www.longislandsoundstudy.net February/March 2009 e-newsletter of the Long Island Sound Study (LISS)
LISS Briefs l Sound News l Upcoming Events LISS Briefs:
“Investing in Clean Water” to Top Citizens Summit Agenda
Aging water quality systems discharge billions of gallons of untreated wastewater into U.S. surface waters each year, according to the American Society for Civil Engineers, and the EPA estimates that the nation must invest $390 billion over the next 20 years to update or replace existing systems and build new ones to meet increasing demand. What’s Long Island Sound’s stake in this national issue? Find out on March 6 when the 19th annual Long Island Sound Citizens Summit brings together water quality experts from around the region to discuss "Investing in Clean Water for Sound Health, Jobs, and the Economy." Panelists will discuss what water quality projects are being proposed for Long Island Sound and how they might be funded, the need to develop a coalition to advocate for costly projects, the potential for “green jobs” for Long Island Sound, and developing infrastructure projects to meet the long-term needs of the region. The keynote speaker will be Terry Backer, a Connecticut state representative and founder and executive director of Soundkeeper. Backer also played an important role in helping to establish the Clean Water/Jobs Coalition in the early 1990s, which united environmentalists and the construction industry to support government investment for sewage treatment upgrades for the Sound. The Summit will be held at the Bridgeport Holiday Inn on March 6. To see the agenda, and to find out how to register, visit the link for the brochure at www.longislandsoundstudy.net.
LISS Welcomes New NOAA Liaison
Julie Rose will start as the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) liaison to the Long Island Sound Study on February 16. Rose is completing a post doctoral fellowship with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on the effects of climate change on plankton ecology and food web dynamics. She will use her expertise to create programs to improve water and habitat quality and enhance and manage fishery resources in Long Island Sound. This will be a key element to enhancing ecosystem-based management in Long Island Sound. The position established through an interagency agreement between EPA and NOAA-Fisheries is supported with LISS funds.
Julie Rose
Deadline for Futures Fund ‘09 Grant Program Applications Nears
Don’t forget that the application deadline for applying for 2009 Long Island Sound Futures Fund grants is March 13. About $1 million in grants will be available (pending availability of federal funds). Since the fund was initiated in 2005, more than $3.5 million in grants have been awarded to 105 projects in communities surrounding the Sound. Funded projects have included opening up river miles for fish passage, restoring critical wetlands, providing start-up money for watershed groups to manage programs to improve water quality, and providing children with unique opportunities to discover and learn about the Sound. The program, initiated by LISS, is managed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)Visit the NFWF Futures Fund page to get information on how to apply, and LISS’s Web site for examples of previously funded projects. The grants are scheduled to be awarded in the late summer. Find Out About Volunteer Opportunities
LISS has launched a new Web page listing volunteer opportunities in New York and Connecticut. We hope this Web page will provide volunteers with meaningful opportunities, organizations with much-needed volunteers, and - in the longer term - increase stewardship for Long Island Sound. Please feel free to share this web address with anyone that might be looking for volunteer opportunities. If your organization would like to be listed on this Web page, please e-mail Larissa Graham at ljg85@cornell.edu or call at 631.632.9216. 
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| Sound News  Back to topNatural Area in Stonington Named for Don Henne
In North Stonington, CT, trail work has started on the newly acquired Donald R.
Henne Memorial Shunock River Preserve, according to the Avalonia Land Conservancy. The 74-acre property was donated by attorneys Steven Reck, Raymond Trebisacci and Joseph Mascaro as part of their Shunock River Estates development and is named in honor of Don Henne, a biologist active on the North Stonington Conservation Commission. Henne was an early advocate of preserving this stretch of the Shunock River. Henne also was the project leader of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southern New England - New York Bight Coastal Program, and was a member of the Long Island Sound Study Management Committee. He died in 2007. |
| | Upcoming Events Flax Pond Lecture Series
The Friends of Flax Pond Winter lecture series provides a chance to hear interesting lectures about the Sound and marine life in the warm surroundings of the Childs Mansion in Old Field overlooking Flax Pond. On Feb. 8, world-renowned ocean conservationist and award winning author, Dr. Carl Safina, will be speaking. On March 8, local scientists will discuss two animals that inhabit Flax Pond: Diamondback terrapins and horseshoe crabs. The lectures series are being held on Sundays from 3-5:30 p.m. For more information, visit the Friends of Flax Pond Web site. The series is funded in part with a grant form the Long Island Sound Futures Fund.
NYC Oyster Gardening Program Holds Lectures Series
The NYC Oyster Gardening Program has announced a series of five lectures on the history, science and restoration of oysters in the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary. These free lectures will be held between February and June. This series will complement the gathering interest in oyster restoration in the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary and the upcoming conference, Restoring the Urban Oyster, to be held on Governors Island on April 24th. The first lecture will be held Feb. 19 at 6 p.m., and will include a talk by Jeffrey Levinton, Distinguished Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolution, SUNY Stony Brook on: Where the Oyster Grows: A study of Growth and Physiological Performance in NY-NJ. For more information or to RSVP about this lecture or the others, e-mail Katie Mosher-Smith at NY/NJ Baykeeper: k.moshersmith@gmail.com. Information about the series is available at the Urban Oysters Web site . | | | Please note: This email message is being sent to subscribers of the Long Island Sound Study E-Newsletter. PLEASE DO NOT REPORT THIS MESSAGE AS SPAM. Unsubscribe or update your subscription at http://www.longislandsoundstudy.net/cgi-bin/list.htm |
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Long Island Sound Study EPA Long Island Sound Office
888 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06904-2152 Phone: (203) 977-1541 Fax: (203) 977-1546
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