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News Releases from Region 02

$1.3 Million Awarded for Community-Based Projects To Improve Health and Ecosystem of Long Island Sound

$815,000 awarded to support 15 projects in New York

11/14/2016
Contact Information: 
Mike Smith, NFWF (mike@greensmithpr.com)
703-623-3834
John Martin (martin.johnj@epa.gov)
212-637-3662
Peter Brandt (brandt.peter@epa.gov)
212-637-3654

Town of Mamaroneck, N.Y. – Today, top federal and state environmental officials from New York and Connecticut announced 25 grants totaling $1.3 million to local government and community groups to improve the health and ecosystem of Long Island Sound. Fifteen projects, totaling $815,000, are in New York.

The projects, which are funded through the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, will restore 27 acres of habitat, including coastal forest, dunes, and salt marshes for fish and wildlife. This grant program combines funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Protecting Long Island Sound is a top priority for the EPA," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. "These projects will support vital and diverse initiatives throughout the region. We must all work to improve water quality and reduce pollution in the Long Island Sound watershed, while involving the public in protecting one of our nation's most important natural treasures."

The Long Island Sound Futures Fund 2016 grants will reach more than 395,000 residents through environmental and conservation education programs and treat one million gallons of water pollution with water quality improvement projects, including more than 700 pounds of nitrogen reduced, and 6,000 pounds of floating trash. The grant funds will be matched by $1.3 million from the grantees, resulting in $2.6 million in funding for on-the-ground conservation projects in both states. In New York, the $815,000 in grant funds will be matched with $805,000 from the grantees resulting in $1.6 million in community conservation.

“We are incredibly fortunate here in the Lower Hudson Valley to be home to some of our nation’s most beautiful coastal habitats, including the Long Island Sound. We must continue working to preserve and improve its scenic beauty, and protect the fish and wildlife that rely on the Sound for survival. Maintaining and preserving our estuaries and waterways has always been a top priority of mine as a Member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, and one of the best ways to do that is through robust funding for local projects aimed at conservation. I am pleased these federal funds from the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be made available to local groups working to keep our Sound beautiful for future generations,” said Congressman Eliot Engel, NY.

“Estuaries like the Long Island Sound are among our nation’s most precious natural resources," said Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey, NY. "Since 2005, the Long Island Sound Futures Fund has provided millions of dollars for projects to protect the Sound, restoring valuable habitats, and cleaning polluted waters. I commend the Long Island Sound Futures Fund for their dedicated efforts, and as Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will keep working to increase federal investments that conserve the Sound and other critical aquatic ecosystems.”

“One of the greatest environmental challenges facing our nation and its communities is the protection and restoration of highly productive estuaries,” said National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Executive Director, Jeff Trandahl. “The funding awarded today represents the Foundation’s and U.S. EPA’s continuing commitment, as well as the commitment of other federal and state partners, to restoration efforts aimed at improving the overall health of Long Island Sound.”

The Long Island Sound Study initiated the Long Island Sound Futures Fund in 2005 through the EPA’s Long Island Sound Office and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). To date the Futures Fund has invested $15 million in 352 projects. With grantee match of $30 million, the program has generated $45 million for locally based conservation. The projects have opened up 157 river miles for fish passage, restored 1,051 acres of critical fish and wildlife habitat and open space, treated 101 million gallons of pollution, and educated and engaged 2.1 million people from communities surrounding the sound.

"We are pleased to support our conservation partners through this collaborative funding effort," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Regional Director, Wendi Weber. "This year, funded projects will help youth and adults become active stewards of the outdoors and introduce them to wildlife around them. Additionally, work will help restore the health of our rivers, coastal marshes, and forests for the benefit of fish, wildlife and coastal communities."

“Long Island Sound is an essential economic and environmental treasure in need of careful stewardship to protect its integrity,” said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos. “This funding from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund builds on New York’s increased support for restoration of this vital ecosystem by advancing valuable projects to conserve habitats, improve water quality, and promote public awareness. DEC congratulates the successful applicants and looks forward to seeing the success of their projects.”

Long Island Sound is an estuary that provides economic and recreational benefits to millions of people while also providing habitat for more than 1,200 invertebrates, 170 species of fish, and dozens of species of migratory birds.

Each of the grant projects contribute to a healthier Long Island Sound for everyone, from nearby area residents to those at the furthest reaches of the Sound.  All 23 million who live, work and play in the watershed impacting the Sound can benefit from and help build on the progress that has already been made.

The Long Island Sound Study, developed under the EPA’s National Estuary Program, is a cooperative effort between the EPA and the states of Connecticut and New York to protect and restore the sound and its ecosystem. To learn more about the LISS, visit www.longislandsoundstudy.net.

Chartered by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation protects and restores the nation's fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate and individual partners, the NFWF has funded more than 4,500 organizations and committed more than $3.5 billion to conservation projects. Learn more at www.nfwf.org.

Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) 2016 Project Descriptions

Clean Waters and Healthy Watersheds – New York
 

Title: Green Infrastructure Planning Initiative

Grantee:  Village of Port Chester                  

LISFF Grant: $47,000.00

Grantee Matching Funds: $47,000.00

Area: Village of Port Chester, New York

Scope: The project will develop a green infrastructure operations manual and prepare conceptual designs and costs for green infrastructure projects in Port Chester, New York. The project will enhance the ability of the community to reduce urban stormwater runoff and flooding and advance environmental green infrastructure projects village-wide.

Title: Green Infrastructure Planning Initiative

Grantee:  City of New Rochelle                     

LISFF Grant: $55,000.00

Grantee Matching Funds: $64,232.00

Area: City of New Rochelle, New York 

Scope: The project will prepare a green infrastructure program plan for the City of New Rochelle, New York. The project will fully integrate green infrastructure into the work practices and policies of the City to reduce urban stormwater runoff and nonpoint source pollution to improve water quality in Long Island Sound.

Title:  Water Quality Monitoring Intiative for Long Island Sound Embayments
Grantee:  Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound
LISFF Funds: $58,936.35
Grantee Matching Funds: $44,485.00
Area: Mamaroneck Harbor and Manhasset Bay, New York
Scope: The project will pilot common standards and methods and produce guidance to inform water quality monitoring of ecological and eutrophic conditions by citizen-science groups working in Long Island Sound embayments and harbors in Connecticut and New York. The project will help citizen-based water quality monitoring groups collect information in a common way which will help improve regional management of water quality in local waterways in the Long Island Sound Watershed.
 

Title: Cultivating Champions for Healthy Soil and Clean Water for Long Island Sound 
Grantee:
American Farmland Trust
LISFF Funds: $83,940.96
Grantee Matching Funds: $63,786.00

Area: Town of Southold, Suffolk County, New York
Scope: The project will conduct five on-farm pilots of soil health practices, document the crop, economic and environmental results, and share information about the practices and results farmer-to-farmer in the Town of Southold, New York. The project will promote the use of soil health practices among Suffolk County’s 140 vegetable farms and reduce nitrogen from farms in the Long Island Sound drainage.
 

Title: Demonstrating Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems for Clean Water at Uplands Farm Sanctuary
Grantee: The Nature Conservancy, Long Island

LISFF Funds: $100,074.30
Grantee Matching Funds: $157,630.00
Area: Cold Spring Harbor, Suffolk County, New York
Scope: The project will construct and publicize the results of the first nitrogen-reducing vegetated wastewater treatment system in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. The project demonstrates a system that treats wastewater in a natural manner, reduces nitrogen discharges, and safely removes pathogens providing an alternative to traditional waste treatment in cesspools which contributes nitrogen and other pollutants into Long Island Sound. The project will reduce nitrogen in effluent to nearly zero, and by at least 90% resulting in a reduction of at least 150 pounds of nitrogen annually.

Title: Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems for Clean Water Robert E. Reid Sr. Recreation Center
Grantee: Peconic Green Growth

LISFF Funds: $86,429.64
Grantee Matching Funds: $48,303.00
Area: Shoreham, New York 
Scope: The project will design and pilot a soil-based wastewater treatment system in Shoreham, New York. The project will reduce nitrogen by 85-90% as well as treat other emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals in Long Island Sound.
 

Thriving Habitats and Abundant Wildlife – New York

Title: Alley Creek Shoreline and Coastal Forest Restoration       

Grantee:  City of New York, Department of Parks and Recreation                     

LISFF Grant: $150,000.00

Grantee Matching Funds: $150,000.00     

Area: Alley Pond Park, Douglaston, New York

Scope: The project will construct 200 to 400 linear feet of living shoreline to restore approximately one acre of degraded salt marsh, and enhance 13 acres of coastal grassland, forest and upland in Alley Pond Park in Douglaston, New York. The project will stop the continued loss of urban salt marsh.

Title: Restoring Coastal Forest at Otter Creek Preserve   

Grantee:  Westchester Land Trust                

LISFF Grant: $55,392.27

Grantee Matching Funds: $33,347.00

Area: Village of Mamaroneck, New York

Scope: The project will restore a 12 acre coastal forest in the Village of Mamaroneck, New York.  The project will result in a forest with increased structural complexity and improved wildlife habitat for 100 species of migratory and forest birds including warblers, vireos, thrush, flycatchers, and raptors.

Educating to Engage Sustainable and Resilient Communities – New York

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Pro                             Title:  SOUNDoff Event!  Creating Long Island Sound Stewards

Grantee:  The Whaling Museum & Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor                

LISFF Grant: $7,397.19

Grantee Matching Funds: $3,700.00          

Area: Cold Spring Harbor, New York

Scope: The project will host a one-day event to engage and inform children and adults about how to play an active role in preserving the Long Island Sound through hands-on activities in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. The project will reach 400 visitors who will leave the event with a stronger understanding of their relationship to the Sound and with practical ways to contribute to a cleaner Sound.

Title: Reducing Floatable Litter and Debris Pollution in the Bronx River and Long Island Sound      

Grantee:  Bronx River Alliance                      

LISFF Grant: $9,999.80

Grantee Matching Funds: $10,760.00

Area: Bronx River, Bronx, New York

Scope: The project will collect floating trash through ten paddle and pickup canoe trips, one on-shore litter collection at a trash collection boom site, and one on-shore coastal cleanup event in the Bonx, New York. The project will prevent 4,420 pounds of floating debris and trash from entering Long Island Sound waters.
 

Title: Student Scientist Monitoring of American Eel and River Herring on the Bronx River

Grantee:  Rocking the Boat    

LISFF Grant: $34,999.14        

Grantee Matching Funds: $38,242.05        

Area: Bronx River, Bronx, New York

Scope: The project will engage 265 middle and high school students in monitoring river herring and American eel in Bronx, New York. The program will increase local community awareness of the Bronx River as a habitat for river herring and American eels and contribute to the development of a management plan for these Long Island Sound species. 

Title: Share the Shore and Be a Good Egg

Grantee:  National Audubon Society, Audubon New York           

LISFF Grant: $34,988

Grantee Matching Funds: $35,000.00        

Area: Oyster Bay, Centre Island, Stehli Beach, Sands City/Hobart, and Caumsett and Sunken Meadow State Parks, New York

Scope: The project will provide a multifaceted environmental education program which includes public and school programming, direct on- the-beach public outreach, delivering stewardship projects on the coast for birds, and securing pledges from people committing to share the shore with shorebirds on the North Shore of Long Island, New York. The project will reduce threats to coastal habitats and shorebirds including Piping Plover, Least Tern, Common Tern, American Oystercatcher, and Black Skimmer.

Title: My Yard, Our Sound: Planting for Clean Water and Wildlife

Grantee:  The Maritime Explorium at Port Jefferson Harbor                    

LISFF Grant: $25,365.39

Grantee Matching Funds: $69,216.00

Area: Port Jefferson, New York

Scope: The project will engage 1,600 people in a program that delivers an exhibit, and workshops for families to transform their yards and gardens with native plants in Port Jefferson, New York.  The project will provide natural landscaping guidance to homeowners to encourage the use of alternatives to chemical and nutrient-intensive landscaping to benefit water quality and living resources of Long Island Sound.

Title: Long Island Sound Water Education for Elementary School Students    

Grantee:  North Shore Land Alliance

LISFF Grant: $30,500.00

Grantee Matching Funds: $18,000.00        

Area: Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York

Scope: The project will deliver three educational sessions on water quality to 1,850 elementary school students in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York. The project will educate students about Long Island's ground water quality, the connection to Long Island Sound and how students can protect local water resources.

Educating to Engage Sustainable and Resilient Communities – Both

Title: A Blue “Marine” Plan for Long Island Sound

Grantee:  University of Connecticut 

LISFF Grant: $34,996.96

Grantee Matching Funds: $29,996.96

Area: Long Island Sound Watershed, New York and Connecticut

Scope: The project will engage scientists, government, industry, and the public in development of maps and information on natural resources and human use to become part of an online resource for the Long Island Sound Watershed of Connecticut and New York. The project will support the public process needed for development of a Blue Plan which looks at human activities in the marine environment to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives with an aim of protecting and restoring the Sound.
 

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