Representatives of environmental groups, community groups and local government officials across eastern Suffolk County turned out for a two-hour, wide-ranging conversation with state legislators Thursday morning in Riverhead.
New Grants Advance TNC's Mission in Connecticut
Efforts to Improve Long Island Sound Receive $12 Million in Grants
Innovative Approaches to Protecting Long Island Sound
The Long Island Sound ecosystem encompasses a vast area across five states and is home to a rich diversity of marine and avian species. Recognizing the importance of preserving this vital natural resource, federal officials have recently announced the allocation of $12 million in grants to various organizations and a municipality working towards improving the ecological health of Long Island Sound.
Long Island Sound network awarded $262K for conservation efforts
The groups that make up the Long Island Sound Coastal Watershed Network have been awarded more than $262,000 to continue their efforts in addressing water quality issues.
The network, a partnership between Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Save the Sound and The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut, received the funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, through the Long Island Sound Futures Fund.
Long Island Sound watershed projects get $12M in grants
Historic Levels of Funding for Long Island Sound in Federal Budget $40 Million to Protect & Restore Long Island Sound
For immediate release: Wednesday, February 15, 2023
For more information contact:
Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director, Cell: 631-384-1378, aesposito@citizenscampaign.org
Farmingdale, NY— Environmentalists are cheering an historic level of investment in Long Island Sound. In the federal comprehensive budget bill that was enacted in December, record funding of $40 million was included for Long Island Sound. The Long Island Sound, an Estuary of National Significance, generates $31 billion annually to our local economies. Environmentalists worked to increase federal funding over the last 10 years (see funding chart below) to implement programs that reduce nitrogen, prevent hypoxia, preserve sensitive areas, restore fish and shellfish populations and combat plastic pollution.
The Long Island Sound Program has historically been underfunded. In 2015 the LIS program was funded at only $4 million. Since then, funding has progressively increased due to stakeholder and congressional support. In 2022 the Long Island Sound received almost $32 million from the federal budget.
Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, issued the following statement related to federal Long Island Sound funding:
“We are over the moon that in just 8 short years, Long Island Sound Funding has increased 1000%. Long Island Sound is an extension of the public’s home, full funding is the key to a healthier, swimmable, fishable treasure for future generations. Advocates have been successfully working for the past decade to increase federal funding. Long Island Sound funding has been increasing and the investment is paying off. Restoration efforts are dependent on amply funding. We have upgraded sewage treatment plants, reduced hypoxia, increased oxygen levels and improved water clarity. We have seen dolphins return to LI Sound. However, new challenges are on the horizon, including excessive nitrogen from cesspools and septics, plastic pollution, and the warming of the Sound from climate change. This funding is critical to continue vital progress and ensure the Sound is healthy for future generations. Thank you to all our Long Island Sound leaders in the House and Senate that see the immense value of a healthy Sound.”
NY pulls objection to dredging deposits at site by Fishers Island
NY groups, municipalities receiving millions to combat Long Island Sound pollution
$10 million funds 41 community projects in the Long Island Sound watershed
Officials Blast Decision Allowing Dredge Spoil Dumping In LI Sound
Federal appeals court rules in favor of EPA plan to extend open water disposal sites in L.I. Sound
PSEG LI investigates cause of dialectic fluid leak near Northport
Northport Village rain gardens help improve water quality, keep harbor clean, officials say
Along a stretch atop Bluff Point Road in Northport Village, three areas on the roadside now thrive with a variety of native plants and flowers.
The vegetation of shrubs and flowers includes purple coneflower and fox sedge grass and are designed to be a green solution to address water pollution, said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Farmingdale-based Citizens Campaign for the Environment. The gardens capture and filter contaminants from polluted stormwater runoff before they enter Northport Harbor and eventually Long Island Sound. Rain gardens, environmentalists say, help improve water quality and keep the harbor clean.
$31M in federal funding to clean up, restore Long Island Sound
Suozzi announces more than $33M for LI Sound
10 million clams will be seeded through increase in historic Long Island Sound funding
Combating water pollution on Long Island Sound
Ghost Fishing, Nitrogen Pollution, Rubber Debris Targeted in Local Efforts to Clean Up the Sound
Twenty years ago, rising water temperatures, nitrogen pollution and disease wiped out the lobster population in Long Island Sound.
Lobstermen picked up and left, in many cases leaving their traps behind.
But on the floor of the Sound, tens of thousands of traps are still working, catching the few remaining lobsters along with other species.
It’s called ghost fishing.
More than $2.5M in grants to improve water quality in Long Island Sound
Federal officials this week announced $5.4 million in grants to government agencies and community groups for 39 conservation and education projects that will benefit water quality in Long Island Sound.
The grants, announced during a virtual news conference Monday, combine funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
