant that contributes to hypoxia (low oxygen
dead zones), harmful algal blooms, loss of underwater vegetation,
fish kills, and changes in the Sound's food web.
Nitrogen is a vital nutrient to stimulate plant growth, but in
excess, nitrogen in coastal waters can lead to problems, includ-
ing hypoxia. In the summer months as much as 200 square
miles of the Sound's 1,300 square miles of bottom waters
might experience hypoxia.
In the 19903, the Study determined that the largest single
source of nitrogen—42 percent or 211,724 pounds per
day—came from the treated human waste discharged from
sewage treatment plants (STPs) operated by municipalities
in Connecticut and New York. In 2000, the states and EPA
developed a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan to
reduce nitrogen loads by 58.5 percent at STPs through plant
upgrades. The communities with STPs must reach their tar-
gets by 2014 with the exception of plants in New York City
and Westchester, which received extensions to 2017.
In 2010, LISS's partners reduced nitrogen discharges by
8,385 pounds per day (or 5,308 equalized pounds) from the
previous year, the largest year to year decrease since the TMDL
program began (see Highlights, Data).
In addition to upgrading STPs, the Study is looking at
reducing nutrient runoff (see p. 8) and biologically extracting
nutrients from the Sound (see p. 7). LISS is also working with
New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts to address nitro-
gen discharges from the upper reaches of the Connecticut
River, the Sound's largest source of fresh water.
GOAL
Improve water
quality by reducing
nitrogen pollution
PROGRESS
Cut nitrogen by
43% since early
1990s
CHALLENGE
Maintain adequate
funding for plant
upgrades
HIGHLIGHTS 2009-2010
• TEN PLANTS, 8 in CT and 2 in NY completed final
or phased upgrades in 2009 and 2010 at a cost
of $339.83 million. These upgrades resulted in a
reduction of 4,936 equalized pounds per day from
early 1990s baseline levels. The upgrades used a
process called biological nutrient removal (BNR), in
which bacteria is used to break down the reactive
nitrogen found in human waste in a series of steps
before the clean effluent is discharged into the
water. About 60% of the reduction was the result
of an interim project completed at the Hunts Point
plant in the Bronx.
• IN 2010, THE WARDS ISLAND plant in New
York City reduced 3,006 equalized pounds per day
from baseline years as part of a demonstration proj-
ect that involved the use of methanol. The innova-
tive method, available for large plants, is called the
SHARON (Single Reactor System for High Ammonia
Removal Over Nitrate) process.
• IN 2009, THE STAMFORD Water Pollution
Control Authority received $900,000 for selling
credits to a Nitrogen Credit Exchange as part of CT's
innovative Nitrogen Trading Program. Communities
that complete their projects, and exceed their
targets, can sell credits to the exchange, which
are purchased by communities that have not yet
completed projects. By 2010, Stamford exceeded its
2014 target by 400 equalized pounds per day.
SEWAGE
TREATMENT
PLANT
CONTROL
STATUS
STPs without
Biological Nutrient
Removal (BNR) Q
upgrades r
STPs with
interim BNR
STPs with
BNR completed
y
FOOTNOTES:
Pins with a * indicate
that an upgrade
(interim or final)
was completed
in 2009 or 2010
6\\
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THE DATA
REDUCING NITROGEN
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
INNOVATIVE WAYS TO
IMPROVE WATER QUALITY
IN 2010, NITROGEN DISCHARGES decreased by 5,308 trade
equalized pounds per day from the previous year, the largest
year to year decrease since nitrogen reduction efforts began in
the early 1990s. This is largely due to the partial completion of
upgrades to reduce nitrogen at large NYC STPs. Since 2000, the
first year of the Total Maximum Daily Load for nitrogen, 10,219
trade equalized pounds of nitrogen have been reduced. Since the
early 1990s, when baseline discharges were calculated at 59,147
pounds per day, a total of 25,444 equalized pounds per day have
been reduced. The ultimate goal is to reduce point source nitrogen
inputs to Long Island Sound by another 11,000 pounds. In 2010,
the states reached 70% of the final reduction target compared to
52% in 2009. A decrease in point source nitrogen loads reflects
progress by the states of CT and NY in upgrading wastewater
treatment facilities.
Trade equalization is a geographical calculation of the effect a
pound of nitrogen leaving a treatment plant source will eventually
have when it reaches western Long Island Sound where the prob-
lem of hypoxia is the greatest.
LIS POINT SOURCE NITROGEN TRADE-EQUALIZED LOADS
(Thousands TE pounds per day)
5
2014 Goal
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
TRADITIONAL METHODS to reduce
nutrients in the Sound include upgrad-
ing sewage treatment plants to eliminate
reactive nitrogen in sewage and reducing
stormwater runoff that carries nutrients
from fertilizer and animal waste into storm
drains and tributaries. These methods
reduce the amount of nutrients entering the
Sound from the land. An additional method
that is being explored by managers is called
"nutrient bioextraction," in which nutrients
are removed from within the Sound by the
cultivation and harvest of organisms such as
shellfish and seaweed. As these organisms
grow, they take up nutrients from the sur-
rounding waters, and, when harvested, the
nutrients they contain are directly removed.
A workshop in Stamford, organized by
LISS, was held in 2009 to learn about nutrient
bioextraction technologies being used around
the world and to discuss the opportunities
and challenges of implementing these prac-
tices in the Sound. One of the major recom-
mendations from the workshop was the need
for a Sound-based pilot study, to get local
information and assess the potential effects
of nutrient bioextraction on the environment.
A multi-institutional partnership has
formed over the last year to conduct this
pilot study in a highly-urban envi-
ronment. The location for the
pilot study is in the farthest
western reaches of the
Sound, at the confluence of
the Bronx and East rivers in
New York City. The Bronx
River pilot study site is cur-
rently impacted by a variety
of human-derived stressors common to urban
waters. The nearby Hunts Point STP releases
200-400 million gallons of treated effluent
per day, combined sewer overflows are a
recurring problem, and the large amount of
impervious surfaces in the area exacerbates
ongoing problems with polluted stormwater.
The original habitat along the Bronx River
was predominantly salt marshes inhabited
by dense populations of ribbed mussels
(Geukensia demissa). These salt marshes
became degraded (and in many cases elimi-
nated) as the city expanded along the rivers.
With the loss of habitat, the capacity of the
local shellfish to filter microorganisms fertil-
ized by high nutrient levels from the ecosys-
tem was also lost.
The Bronx River Watershed
Initiative is funding the instal-
lation of a raft of ribbed
mussels to evaluate the
potential for shellfish
aquaculture to increase
biological filtration activ-
ity in this environment.
The raft will be installed and
AN EXAMPLE OF A MUSSEL SOCK
hanging from a raft (top). Ribbed mussels
found along the shore of the NOAA
Milford laboratory (below).
maintained by Pemaquid Mussel Farms, a
commercial mussel-aquaculture firm from the
state of Maine, and Rocking the Boat, a local
youth development organization. NOAA's
Milford Laboratory will be monitoring the
raft to measure impacts of the mussels on
local water quality. The Sound Futures Fund
has funded researchers at UConn to install
and monitor seaweed grown on longlines
alongside the mussel raft. Finally, EPA's
Office of Research and Development has
provided funding to model the potential
impacts of shellfish aquaculture on Long
Island Sound using data from the pilot study,
and to provide an economic assessment of
shellfish nutrient bioextraction. The modeling
and economic assessment team is being led
by NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and
Assessment. The pilot study is scheduled to
begin in 2011 and continue for two years.
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PROTECTION + PROGRESS
WATERSHED
MANAGEMENT
In 2003, LISS's Policy Committee, consisting of the commis-
sioners of New York and Connecticut, and EPA's regional
administrators, agreed that there was a need to increase efforts
to reduce pollution on land that could get washed into storm
drains and streams, and ultimately Long Island Sound. The
2003 Long Island Sound Agreement set a goal to develop or
implement watershed protection strategies in 50 percent of
the Sound's watershed in New York and Connecticut by 2010.
These strategies could include reducing impervious surfaces—
where pollutants such as motor oil, trash, and pet waste collect
before getting washed into storm drains—and restoring and
protecting vegetation along streams and lakes, which helps to
filter pollutants before they can enter the water.
A watershed is the area of land that contributes runoff to
a common body of water. The Sound is the common body of
water for an area that covers more than 17,000 square miles
in six states. Within the large watershed are hundreds of
small local watersheds that drain into streams, lakes, and riv-
ers, which ultimately connect to the Sound. Environmental
groups and local governments, often working across municipal
boundaries, organize local watershed associations and councils
to develop and implement management plans.
LISS, through the Sound Futures Fund, provides grants to
help municipalities and environmental groups develop and
implement watershed plans. NYSDEC and CT DEEP, the New
York and Connecticut Sea Grant programs, and the state affili-
ates of the Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials pro-
gram, or NEMO, also provides guidance.
2010
GOAL
Reduce polluted
runoff and non-
point source
pollution
PROGRESS
Supported more
than 20 water-
shed projects in
2009-2010
CHALLENGE
Fostering
development
in a sustainable
manner
HIGHLIGHTS 2009-2010
• A $48,243 LISFF grant was awarded to the town
of Smithtown in 2010 for a project to remove a dam
and restore wetlands. The grant helped achieve one
of the recommendations of the Nissequoque River
Stewardship Action Watershed Management Plan,
an effort that also has received LISFF grants.
• A $39,602 LISFF grant was used by CT Sea Grant
in 2009 to promote the use of riparian buffers
(natural vegetation along stream banks) in the
Niantic River watershed.
• A $63,000 LISFF grant was awarded to the Town
of Mamaroneck (NY) in 2010 for a project that will
retrofit 50 catch basins to remove or reduce 75% of
FOOTNOTE: Boundary lines refer to sub-regional watersheds
sediments, suspended solids, oil and grease, trash,
bacteria, nitrogen, and other pollutants from storm
drains before these pollutants can enter the Sound.
1 A $26,000 LISFF grant was awarded to the Friends
of the Hockanum River Linear Park of Vernon (CT) in
2010 to draft low impact development regulations
and create a stormwater design manual for the
Tankerhoosen Watershed.
1 A $60,000 LISFF grant to the Town of Oyster Bay
(NY) in 2010 helped to create an Oyster Bay/Cold
Spring Harbor Protection Committee to help protect
and enhance the harbors and a 40 sq. mi. watershed
consisting of 18 municipalities.
WATERSHED
MANAGEMENT
PROGRESS
2007-2010
No Management I I
Fragmented
implementation I I
Organization
with goal of
developing plan O
Actively
developing plan O
Completed
plan, not yet
implementing I I
Working to develop
plan and actively
implementing •
Actively
implementing •
Status unknown •
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THE DATA
WATERSHED PLANS
MANAGEMENT PLANS ARE BEING DEVELOPED
and implemented by watershed groups and municipalities
across the Sound. By 2010, these groups were developing
or implementing plans in more than half of the area of the
Sound's watershed in NY and CT (about 2,800 square miles).
An increase in developing and implementing watershed
plans reflects progress in managing water pollution that
originates on land.
Since a 2010 survey of watershed management activity,
several sub-watersheds advertised kick-off meetings to launch
a watershed management proposal, to improve their plan
or strategies, or develop interest in creating a management
organization. These watersheds include the Pequonnock River,
Saugatuck River, Five Mile River, and the Mianus River in
CT and the Nisseqogue River in NY. More information about
watershed projects and plans in the Long Island Sound is
available in the "watershed management" section of
www. longislandso undstudy.net.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
MILL RIVER
MILL RIVER is the popular name for the lower
reaches of the Rippowam River in Stamford
where numerous mills historically generated
power. In the 19th and early to mid-20th cen-
turies, the mills would release their waste into
the river. More recently, residents used the
river as a dumping ground, until the Mill River
Collaborative began engaging the community
in restoring and protecting the river.
A major part of the restoration was the
removal in 2009 of two dams and a concrete
mill pond by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
That work has made it possible for the commu-
nity to envision dramatically new possibilities
for the development of a scenic, natural area in
downtown Stamford, Connecticut's fourth larg-
est city. One of these visions, the migration of
fish, unimpeded by dams, swimming from the
Sound to the upper reaches of the Rippowam
River, was realized in 2010 with the release of
400 alewives by the CT DEEP in Scalzi Park, just
north of the downtown area (a second release
occurred in 2011). The city has also restored
natural vegetation along the banks, worked
with community groups to build an exciting
children's playground, and is developing new
areas for public access.
A key challenge in restoration will be
improving water quality by controlling pol-
luted runoff into the lower reaches of the
river, the heart of downtown Stamford, where
89 percent of the land area is developed. The
Collaborative is looking to solve this problem
by constructing landscapes that will filter and
cleanse stormwater that falls on the park and
the adjoining road network.
The stormwater management system in
the downtown area will include three major
UNTIL 2009, the Mill River was the site
of an aging dam and sea wall; now green
infrastructure projects such as vegetative
swales are being constructed along restored
riverbanks to reduce polluted runoff from
entering the river (top). Youth from BuildOn
and the Student Conservation Association
conduct macroinvertebrate surveys in the
restored Mill River (right).
infiltration swales—grassy depressions that
collect runoff—and large rain gardens—care-
fully designed landscapes that absorb water.
It also will include a piped system that will
capture excess stormwater and process it in a
treatment unit before it enters the river. The
overall system is designed to retain or treat
the first inch of rain during a storm, when
the most pollutants are washed off of roads
and into storm drains, all of which lead to
the river. It is for this design that the Sound
Futures Fund in 2010 awarded a $500,000
grant to the Collaborative. The project is
expected to begin in 2011, and will have the
added benefit of reducing flooding onto the
city's streets.
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PROTECTION + PROGRESS
HABITAT
RESTORATION
LISS established a Habitat Restoration Initiative in 1996 to
restore and protect 12 priority Long Island Sound habitat types
that have been degraded, or are under threat, from development
and pollution. These habitat types include some of the most
valuable natural resources on the Sound: tidal wetlands,
submerged aquatic vegetation, intertidal flats, coastal barriers,
beaches, and dunes, riverine migratory corridors (opening rivers
for fish passage), coastal grasslands, rocky intertidal zones,
coastal and island forests, molluscan (shellfish) reefs, estuarine
embayments, submerged aquatic vegetation, cliffs and bluffs,
and freshwater wetlands.
To achieve the goal of restoration—reestablishing ecological
conditions before human disturbance to the fullest extent
possible—the Initiative identified hundreds of sites to be
restored, and established acreage and river mile restoration
targets (see the Data, p 11). Descriptions of projects that have
been restored can be viewed on a database in LISS's Web site.
To help municipalities and environmental groups
restore the remaining sites, LISS-funded habitat restoration
coordinators have been providing communities with technical
assistance and advice on where and how to apply for grants.
In part because of their efforts, the Sound Futures Fund is
beginning to see an increase in habitat restoration proposals.
Recognizing that habitat restoration projects can be
expensive, the Sound Futures Fund also increased the
potential grant awards for these projects to $150,000 from
$75,000 in 2007. In 2010, the ceiling was raised to $500,000.
While four projects received more than $75,000 in 2010, the
highest grant award was $150,000 to fund a project to restore
65 acres of woodlands in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx.
1. Continental Farm Tidal Marsh Restoration, Stonington, CT
2. Barn Island Impoundment 2a Marsh Restoration, Stonington, CT
3. Vargas Pond Dam Fishway, Stonington, CT
4. Groton Long Point Tidal Wetland Restoration, Groton, CT
5. Camp Harkness Tidal March, Waterford, CT
6. Harkness Memorial State Park Dune Restoration, Waterford, CT
7. Brides Brook Restoration, East Lyme, CT
8. Duck Pond Tidal Flow Restoration, Old Lyme, CT
9. Crystal Lake Dam Bypass Channel, Old Saybrook, CT
10. West Point Road Park Tidal Wetland Restoration, Branford, CT
11. Tweed/New Haven Airport TW Restoration, New and East Haven, CT
12. Tingue Dam Fish Passage, Seymour, CT
13. Long Beach West Dune Restoration, Stratford, CT
14. Wakeman Island Tidal Marsh Restoration, Fairfield, CT
15. Burrit Cove TW Restoration, Westport, CT
16. Mill River Dam Removal, Stamford, CT
17. Manursing Lake, Rye, NY
18. Dickerson's Pond, New Rochelle, NY
19. Turtle Cove, Bronx, NY
20. Alley Pond Park Coastal Forest, Douglaston, NY
21. Mill Pond, Port Washington, NY
22. Bar Beach Lagoon, Port Washington, NY
23. Betty Allen Fish Passage, Centerport, NY
24. Harrisons Pond Dam Removal, Smithtown, NY
25. Mattituck Barge Removal, Mattituck, NY
26. Bittner Preserve Bulkhead Removal, Southold, NY
(12)
r
GOAL
Restore shoreline
habitats and river
corridors
PROGRESS
Restored 1,045 acres
and 160.4 miles of
new river passage
CHALLENGE
Accomplishing more
costly and compli-
cated restorations
HIGHLIGHTS 2009-2010
• IN 2009-2010, the Sound Futures Fund awarded
$1.1 million for 12 habitat restoration projects.
• IN 2009, the New York City Parks & Recreation
Department completed a 23.5 acre project to remove
invasive species and restore coastal woodlands at
the headwaters of a creek in Alley Pond Park in
Queens. LISFF provided a $150,000 grant in 2007 for
the project, which is in a LISS Stewardship Area.
• A $100,000 LISFF grant was awarded to the Trust
for Public Land in 2009 to help fund a project to
remove 41 dilapidated cottages on Long Beach West
in Stratford, CT to facilitate the restoration of dune
and barrier beach habitat. The American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided nearly $1
million for the restoration of the 18-acres site. Long
Beach West is part of a LISS Stewardship Area.
HABITAT
RESTORATION
PROJECT
PROGRESS
2009-2010
> THE NUMBER OF ALEWIVES passing through
a fish counter at Brides Brook in Rocky Neck
State Park in CT increased from 74,839 in 2009
to 164,149 in 2010 following the completion
of a project to replace an aging and collapsing
culvert. The project, which included ARRA as a
sponsor, also restored 82.4 acres of tidal wetlands.
Continued monitoring will assess long-term trends.
• IN 2009-2010, Westchester County installed a
tidal gate and restored and created meadows as
part of a $1.3 million project to restore tidal flow
and stabilize an eroding shoreline at Manursing
Lake in Rye. The Dissolved Oxygen Environmental
Benefit Fund for the Western Long Island Sound
and Jamaica Bay, a program managed by NFWF,
awarded a $190,000 grant for the project, which
is in a Stewardship Area.
P
Projects
completed
in 2009
Projects
still in
progress at
end of 2010
Projects
completed
in 2010
FOOTNOTES:
All of these projects
are listed in the LISS
Habitat Restoration
Initiative database.
Five of the project
received LISFF awards
10\\
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THE DATA
RESTORING HABITATS
BY 2006, LISS met a goal to reopen 100 miles of river for fish
that migrate between rivers, the Sound and the ocean—two years
ahead of schedule. The success can be attributed to implementing
fish passage projects with the cooperation of CT DEEP and federal,
municipal, and non-profit partners. Owing to this progress, LISS set a
new goal of restoring an additional 43 miles by 2011. That goal was
met by 2008. Fish passage projects include removing dams that pre-
vented many migratory fish from finding suitable freshwater spawn-
ing habitat. In addition to removing dams, opening river miles can
involve creating fishways to allow fish to pass over or around a dam.
LISS and its partners have restored 1,045 coastal acres, falling
short of a goal launched in 1998 to restore 2,000 acres of coastal
habitat in 10 years. As a result, the goal was extended to 2020. For
several years, after initial success restoring larger, relatively less
expensive sites, LISS partners tackled smaller sites on sensitive
lands that were expensive and difficult to restore. But the number
of restored acres increased in 2009-2010, primarily because funding
became available to fund three projects that involved increasing
tidal flow (Brides Brook, Manursing Lake, and Tweed/New Haven
Airport), the types of projects that have the potential to quickly
restore wetland vegetation in large areas. In total, 20 habitats,
totaling 361 acres, were restored in 2009-2010, including 204 acres
in 2010, the highest amount of acreage restored in one year since
reporting started.
RIVER MILES COASTAL HABITAT
(Hundreds of Miles Restored) (Hundreds of Acres Restored)
o „ _ 12
1998 2002 2006 2010 1998 2002 2006 2010
FOOTNOTE: Both charts show cumulative totals
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
HARRISONS POND
DAM REMOVAL
IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES,
property owners around Long Island Sound
built thousands of dams to create ponds or to
help power mills. While dams had benefits, they
also had their downsides, including prevent-
ing migratory fish from swimming upstream
to spawning habitat, causing the build up of
sediments behind the dam, and possibly the
accumulation of debris and pollutants.
Today, many of these dams are faltering
due to age and cost of maintenance, lead-
ing to another concern—flooding. This was
the case in 2004 in New York when a large
storm caused a dam to collapse in the Town of
Smithtown's Harrison Pond Park.
The Town first considered rebuilding the
dam. But the community also wanted to see
the surrounding wetland restored, and that
was unlikely to occur if the dam and the pond
remained. Because of the dam, native wetland
plants that would have thrived next to a flow-
ing steam had been replaced by overgrown
invasive species. While the Town was deciding
whether to replace the dam, citizens heard the
benefits of removing the dam at meetings of
the Nissequogue River Stewardship Action Plan
steering committee. They voiced their support,
and the Town removed the dam in 2010 as
part of the restoration project at the park. A
40-foot long section of intact concrete dam was
removed, along with rubble and debris. The
banks of the stream were regraded and stabi-
lized with gabions, and the bottom of the chan-
nel was lined with river rocks. Areas cleared
for restoration work were planted with native
trees, plants, and shrubs. The project involved
the restoration of approximately 0.35 acres of
the wetland area. A pedestrian footbridge,
gravel walkways, and viewing areas were
provided for park goers to view the restoration.
Additionally, two interpretative signs were
installed in the viewing areas. One sign informs
the public about the various plants, animals,
and trees found in the surrounding wetland.
The second sign concerns the history of the
area and wetland, and the important function
of wetland streams. Other important outcomes
of the project are that it enhanced the stream
flow and coldwater input to the adjacent
Nissequogue River tributary, thus improving the
habitat for fish spawning, and it removed the
obstruction to fish passage upstream.
The final project cost was $218,145, and
included a $94,993 grant from the Sound
Futures Fund. The project was completed in
October 2010. Rebuilding the dam would have
cost approximately $600,000.
The Nissequogue River Stewardship Action
Plan also was developed with financial assis-
tance from the Sound Futures Fund. It includes
recommendations that have led to projects
such as the dam removal to ensure the protec-
tion of the habitat and water quality of the
Nissequogue River in a densely populated
40-square mile watershed.
BEFORE (OCT2007)
THE STREAM at Harrison
Pond Park, before and after
a dam was removed.
\\n
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PROTECTION + PROGRESS
STEWARDSHIP
The Study's Management Committee established the Long
Island Sound Stewardship Initiative to protect the diverse
plants and animals that make their home in or near the
estuary. The Stewardship Initiative also seeks to ensure
that the Sound's citizens will continue to have access to
the natural seascapes that make the area an enjoyable
place to live.
As a culmination of over three years of effort, the
Stewardship Initiative work group in 2006 identified 33
inaugural areas around the Sound with significant recre-
ational and ecological values (see www.longislandsound
study.net/stewardship for details). To help protect these
areas, the Sound Futures Fund in 2009-2010 provided
grants to states, municipalities, and environmental organi-
zations to help develop conservation plans for these areas
and to implement projects such as restoring habitats and
engaging the public to become better stewards of their
local, natural resources.
In 2009-2010, the Initiative also responded to a need
first identified in the Study's 1994 Comprehensive
Conservation and Management Plan to help its partners
in the acquisition and protection of environmentally
significant, privately owned, undeveloped lands. Through
the Sound Futures Fund and awards to the states, the
Study provided $720,000 to help acquire two coastal
properties totaling 45.3 acres.
GOAL
Protect open
spaces and
natural areas
PROGRESS
Protected 1,466
coastal acres in
2009-2010
CHALLENGE
Protecting sensitive
lands threatened
by development
1. Sheep Hill Farm, Groton, CT
2. Czikowsky Property, Lyme, CT
3. Griswold Airport Property, Madison, CT
4. Goss Property, Guilford, CT
5. Soundview Property, Guilford, CT
6. Race Brook Tract, Woodbridge, CT
7. Bird Property, Rye, NY
8. Red Spring Woods addition. Glen Cove, NY
9. Banfi Fields Parcel 1, Old Brookville, NY
10. Humes Estate, Oyster Bay, NY
11. OH Mill Farm, Oyster Bay, NY
12. Diamond Easement (Tiffany Creek), Oyster Bay, NY
13. Tiffany Creek Easement, Oyster Bay, NY
14. A) Schwab Property, Oyster Bay, NY
B) Cutting Property, Oyster Bay, NY
15. Riker-Froehlicks/Wicks, Huntington, NY
16. Kings ParkGreenbelt Addition-Szurnicki, Kings Park, NY
17. Murphy Property, Kings Park, NY
18. Head of the Harbor Acquisition, Head of the Harbor, NY
19. East Setauket Diocese, East Setauket, NY
20. Tyler Property, Setauket, NY
21. Chandler Property, Mt. Sinai, NY
22. Spring Meadow, Wading River, NY
23. Brodmerkel Wetlands, Wading River, NY
24. Andrews Farm Development Rights, Riverhead, NY
25. Anderegg Preserve, Riverhead, NY
26. DeLea Sod Farm Developement Rights, Riverhead, NY
27. Wojewocki Farm Development rights, Riverhead, NY
28. Clarks Beach, Greenport, NY
29. Ghassemi Farm Development Rights, Southold, NY
30. Droskoski Estate Development Rights, Orient, NY
HIGHLIGHTS 2009-2010
• A $21,000 LISFF grant in 2010 was awarded to
CT Sea Grant to help develop plans to manage
critical habitats for a diversity of plant and animal
life in three Stewardship Areas—Goshen Cove in
Waterford, the Lower Connecticut River in Essex,
and Hammonasset Beach.
• A $450,000 grant in 2009 from LISS to NYSDEC
helped the state purchase a 28.3 acre woodland
property in Setauket, Long Island. The property,
which was owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese
of Rockville Centre, was the largest privately-owned
undeveloped area draining into Consience Bay.
Preservation of the woodlands will help prevent
runoff from roads and related contaminants from
entering the estuary.
COASTAL
LANDS
PROTECTED
> IN 2009-2010, LISFF provided acquisition,
restoration, and management grants for 18 projects
within stewardship areas.
• A $260,000 LISFF grant in 2010 to Trust for Public
Land helped the town of Madison acquire and
protect the Griswold Airport property next to one of
the state's largest coastal parks (see p. 13).
• IN 2010, the city of Rye completed the purchase
of the 1-acre Bird property adjacent to the Blind
Brook and part of a LISS Stewardship Initiative Area.
In 2008, LISS contributed $200,000 toward the
purchase of the land, which provides protection to
tidal wetlands at Milton Harbor and the Marshlands
Conservancy, the largest salt marsh preserve in
Westchester County.
P
Parcels
Protected
in 2009
Parcels
Protected
in 2010
FOOTNOTES:
The map shows
acquisitions as well
as conservation
easements purchased
by federal, state, or
local governments, and
land trusts. Information
was collected by LISS's
Habitat Restoration
Initiative.
The parcels at pin 14 (A
and B) are too close to
separate on this map.
12\\
-------
THE DATA
OPEN SPACE
PROTECTION
IN 2009 AND 2010, local, state and federal agencies, and non-
profit groups acquired or purchased easements for at least 46
properties totaling 1,466 acres to protect undeveloped lands as
natural open space in the coastal Long Island Sound watershed.
The research was compiled by LISS's habitat restoration coordina-
tors from press releases, newspaper articles, and Web sites. The
list does not account for all transactions, but shows that the region
far exceeded a goal established by the LISS Policy Committee in
2006 to restore and protect 300 acres of land by 2011. The acqui-
sitions and easements also help to fulfill Open Space Protection
Plans established by CT and NY.
COASTAL AREA PROTECTED NY AND CT
(Hundreds of Acres—cumulative since Oct. 2006)
20
15
10
U
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
CT STATEWIDE LANDS PROTECTED
(Hundred Thousand Acres—cumulative)
5
0-
Pre-1998 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007
FOOTNOTE: CT is more than 70% toward the state goal of protecting
673,210 acres of land for the entire state.
2010
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
GRISWOLD
AIRPORT PROPERTY
STRONG COMMUNITY SUPPORT and an
effective partnership between nonprofit groups
and local, state, and federal agencies, including
LISS, resulted in the purchase in 2010 of a large,
environmentally valuable shoreline property
in Madison, CT. The former Griswold Airport,
next to one of Connecticut's largest coastal
state parks, was purchased, with the help of
Trust for Public Land (TPL), from a developer
who had been proposing a 127-unit residential
development for the site.
The town of Madison purchased the
42-acre Griswold property in May 2010
from LeylandAlliance for $9.5 million fol-
lowing a January referendum in which
voters overwhelmingly approved the sale.
Of the 42 acres, about 20 acres along the
Hammonasset River closest to the 919-acre
Hammonasset Beach State Park and Natural
Area Preserve, part of a LISS Stewardship
Initiative Area, will be designated as conser-
vation lands. The remaining acreage will be
developed by the town for recreational use,
including ball fields.
One of the funding partners was the Sound
Futures Fund, which awarded a $260,000
grant to TPL, which raised, along with
Audubon Connecticut and a local committee,
$1.7 million of the total purchase price. CT
DEEP also was an important funding support-
er, providing $1 million, including $500,000
to TPL through the Long Island Sound License
Plate Fund and Ecosystem Management
Habitat Restoration Grant Program.
Hammonasset Park is an important habi-
tat to a wide variety of nesting, migrating,
and wintering birds with nearly 300 species
having been recorded there, including one
asm
of the highest concentrations of Saltmarsh
sparrows, birds that are on CT DEEP's list of
threatened birds and birds of special concern.
Protection of the Griswold property will
provide a significant buffer to Hammonasset,
and enhance the saltmarsh and upland habi-
tat that support bird species.
"When I learned of the vote, it was the
first time in a long time that I felt this deep
satisfaction that people today can still step up
and do the right thing," said Diana Johnson
of Old Lyme, who posted her comment on
the Facebook page of Stop Griswold Over
Development. Johnson, a birder who frequently
visits Hammonasset, added in an e-mail to
the Study: "There are so few opportunities to
acquire Long Island Sound waterfront and even
rarer that a large parcel becomes available that
is contiguous to State owned lands. Thank
goodness for the folks in Madison who 'get it,'
and the hard work of you and TPL and Audubon
to ensure its perpetual protection."
THE FORMER GRISWOLD AIRPORT
property was purchased by the town of
Madison in 2010 (top). Almost half of the
42-acre property will be protected as a con-
servation area. The site is a haven for many
coastal birds, including the marsh wren (left).
\\13
-------
PROTECTION + PROGRESS
MONITORING
& ASSESSMENT
Monitoring environmental conditions, both on land and in
water, over a long period of time provides crucial informa-
tion for state and federal agencies to determine whether
progress has been made in achieving the goals of the Study's
Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP),
and to identify emerging trends.
The Study has played an important role in supporting as
well as funding monitoring programs. Since 1987, for example,
LISS has funded CT DEEP to conduct a comprehensive water
quality monitoring program. CT DEEP collects data on condi-
tions such as dissolved oxygen levels, chlorophyll a levels, and
water clarity, which helps resource managers evaluate the
effectiveness of the efforts to reduce hypoxia (low dissolved
oxygen). Scientists also use the data to support basic research
on the causes of hypoxia and other water quality issues.
In 2010, the Study also provided support to the Interstate
Environmental Commission, which specializes in near shore
and harbor areas in the western Sound and the Narrows.
Through the Sound Futures Fund, LISS also has provided
grants to citizen monitoring groups to sample water quality in
harbors and near shore areas.
Monitoring also helps track other CCMP goals, including
protecting habitats and managing the impact of development
on water pollution. In 2009, for example, LISS funded FWS
to survey the extent of eelgrass meadows, and in 2010 funded
UConn's Center for Land Use and Education (CLEAR) to track
changes in land use and impervious surfaces that can impact
the Sound and its tributaries (see feature, next page).
Several other programs monitor the Sound, including CT
DEEP's Long Island Sound Trawl Survey, NYSDEC's estuarine
survey, and state surveys of coastal bird populations.
GOAL
Track the ecological
health of Long
Island Sound
PROGRESS
Improved under-
standing of the
Sound's resources
CHALLENGE
Synthesizing data
to monitor progress
and identify trends
HIGHLIGHTS 2009-2010
• FROM OCTOBER TO MAY, CT DEEP collects
monthly water quality samples at 17 stations
aboard the agency's research vessel John
Dempsey. From June to September the surveys
expand to biweekly at 48 stations.
• UCONN'S Long Island Sound Integrated Coastal
Observing System (LISICOS) provides real time
water quality monitoring in the open Sound and in
embayments through equipment deployed on six
buoys, a lighthouse, and a dock. The program had
received start-up funding through the EPA in 1998
with LISS's support.
• FWS USED A $150,000 LISS enhancement grant
to identify the extent of eelgreass meadows in
2009 in eastern Connecticut and Long Island. The
survey was the third since 2002.
WATER
QUALITY
MONITORING
STATIONS
1 IN 2009-2010, LISFF awarded more than
$150,000 in grants to five community groups
to monitor water quality and coastal animal
populations.
• LISFF FUNDS helped start the Project Limulus
program to monitor horseshoe crabs in Long Island
Sound. Cornell University's Cooperative Extension
of Suffolk County also has a horseshoe crab moni-
toring program.
1 DATA COLLECTED by state and federal agen-
cies was used by LISS to produce the Sound Health
2010 environmental indicators report, which was
distributed to more than 300,000 residents. LISS
also used the data for its redesigned Status and
Trends Web pages.
Year-Round
CT DEEP Station
Summer
CT DEP Station
LISICOS
Buoy
P
P
FOOTNOTES:
Summer boat sta-
tions collect samples
from mid-June to
September. The buoy
sensors are operated
by UConn's Long Island
Sound Integrated
Coastal Observing
System
14\\
-------
DATA SPOTLIGHT
LONG ISLAND SOUND
TRAWL SURVEY
CT DEEP'S LONG ISLAND SOUND TRAWL SURVEY \S
a vital tool to measure the abundance and distribution of finfish,
squid, and other macro-invertebrates (lobster, crabs, horseshoe
crabs, whelks) in Long Island Sound, independent of commercial or
recreational fishing. By comparing Trawl Survey data with current
fishery data (landings, catch/effort, seasonal patterns) each spe-
cies' harvest can be weighed against its abundance, providing a
gauge to determine whether harvest limit targets are being met.
The Trawl Survey also provides a measure of recruitment strength
(abundance of young fish entering the population each year) as
well as detailed characterization of the size and age composition
of several species entering the Sound. Each spring (April, May,
June) and fall (September, October) the 50-foot research vessel
John Dempsey carries its crew of 4-6 scientists and vessel staff
on the monthly cruises, sampling 40 stations selected at random
from 12 depth and substrate categories (called "strata") between
Groton and Greenwich in both CT and NY waters.
CT DEEP RESEARCH VESSEL John Dempsey (below)
has been used for monitoring the Sound's water quality and
marine life since 1991. The Dempsey was out of service for
part of 2010 when its engine was replaced and other equip-
ment added. It returned to the Sound in early 2011.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
LAND COVER
MAPPING
MANY OF THE PROBLEMS facing the
Sound are connected, either directly or indi-
rectly, to land use in the watershed. In order
to get a better handle on land use changes
over time and their relationship to trends in
various environmental health indicators and
CCMP goals, the Study has funded UConn's
Center for Land Use Education and Research
(CLEAR) to expand its current land cover
change research. CLEAR conducts an ongo-
ing, research project that uses remote sens-
ing-based land cover to track changes over
time to Connecticut's landscape. Land cover,
or what is physically covering the ground, is
linked by a robust and growing body of lit-
erature to a number of environmental health
concerns, particularly those involving water
resources. CLEAR's project now character-
izes land cover change in the state during
the 21-year period 1985-2006. The projects
include information on changes to land
cover categories like developed land, forest
and turf/grass, and also subsidiary analyses
focusing on forest fragmentation, impervious
cover, and riparian corridors.
In the past, the Study has funded specific
land cover studies by CLEAR, and also used
the land cover change data to help track the
status and trends of key CCMP-related mea-
sures, like developed land and riparian cover;
however, these datasets generally applied only
to Connecticut. In 2010, LISS funded CLEAR to
expand the coverage of its project to include
the New York portion of the lower water-
shed, in order to generate uniform land cover
measures for the LISS area from 1985-2006.
Included will be overall land cover change,
riparian corridor change, and forest fragmenta-
STONINGTON
LAND COVER
Before 1985
Developed I I
Turf/grass I I
1985-2006
Change to developed •
Change to turf/grass I I
Current
Forest II
Wetlands I I
Field/Grass CH
Barren CH
Water CH
tion. In the second year of the project, both
the Connecticut and New York portions of the
study area will be updated to 2010, creating a
unique dataset covering a 25-year period. The
land cover data will be used by LISS manag-
ers to help track and assess progress against
Study goals. It is also hoped that the data will
be used by other researchers as they continue
to study the impacts of land use on the water
quality and biological health of the Sound.
The land cover data are already used by
municipalities to provide information on where
projects to reduce pollutants entering bodies
of water are needed to lessen the impact of
development. For example, Stamford's Mill
River Collaborative cited CLEAR's analysis of
the amount of impervious surfaces in down-
town Stamford as part of its justification to
propose a project to implement a watershed
wide system of green and engineered storm-
water treatment infrastructure to protect the
river and Long Island Sound. CLEAR data also
were used by CTDEP to conduct statewide
research comparing CLEAR impervious cover
estimates to populations of in-stream macro-
invertebrates; the results became the research
foundation of the Eagleville Brook impervi-
ous cover-based Total Maximum Daily Load
plan—the first in the country.
A MAP SHOWING development changes
in Stonington and surrounding area (top).
Participants in one of CT NEMO's Rain
Garden Workshop trainings, sponsored by CT
DEEP and EPA Region 1, install a rain garden
at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, CT in
2010. The training was focused on helping
landscapers, contractors, public works staff
and others learn how to design and install
a rain garden, a low impact development
practice (below).
-------
PROTECTION + PROGRESS
MONITORING FOR
CLIMATE CHANGE
Since the Study's CCMP was approved in 1994, global climate
change impacts have come to the forefront in science, and in
managing environmental resources. The complexities of a chang-
ing climate and the subsequent impacts on different ecosystems
have caused many estuary programs to revisit their management
plans to take into consideration regional climate change. The
LISS Management Committee also saw the need to address the
localized effects of climate change and created a work group to
develop a Sentinel Monitoring for Climate Change strategy.
The Sentinel Monitoring for Climate Change program
involves a multidisciplinary approach to provide early warnings
of climate change impacts to the Sound's estuarine and coastal
ecosystems, plant and animal species, and processes to facilitate
appropriate and timely management decisions and adaptation
responses. These warnings will be based on assessments of
climate-related changes to the indicators/sentinels. The ultimate
goal is to begin a long-term monitoring program, through which
resource managers will be able to identify which Long Island
Sound resources are most vulnerable to climate change and
which are the most critical to protect.
The Sentinel Monitoring for Climate Change Work Group
formed in summer 2009 and began more effectively coordinat-
ing efforts already underway in both states to develop the moni-
toring strategy. The work group includes staff from the EPA
Long Island Sound Office, NOAA, NYSDEC, CT DEEP, and the
New York and Connecticut Sea Grant programs. Two state tech-
nical advisory groups include more than 60 federal, state, non-
governmental, and university partners who have contributed to
all stages of the strategic plan development.
GOAL
Identify climate
change impacts and
determine appropri-
ate adaptation and
PROGRESS
Completed strategy
and determined
six priority
sentinels
CHALLENGE
Maintain and
expand funding
for long-term
monitoring
mitigation strategies
HIGHLIGHTS 2009-2010
• CT DEEP, UCONN, AND NYSDEC convened
work groups of regional experts in both states
that resulted in recommendations for indicators
and the program as a whole. The program will
measure indicators (such as the abundance of
key species and habitats) that are likely to be
affected by climate change and that can
be monitored.
• THE SENTINEL MONITORING for Climate
Change work group narrowed down the list of pos-
sible pilot study indicators to 6 through the use of
an on-line survey and the availability of existing
data to supplement new monitoring.
• THE WORK GROUP received LISS funding to
issue a request for proposals (RFP) to implement a
short-term, pilot-scale study.
• LISS, THROUGH THE SOUND Futures Fund, also
awarded a $50,000 grant to The Nature Conservancy
(TNC) to create a portion of TNC's Coastal Resilience
web-based decision support tool. The grant helped
fund TNC's efforts to show projected climate change
impacts for North Shore communities in Suffolk
County (see top). Visit TNC's coastalresilience.org to
see the entire Sound project and other sites.
MAP FOOTNOTES
The LiDAR derived digital elevation model (above) provided
by Suffolk County Information Services is overlain by a range
of down-scaled sea level rise scenarios generated using
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission
scenarios, historic tide gauge data, land subsidence, local dif-
ferences in mean ocean density, circulation changes, thermal
expansion of sea water, and changes in ice mass due to global
temperature increases. The map above depicts projected
inundation for coastal resources such as salt marsh and built
structures under an IPCC A2 scenario by 2020. "Advancement
Zones" that may accommodate migrating marshes reflect
above the projected inundation scenarios by 2080.
MATTITUCK
CREEK SEA
LEVEL RISE
SCENARIO
Flood Areas (2020)
Highest mapping
confidence* •
Medium O
Lowest I I
'Mapping confidence
ranges are provided
to account for the
error in LiDAR data.
"Highest" represents
a 99% likelihood that
the shaded areas will
be inundated under
the selected sea level
rise and/or storm
surge scenario.
Potential for Marsh
Migration (2080)
Yes n
No, impeded
by existing
development •
16\\
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OTHER PROGRAMS
STATE CLIMATE
INITIATIVES
The States of Connecticut and New York are also working
independently to combat climate change and green house gas
emissions. Here are examples:
NEW YORK
• IN 2007, THE NEW YORK STATE Legislature created the
Sea Level Rise Task Force, led by NYSDEC, and charged it with
preparing a report that addresses sea level rise issues, includ-
ing recommendations for an action plan to protect coastal
communities and natural resources from rising sea levels. The
final report, which calls for immediate action, was delivered to
the State Legislature in late December 2010.
• IN 2009, 31 COMMUNITIES, including six in the Sound's
watershed, signed the new Climate-Smart Communities Pledge.
Climate Smart Communities is a New York State program,
lead by NYSDEC, to reduce the statewide carbon footprint by
encouraging local governments to help fight global warming.
CONNECTICUT
• CONNECTICUT STATE AGENCIES are collaborating
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Connecticut. The
Governor's Steering Committee, made up of leaders from key
state agencies including CT DEEP, Public Utility Commission,
Transportation, Administrative Services, The Office of Policy
and Management, and The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund led
a collaborative effort that developed a Climate Change Action
Plan for Connecticut.
• CONNECTICUT STATE PARKS performed a vulnerability
assessment of their coastal properties, including Stewardship
areas, with assistance from CT DEEP's Office of Long Island
Sound Programs (OLISP).
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
CLIMATE ADAPTATION
WORKSHOPS
IN 2010 LISS, ICLEI-Local Governments for
Sustainability, the Town of Groton, and CT
DEEP supported three workshops for
government officials at all levels to collabo-
rate on ways to adapt to for climate change.
The financial support for the workshops, and
for an overall effort to help develop a climate
change adaptation plan that can be used as
a model for coastal communities, came from
a $30,000 grant LISS received in 2009 from
EPA's Climate Ready Estuaries Program.
Groton was chosen by CT DEEP's Office
of Long Island Sound Programs as the pilot
community because the town offered a mix
of local, state, and federal coastal climate
change issues including inundation from
sea level rise at the Navy Base, Groton-New
London Airport, Groton Reservoir, state
parks such as Bluff Point, vulnerable com-
mercial areas such as downtown Mystic and
developed coastal barrier beaches.
The workshops were designed to comple-
ment the Town's ongoing sustainability and
development planning and to engage repre-
sentatives from federal, state, and municipal
governments in adaptation planning. They
also were intended to identify and gain local
support for the specific steps that Groton
(or a similar city) would need to take to
adapt to climate change and clarify roles of
citizens as well as local, state, and federal
levels of government to implement the plan.
The workshops were well attended, but, the
first workshop was postponed because of
a "nor'easter", a severe storm. The second
meeting in March 2010 was held despite
a "500-year storm event" that caused
extensive flooding and illustrated how
coastal communities are vulnerable to severe
storms, high tides, and sea level rise.
The conclusion from the workshops was
that existing model projections of climate
change scenarios were sufficient to develop
plans to adapt to potential impacts. Groton
also has initiated several actions recom-
mended from the workshops, including
developing zoning to create incentives to
direct development away from coastal haz-
ards, and raising public awareness of flood
prone areas. It completed its final draft
report in December 2010.
ICLEI and CT DEEP, through the Long
Island Sound Study, also were awarded
another EPA Climate Ready Estuaries grant
to develop an Adaptation Resource Toolkit
which will focus on integrating climate
adaptation tools, resources, and information
for local communities in Connecticut. As
part of the grant, a Connecticut Municipal
Climate Protection Network was launched
in November 2010 in Waterbury. More
information about the network and other
Information on climate change resources is
available at www.ctclimatechange.com.
TOP TO BOTTOM. An aerial view of
Groton. A severe "500 year" storm event
on March 30, 2010 caused flooding and
erosion, and also helped to highlight the
need to plan for severe weather at the
second Groton Climate Change Adaptation
held on the same day.
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PROTECTION + PROGRESS
RESEARCH
Since 2000, LISS has awarded research grants biennially through
the Long Island Sound Study Research Grant Program. The
objectives are to investigate the complex ecological issues facing
the Sound and to apply this research to help improve conditions.
Since 2008, the Research Grant Program has been
administered by the New York and Connecticut Sea Grant
programs. In 2010, of the 40 proposals submitted, six
received funding with grants totaling $1.13 million (see list,
p. 19). This is the fifth grant cycle for the program, which
has awarded a total of 32 grants to scientists totaling $4.5
million since its inception. Descriptions of all projects are
available at: www.longislandsoundstudy.net/research.
LISS also has a Science and Technical Advisory Committee
(STAC), consisting of engineers, scientists, and representatives
from government agencies, academia, industry, and private
organizations. The committee meets three times a year to pro-
vide the LISS Management Committee with overall direction
and advice on science and technical issues. It also supports
efforts to manage the Sound by providing the policy and man-
agement process with the best available scientific and techni-
cal information. Among the topics it has focused on in recent
meetings are the impact of climate change in the Long Island
Sound region and the linkages between nutrients and hypoxia
(low dissolved oxygen levels).
GOAL
Apply research to
improve manage-
ment of the Sound
PROGRESS
Initiated six
new research
projects
CHALLENGE
Integrating research
from different
scientific fields
HIGHLIGHTS 2009-2010
• FIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS, funded with
$820,000 in grants from the 2008 LISS Research
Grant Program, were initiated in 2009-2010.
The projects were all related to water quality
and included investigating the impact of climate
change on water quality, the causes of harmful
algal blooms, and the affects of weather patterns
on the severity of hypoxia. Final reports of these
projects will be posted on the LISS Web site.
• IN 2009 SCIENTISTS from NYSDEC and CT
DEEP completed a LISS-funded project to study
the quantity of toxics such as mercury and PCBs
found in popular sport fish such as striped bass
and bluefish. The data was used by state health
departments to evaluate changes to their fish con-
sumption advisories.
> IN 2009, LISS ORGANIZED AND HOSTED a
workshop on nutrient bioextraction, the practice
of farming and harvesting shellfish, finfish, and
seaweed for the purpose of removing nutrients
from coastal waters. The workshop brought in
the top researchers from around the world, and
helped initiate a bioextraction pilot program in
the Sound (see p. 7).
' IN 2009-2010, MEMBERS OF THE STAC
worked on writing chapters of a book that will
compile and synthesize the wide range of scientific
research related to the environmental health of
the Sound. The synthesis report is expected to be
published in 2012.
JENNIFER
GEORGE, a
graduate student
in Christopher
Gobler's Stony
Brook University
laboratory, collects
mesozooplankton
samples in April
2010, aboard
an SBU research
vessel in Central
Long Island Sound.
18\\
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RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS
ON MICROBIAL LIFE
HIGHER THAN AVERAGE water temperatures in winter can
lead to shifts in microscopic animal and plant populations, which
in turn can affect water quality and alter the food supply for fish
and other aquatic species in the Sound, according to Stony Brook
University (SBU) researchers.
The research project was funded in 2008 through the LISS
Research Grant Program as part of efforts to help resource managers
understand the potential impacts climate change might have in the
Sound. Seawater temperatures in the Sound have increased by 1.5
degrees C between 1976 and 2001, which represents typical patterns
seen along the northeast coast.
The research team was led by Darcy Lonsdale and Christopher
Gobler of SBU's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Based
on knowledge that microscopic animals (zooplankton) reproduce
quicker when water temperatures are higher than normal, the
scientists investigated whether warmer temperatures will result in
increased populations of zooplankton and therefore increased graz-
ing on microscopic algae (phytoplankton), leading to a decline in the
phytoplankton population.
To test this hypothesis, the SBU team took water samples in the
Sound from January to April in 2010, and again in 2011. From these
field samples they found that the warmer year (2010) had a smaller
phytoplankton population than the colder year (2011), which is
consistent with the hypothesis. They also put seawater into tanks in
a Stony Brook lab to simulate seawater conditions at cold, ambient,
and warm temperatures. From these lab experiments they found the
warmer seawater condition had increased grazing and a smaller phy-
toplankton population, which also supports the hypothesis.
The results, both in the Sound and in the lab samples, showed
that warmer waters lead to a smaller phytoplankton population.
More research will be needed to determine if
the suppressed phytoplankton bloom in the
winter and early spring affects water qual-
ity and the food supply for larger marine
C*
species, which depend on phytoplankton
and zooplankton for food. /-. \
\
BLOOMING PLANKTON: Skeletonema * '
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
2010 LISS
RESEARCH GRANTS
(PROJECTS WILL TAKE
PLACE FROM 2011-2013)
Systematic Evaluation of Nitrogen
Removal by BMPs in the
Long Island Sound Watershed
Shimon Anisfeld and Gaboury Benoit,
Yale University School of Forestry and
Environmental Studies, will examine the
effectiveness of projects involving construct-
ing wetlands or retention basins (known as
"wet ponds") to reduce nitrogen and improve
water quality in the Sound's watershed.
Sources and Fate of Nitrogen
in the North Shore Embayments
Gilbert N. Hanson and Teng-Fong Wong,
Geosciences Department, SBU, will study the
effects of nitrogen pollution from groundwa-
ter and wastewater treatment plants at two
diverse harbors on Long Island's north shore,
Stony Brook Harbor, which has minimum
anthropogenic impact and Port Jefferson
Harbor, which has high anthropogenic impact.
The Influence of Gelatinous Zooplankton
on Nutrient Cycles, Hypoxia, and Food
Webs Across Long Island Sound
Darcy J. Lonsdale and Christopher J. Gobler,
School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences,
SBU, will look at the impacts of gelatinous
zooplankton, primarily ctenophores (comb
jellies) and to a lesser extent cnidarians
(jellyfish), on nutrient cycles, hypoxia, and
food webs across the Sound. The data
will help resource managers assess the
impact of gelatinous zooplankton grazing
on larval lobsters and hard clams.
A SCUP (PORGY) swims by a restored eelgrass meadow on the north shore
of Long Island (top). A view of Port Jefferson Harbor (bottom).
Phase Shifts Among Primary Producers
within Long Island Sound: Will
Anthropogenic Stressors Continue to
Expand the Niche of PSP- and DSP-
producing Dinoflagellate Blooms?
Christopher Gobler, School of Marine and
Atmospheric Sciences, SBU, will examine
whether the increase in harmful algal blooms
that could lead to the production of shellfish
poisons in the Sound is due to human altera-
tions in the ecosystem—including nitrogen
discharges and increasing carbon dioxide and
temperatures as a result of climate change.
The project will generate near real-time
reports of bloom events to serve as an early
warning system.
Nitrogen Removal Capacity of
Connecticut Estuaries: Assessing
Distribution and Controls
Craig Tobias, Department of Marine Sciences,
UConn, and Bongkuen Song, University of
North Carolina at Wilmington, will quantify
seasonal removal rates of two nitrogen-
removal processes in tidal reaches of a
Connecticut estuary. The nitrogen removal
will then be mapped and provide clues to
whether hot spots for these processes persist
over time and space or are transient.
Comparative Analysis of Eutrophic
Condition and Habitat Status in CT and NY
Embayments of Long Island Sound
Jamie Vaudrey and Charles Yarish, Department
of Marine Sciences, UConn, will survey habitat
characteristics of eight representative embay-
ments in Connecticut and New York, looking at
estuarine status and the susceptibility of these
embayments to hypoxia. The ability of the
habitats to support economically and ecologi-
cally important eelgrass will also be assessed
using a GIS model.
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PROTECTION + PROGRESS
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
AND EDUCATION
A successful plan to restore and protect the Sound depends
on the millions of people who live along the coast and in the
upland watershed areas. With that in mind, the LISS Public
Involvement and Education program strives to raise the pub-
lic's awareness about the issues impacting their local waters
and the Sound, and to foster environmental stewardship so
they can take steps to prevent water pollution and protect ani-
mals and their habitats.
Publications such as Sound Health 2010, which was dis-
tributed to schools, inserted in newspapers and posted on
the Web, provide the public with information on the health
of Long Island Sound and what efforts are still needed. In
2010, the Study also redesigned its Web site to make it easier
to find information, photos, and videos about the Sound, and
started a Facebook page to bring the conversation about the
Sound to the internet.
In the community, LISS's public outreach staff arrange field
trips, visit schools, and offer presentations to environmental
groups and at conferences to spread the word about the special
qualities of the Sound that make it a "living treasure". LISS's
New York outreach coordinator established the Sound Stewards
program in 2008, which bring students to Stewardship Initiative
areas to conduct field studies. Connecticut's coordinator, a hor-
ticultural specialist, provides talks to the public on how proper
landcare can help reduce or eliminate fertilizers and pesticides
that can drain into the Sound and cause harm.
LISS also has a Citizens Advisory Committee that meets
quarterly to provide guidance and advice to the LISS
Management Committee and to promote public awareness
and understanding of the Study's issues and goals.
t
GOAL
Promote water-
shed and
environmental
stewardship
PROGRESS
Educated more than
350,000 residents
through LISFF
projects since 2005
CHALLENGE
Empowering
change in
people and
communities
HIGHLIGHTS 2009-2010
• IN 2009-2010, LISFF awarded 46 grants to
organizations who educated people about the
Sound and/or engaged them in activities to clean
up beaches, monitor and protect habitats, and
take steps to reduce or prevent pollution.
• IN 2009-2010, LISFF funded unique programs in
New Haven and the Bronx (Solar Youth, Rocking the
Boat, and Yale University's Peabody Museum) that
taught urban teenagers environmental skills, who
in turn used their skills to foster stewardship in
their communities.
• LISS'S CAC held "Sound Visioning" workshops
in 2010, a first step in preparing a Long Island
Sound Citizens Action Plan, and to provide guidance
to the Management Committee in updating the
Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.
> LISS PROVIDED $65,000 to CT Sea Grant to run
the Long Island Sound Mentor Teacher program in
2009-2010. From 2002-2010, the program has held
22 workshops, utilizing 26 high quality, respected
teachers to mentor 284 educators on incorporating
Long Island Sound content into their science cur-
ricula. In 2010-2011 the program was extended to
educators in NY through NY Sea Grant.
• IN 2009, LISS teamed up with NY Sea Grant,
SBU, and a local legislator to sponsor a "take
back unwanted medicine" event in Setauket, Long
Island. The event helped educate the public that
medicines flushed down the toilet will end up in
the Sound and degrade water quality. Almost 500
pounds of unwanted medicines were collected
from 140 participants.
ROCKING
THE BOAT, an
environmental
group in the Hunts
Point section of
the Bronx, uses
boatbuilding
and student-
involvement
in monitoring
and restoration
projects to help
disadvantaged
youth develop into
empowered and
responsible adults.
20\\
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THE DATA
VOLUNTEER
BEACH CLEANUPS
THE MARPOL TREATY OF 1988 made ocean dumping illegal.
But garbage continues to collect on the coast, including the
Sound's 600 miles of shoreline. While some of this debris is
still dumped from vessels, most of the garbage comes from
the streets in our communities. This trash gets washed into
the Sound as stormwater runoff. The success of Long Island
Sound Coastal Cleanups, held on weekends in September and
early October in the Sound as part of International Coastal
Cleanup Day, is evidence that community residents are willing
to volunteer in large numbers to help clean up a persistent
problem. In 2010, 4,891 volunteers removed 130,064 pounds of
debris along 135 miles of shoreline, an average of 963 pounds
of debris per mile. More than 30,000 cigarette butts, 14,000
food wrappers and containers, and 12,000 beverage cans and
bottles were among the types of debris found in CT (data for the
NY portion of the Sound's watershed was not available).
More information about beach cleanup programs in
NY and CT is available in the water quality section of
longislandsoundstudy.net/status-and-trends.
NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS AT COASTAL CLEANUPS
(Thousands of Volunteers)
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
ENCOURAGING
SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
THE PUBLIC SERVICE AD and the infor-
mational brochure are useful ways to raise
awareness that activities such as overfertiliz-
ing, applying pesticides onto a lawn, or dump-
ing trash into a storm drain can be harmful to
local streams and Long Island Sound. But is the
message enough to change people's behav-
iors? Supporters of another public education
method, Community Based Social Marketing
(CBSM), believe that behavior change cam-
paigns must first identify the barriers that
prevent good environmental practices within
a target audience. Next, marketing tools are
used to promote measurable and sustainable
changes in behaviors.
Since 2008, LISS has been holding work-
shops for community groups to help them learn
CBSM techniques. In 2009-2010, LISS, through
the Sound Futures Fund, also funded five proj-
ects, which used CBSM principles such as:
Identifying Your Audience
Audubon New York wanted to find out what
was disrupting nesting sites of piping plo-
vers, birds listed on New York's endangered
species list, before developing an education
campaign at two beaches in Oyster Bay.
Audubon conducted an observational study to
find out what behaviors were disrupting the
nesting sites, and observed beach personnel,
in an effort to beautify the beaches, rake the
wrack-line—the dried up seaweed that lies
on beaches and is home to worms, insects,
and small crustaceans. The wrackline is an
important food source for the birds. As a
result of the survey, Audubon is developing
an education program to work with beach
staff on protecting the nesting sites.
AN EDUCATOR at the Maritime
Aquarium in Norwalk uses a watershed
display to show how polluted stormwater
runoff drains into coastal waters.
Making a Commitment
The Maritime Aquarium of Norwalk in
2010 presented a live 15-minute animal
exhibit, "Creature Encounters," to more
than 100,000 participants who were then
asked to sign a Clean Water Pledge to
change one of four behaviors that were
negatively impacting coastal waters and
the habitats of animals featured in the
exhibits such as the diamondback terrapin.
About two-thirds of people who responded
to a follow-up survey said that they did
change one of their behaviors as a result
of the program.
Modeling Sustainable Behavior
The CT chapter of NOFA (Northeast Organic
Farmers Association) used organic land
care experts to demonstrate the benefits
of converting from traditional lawn care
practices such as applying synthetic
fertilizers and pesticides to lawns to organic
land care practices, which are beneficial
to the Sound. With a Sound Futures Fund
grant, NOFA sponsored five community
workshops and developed a Web site that
included step by step instructions and an
"ask the expert" section. In a follow up
survey on NOFA's Web site, 80 property
owners caring for about 1,600 acres said
that they adopted one or more organic land
care practices as a result of NOFA programs
or materials, or hired an organic landscaper
to care for their lawns.
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PROTECTION + PROGRESS
BUDGET
Section 119 of the federal Clean Water Act authorizes Congress to pro-
vide up to $40 million per year to the Long Island Sound Study to imple-
ment the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP).
Each year, the Long Island Sound Study develops a work plan to imple-
ment projects based on appropriations approved by Congress. This page
lists these appropriations for the fiscal years 2008-2010 for projects that
took place in fiscal years 2009-2011. Long Island Sound Study partners
who receive grants under these appropriations must meet matching fund
requirements—50 percent for implementation projects and five percent
for education and outreach projects. Not shown in the budget below are
the additional funds provided by New York and Connecticut for projects
to implement the CCMP.
Electronic versions of annual CCMP Implementation Tracking and
Monitoring reports, which provide a comprehensive list of projects
undertaken by the Long Island Sound Study and its partners, are avail-
able at www.longislandsoundstudy.net under implementation.
LISS BUDGET
Coordination/Reporting
Public Information/Education
Monitoring, Modeling & Research
Implementation Support and Technical Assistance*
Habitat and Water Quality Improvements**
TOTAL
FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011
(Oct 08-Sept 09) (Oct 09-Sept 10) (Oct 10-Sept 11)
$366,950
$547,907
$1,719,440
$2,352,855
$450,000
$5,437,152
$358,162
$560,917
$1,193,891
$1,019,847
$450,000
$3,582,817
$420,507
$656,033
$2,073,831
$2,597,216
$2,013,500
$7,761,087
* includes habitat restoration and watershed management planning, and Stewardship Initiative.
** includes EPA grants to the Sound Futures Fund grant program.
PROTECTION AND PROGRESS (LISS BIENNIAL REPORT) 2009-2010
Project Manager/Writer: ROBERT BURG, NEIWPCC/ LISS
Designer: LUCY READING-IKKANDA
Printed by R.C. Brayshaw and Company, Warner, NH, using soy content inks on Monadnock, Astrolite PC 100 recycled paper, 100% post-consumer reclaimed materi-
als, process chlorine free. The production of this report for the Long Island Sound Study was coordinated by the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control
Commission (NEIWPCC) through a cooperative agreement between NEIWPCC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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LONG ISLAND SOUND STUDY OFFICES
CONNECTICUT
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Long Island Sound Office | Stamford Government Center
888 Washington Blvd; Stamford, CT 06904-2152, T: 203-977-1541
NEW YORK
NY Public Outreach Coordinator | New York Sea Grant
146 Suffolk Hall, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5002 T: 631-632-9216
POLICY COMMITTEE
JUDITH A. ENCK, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2 (including New York)
DANIEL C. ESTY, Commissioner, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
JOE MARTENS, Commissioner, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
H, CURTIS (CURT) SPALDING, Regional Administrator, EPA New England
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
MARK TEDESCO, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Long Island Sound Office, Chair
JAMES AMMERMAN, PHD, NY Sea Grant College Program
FRED ANDERS, NYS Department of State, Division of Coastal Resources
ROSS BRADY, Interstate Environmental Commission
CARMELA CUOMO, PHD, CT Science and Technical Advisory Committee Co-chair, University of New Haven
SYLVAIN DE GUISE, PHD, CT Sea Grant College Program
DENNIS DUNN, MA Department of Environmental Protection
VIRGINIA DE LIMA, U.S. Geological Survey, CT District
LYNNE HAMJIAN, EPA New England
ROB HUST, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
CURT JOHNSON, CT Citizens Advisory Committee Co-chair, CT Fund for the Environment
KIP KOLESINSKAS, U.S.Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service
JAMES LATIMER, PHD, U.S. EPA, National Health & Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Atlantic Ecology Division
SHARON MARINO, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
DAWN MCREYNOLDS, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Bureau of Marine Resources
JAMES MUELLER, NYC Department of Environmental Protection
RONALD POLTAK, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission
CATHERINE ROGERS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England region
NANCY SELIGSON, NY Citizens Advisory Committee Co-chair, Town of Mamaroneck
R. LAWRENCE SWANSON, PHD, NY Science and Technical Advisory Committee Co-chair, Stony Brook University
BRIAN THOMPSON, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Office of Long Island Sound Programs
GARY WIKFORS, PHD, National Marine Fisheries Service, Milford Laboratory
Visit us on the Web at: www.longislandsoundstudy.net
PHOTO CREDITS
Cover, Salt Marsh, Stratford, CT, Jerry and Marcy Monkman
p.3, SHARON Plant, NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection
p.3. Ribbed Mussels, Mark Dixon, NOAA Milford Laboratory
p.3, LISFF Harkness Memorial State Park, Robert Burg
p.3. Dune Restoration, Bob Lorenz
for Connecticut Fund for the Environment
p.4, Hutchinson R. Cleanup, Giles Rae
p.4, Hempstead Harbor Monitoring, Hempstead
Harbor Protection Committee
p.5, Sound Experiences, Kristin Colavito,
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
p.5, Beach Nesting, Wolfgang Wander
p.5, Organic Landscaping, Erin Mariano of Aventine Gardens
p.5, Neighborhood Steward Teams, Solar Youth
p.5, Outer Island Education, Friends of Outer Island Web site
p.7, Mussel Socks, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
p.7. Ribbed Mussels, Mark Dixon, NOAA Milford Laboratory
p.9, View of Restored Mill River, Aviva Mailer
p.9, Macroinvertebrate Survey, Mill River Collaborative
p.11, Harrsion Pond Park (before and after), Heather Young
p.13, Marsh Wren, J. Avery Wham
p.13, Griswold Property, J. Avery Wham
p.15, Stonington Land Cover Map, Emily Wilson, UConn CLEAR
p.15, Rain Garden Demonstration, UConn CLEAR
p.16, Sentinel Monitoring Map, The Nature Conservancy
p.17, Groton Photos, Town of Groton Planning Dept.
p.18, Plankton Sampling, Jennifer George
p.19, Eelgrass, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
p.19, Port Jefferson Harbor, Kimberly Graff
p.20, Education Photos, Rocking the Boat
p.21, Creature Encounters, Maritime Aguarium of Norwalk
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LONG ISLAND SOUND STUDY
U.S. EPA Long Island Sound Office • Stamford Government Center
888 Washington Blvd • Stamford, CT 06904-2152
www.longislandsoundstudy.net
Long
Island
Sound
Study
A Partnership to Restore and Protect the Sound
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