www.longislandsoundstudy.net August/September 2009 e-newsletter of the Long Island Sound Study (LISS)
LISS News l Around the Sound l Water Web Links LISS News:
LISS Launches New Habitat Restoration Database
LISS’s Habitat Restoration Initiative is dedicated toward restoring tidal wetlands, dunes, coastal forests, fish passage on rivers with dams, and other vital habitats that are critical to preserving water quality and protecting fish and wildlife. Descriptions of these projects with photos are now available to view on LISS’s Web site. The database is being updated, but you can view available projects on the habitat restoration site of www.longislandsoundstudy.net or by clicking habitats.
Bar Beach Lagoon tidal restoration project, North Hempstead Photo: Heather Young
Fish Consumption Guidelines Aided by LISS-Funded Study
NY and CT recently updated recreational fish consumption advisories for their respective state waters, including for the Sound. Consumption advisories for LIS were changed in both states partly due to preliminary results from a LISS-funded study conducted by the NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), with assistance from the CT Dept.of Environmental Protection (CT DEP), showing decreased concentrations of PCBs and other chemicals in fish and lobster tissues in the Sound. In addition to the LISS study’s data, the advisories were also affected by extensive discussions with the other Atlantic coast states from Maine to Maryland and reviews of fish data from as far back as 1984. Fish consumption advisories are released by both states on an annual basis, usually in June.
For more information on the new advisories, view the NYS 2009 Marine Fisheries Consumption Advisory Booklet and the 2009 CT Fisheries Consumption Advisory.
On-line Milford Point Stewardship Survey
As part of an effort to develop an integrated, data-driven management plan for Milford Point, a Long Island Sound Stewardship area, the Milford Point Stewardship Science Advisory Committee is requesting anyone with data or knowledge of data about the ecosystem to fill out an online survey. Examples of the data being requested include: biological (from plants, algae, and diatoms to fish, birds, and humans); chemical(e.g. effluent levels, point source and non-point source pollution data, salinity data); geological (from sediments and soils to underlying bedrock); historical (data that is not digitized and still in notebooks, trawl data, catch records, photographs, maps); and geographical information systems (any type of layer). The project is being supported by a grant from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund. To access the survey, click on the survey link. For more information, e-mail Twan Leenders of the CT Audubon Society at tleenders@ctaudubon.org or call him at (203) 259 6305, ext. 114. The area of interest extends from Milford Harbor to Stratford Point.
CAC Co-Chair Receives Green Seals Award
The Federated Conservationists of Westchester County (FCWC) honored Nancy Seligson, Long Island Sound Study’s Citizens Advisory Committee NY co-chair, with a Green Seal Award at its 44th annual meeting in June. Seligson, who is also a member of the Mamaroneck Town Council, is a long-time advocate for protection of the Sound and for environmental protection generally. Excerpts of the speech she presented after receiving her award can be read at FCWC’s Web site. FCWC is a county-wide non-profit coalition of individual and organizational members working to protect Westchester’s environment. |
| | Around the Sound World Water Monitoring Day is Sept. 18
In September, organizations from around the Sound will team up with students and other volunteers to participate in World Water Monitoring Day. They will be collecting water quality data that will be entered into a Web site shared by organizations around the world. While the official date of World Water Monitoring Day is Sept. 18, testing can be done through Dec. 31. Events around the Sound will be held throughout September, including, for the first time, events organized by LISS. World Water Monitoring Day is an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging citizens to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies. Locally, LISS seeks to raise awareness about water quality in the Sound and encourage participants to take active steps in their communities to reduce polluted runoff. 
International Coastal Cleanup Day is Sept. 19
In September 2008, 4,049 volunteers cleaned up more than 80,000 pounds of garbage on 105 Long Island Sound beaches for International Coastal Cleanup Day. This September, you can help keep our beaches clean by attending or organizing a beach cleanup at your favorite beach. While the official clean-up date is Sept. 19, check to see what day your local beach is having a clean up at Save the Sound in CT or the American Littoral Society in NY. Visit International Coastal Cleanup Day for information about the cleanup and an overview of the dangers of marine debris. LISS is a long-time sponsor of beach clean-up events. 
a beach clean-up in Stonington, CT Photo: Save The Sound
National Estuaries Day is Sept. 26
Join organizations as they celebrate Long Island Sound during National Estuaries Day on Sept. 26. Events will be held at various locations around the Sound. WWW.longislandsoundstudy.net will soon be providing links to the local events to get more information. The LIS Futures Fund program has supported many estuaries day programs with small grants.
Restoring Bar Beach Ceremony Set
A celebration is planned for Sept. 21 to recognize the restoration of saltmarsh and coastal shoreline at Bar Beach Lagoon, Hempstead Harbor, North Hempstead and the completion of five years of post-construction monitoring. Restoration activities included the removal of substantial volumes of fill consisting of sand, gravel, concrete, and solid waste debris from the site, physical removal of approximately common reed (Phragmites australis). This restoration was conducted with natural resource damages settlement monies from a Superfund Site and supplemented with NOAA Community-based Restoration Program grant funds. Additional info on the site is at NOAA’s northeast region Web page. Besides the NOAA project, the Futures Fund awarded North Hempstead with a grant for restoration of an adjacent restoration project at Bar Beach. Completion of the first phase of that project will also be celebrated at the event.
The Bold Comes to CT
The CT DEP and the EPA are offering families the opportunity to tour EPA’s Ocean Survey Vessel Bold on Thursday, Aug. 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Fort Trumbull State Park, 90 Walbach Street, New London. The day offers an opportunity to tour the Bold and meet scientists for a hands-on experience on board a research vessel. Families will also get an interactive history lesson at the visitor's center, and walk the Fort and ramparts for a view of the Thames River. Fort Trumbull also has a boardwalk and fishing pier, and space for a picnic. Tours of the Bold are free. Admission for tours of the Visitor’s Center and Fort are $5, ages 13 & over; $2, ages 6-12; and free for ages 5 and under. Other sponsors of the Bold trip include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Navy, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the National Estuary Program, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Monitoring Horseshoe Crabs Around the Sound
The New York Horseshoe Crab Monitoring Network had a successful 2009 season as it gathered data on spawning horseshoe crabs at 6 beaches around Long Island. Two of those sites, West Meadow Beach (Stony Brook) and Flax Pond/Crane Neck (Old Field) were located on the north shore of Long Island. This
survey, coordinated by Cornell University Cooperative Extension’s Marine Program, is staffed almost exclusively by dedicated volunteers and the data collected is used by the NYSDEC to assess the status of horseshoe crabs. The data collected during the 2009 season is currently being analyzed. For more information on the New York Horseshoe Crab Monitoring Network , visit horseshoe crab
and to learn about the monitoring being conducted in CT, visit project limulus. |
| | Water Web Links Water Quality Monitoring
Summer is when western Long Island Sound is most likely to experience hypoxic conditions—low levels of dissolved oxygen. CT DEP operates a water quality monitoring program that tests for dissolved oxygen levels every two in stations throughout the Sound. Summaries of the 2009 results will be added to CT DEP’s dissolved oxygen Web page in August. The site includes monitoring results dating from 1991.
EPA’s Video Clips Contest
Check out some creative video clips produced by citizens and watershed groups across the country that entered EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds Water Quality Video Contest. The purpose of the contest was to inspire environmental stewardship and educate the public on ways individuals can improve water quality in their community. EPA received more than 250 video submissions. Visit WQ video contest to view the submissions. | | | 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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