| | Habitat Restoration
Habitat Restoration Work Group l Habitat Restoration Map l HR Grant Guidance
Long Island Sound is a unique and highly productive ecosystem that supports an array of living resources. The Sound’s coastal habitats – including tidal wetlands, eelgrass beds, and forests – support diverse species of plants and wildlife, ranging from microscopic plants that drift with the currents to economically important finfish to rare birds that nest along the shore.
Over the years the abundance and diversity of the Sound’s coastal habitats have been diminished, primarily due to development activities that have destroyed or degraded these important areas. Tidal marshes have been ditched or filled, dams have blocked fish from migrating upstream to spawn, and poor water quality has negatively impacted the Sound’s eelgrass beds. The Long Island Sound Study has identified the loss and degradation of coastal habitat as a priority management issue. Long Island Sound Study Habitat Restoration Initiative
The Habitat Restoration Initiative, launched by the Long Island Sound Study in 1996, is a bi-state, multi-organization effort to restore and enhance degraded coastal habitats in Connecticut and New York. The goals of the Habitat Restoration Initiative are to: - Restore the ecological functions of degraded or converted habitats;
- Restore at least 2,000 acres of coastal habitat and 100 miles of riverine migratory corridors between 1998 and 2008; and
- Use partnerships to accomplish the restoration objectives and leverage limited, state, local, and federal funds.
Background
The Habitat Restoration Initiative follows through on recommendations made in the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan that the Long Island Sound Study develop a plan to restore the Sound’s degraded coastal habitats. The Habitat Restoration Work Group was formed to coordinate these efforts and to strengthen partnerships among various agencies and organizations conducting restoration projects.
The Habitat Restoration Work Group identified 12 priority habitats as being particularly important to sustaining the living resources of the Long Island Sound ecosystem (see Priority Habitats above) To accomplish the goals of the Habitat Restoration Initiative, the work group compiled a list of potential habitat restoration sites, including site nominations provided by the public, and then ranked the sites based on criteria in three major categories: ecological value; technical viability; and public benefit. Additional factors such as the presence of a local sponsor, an existing design plan, or available funding were also considered. The sites that were determined to be high priorities are targeted by the work group in the annual work planning process. However, factors like available funding and advanced project planning are important in initiating restoration projects, regardless of their rank. The Habitat Restoration Map includes the full list of the potential restoration sites identified and some examples of completed projects.
Accomplishments
The Habitat Restoration Initiative’s recent accomplishments include the following: - The critical estuarine habitat known as submerged aquatic vegetation – dominated by eelgrass (Zostera marina), a habitat whose distribution and health are strongly influenced by water quality – was mapped by the US Fish & Wildlife Service Coastal Program (USFWS) in 2002. The Long Island Sound Study provided the USFWS with additional funds to remap the Sound’s eelgrass beds in 2006 in order to document trends in eelgrass cover.
- Restoration projects continue to be accomplished through partnerships and by leveraging resources from a variety of federal, state, municipal, nonprofit and private sources. Some examples include:
In 2004, the Long Island Sound Study developed a grant program with the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation that identified habitat restoration projects as priorities for funding. The first awards from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, which were announced in May 2005, included four habitat restoration projects and four projects that will restore or improve fish passage.
CT DEP and Coastal America worked with Northeast Utilities and Duracell to create the CT Corporate Wetland Restoration Partnership in 2000, which provides private funds or services for the restoration of wetlands and riverine migratory corridors in CT.
NYS DEC has been working to reestablish the NY Corporate Wetland Restoration Partnership, which is expected to award grants for restoration projects in NY in 2006.
Habitat Restoration Technical Manual
In 2003, the Long Island Sound Study published a manual entitled Technical Support for Coastal Habitat Restoration, which includes a series of reports produced through the Habitat Restoration Work Group. The manual is designed to provide basic technical information about the Sound’s coastal habitats and restoration practices for persons interested in planning a restoration project.
An Emerging Issue: Tidal Marsh Loss
Throughout the northeast, tidal marshes are turning into mudflats, resulting in the loss of vegetated habitats important for wading birds, juvenile fish, and invertebrates. Tidal marsh loss—the loss of elevation relative to sea level and conversion of vegetated marsh to mudflat—has been observed in Long Island Sound since the 1980s. However, recent studies indicate that the magnitude and distribution of these losses, which are primarily occurring in the western Sound, are far greater than previously realized. At the Quinnipiac River, for example, nearly half of the brackish marshes in a 130-acre site have disappeared since 1974. The Long Island Sound Study is working to gain understanding of and draw attention to this phenomenon.
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