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UPDATE Fall 1995
A Message From Executive Director Carolyn Hughes
With the approval of the Comprehensive Conservation and
Management Plan (CCMP) last fall, the Long Island Sound Study (LISS)
has shifted focus from planning to implementation. This shift in
focus is leading to changes in the organization and management
of the Long Island Sound Study to involve the broader spectrum
of people who will be involved in implementing the CCMP. The
Citizen’s Advisory Committee is being revitalized and expanded,
the Technical Advisory Committee is being reconstituted, and
consideration is being given to expanding membership on other
Long Island Sound Study Committees to help guide implementation
activities.
Staff activities are also changing. Staff from EPA and the
states of New York and Connecticut are now focusing on the
details of a nitrogen reduction strategy to address the problem
of low dissolved oxygen in the Sound. Low dissolved oxygen, or
hypoxia is the most significant problem identified in the CCMP.
In addition to nitrogen reduction, staff will be developing a
system to track and monitor CCMP implementation actions. The
tracking system will involve the development of specific time
frames or implementation actions, a means to track the status of
those actions, and will include the development of appropriate
environmental indicators to assess the effectiveness of clean-up
strategies.
Other areas of focus over the next year include.
• developing a bi-state strategy for expanding public access and
open space on the Sound,
• establishing a partnership with the Natural Resource
Conservation Service for a watershed initiative designed to
address land use and water quality issues affecting the Sound,
• completing a bi-state habitat restoration strategy, and
initiating site specific restoration projects, and
• conducting an aggressive effort to involve the public in
implementing the CCMP.
With all this change in the air, we thought that UPDATE should
continue to evolve as well. Beginning with this issue, the
quarterly editions of UPDATE will each focus on a specific topic
or theme related to CCMP implementation. This issue focuses on
Habitat Restoration. Future issues will address nitrogen
reduction, monitoring, toxics, and plants and animals of LIS.
We’d also like to hear from you if there is a specific topic
you’d be interested in reading more about, or if you would like
to submit an article for publication.
What is Habitat Restoration? by Lisa Brown
Habitat restoration is currently a hot area of environmental
interest, but what does it mean? The Habitat Restoration Team of
the Long Island Sound Study defines habitat restoration as “the
intentional alteration of a site in an attempt to re-establish
an indigenous, historic population of plants and animals." This
new population must be self-sustaining with minimal management.
In order for the restoration to be self sustaining, site
selection is critical. While establishing a cranberry bog in
your back yard may sound like a neat idea, without the proper
landscape elements, it would be time consuming and
work-intensive to keep it there year after year. Most habitats
require a particular combination of geological and environmental
conditions to survive. Attempts to plant and establish wildlife
habitat in an unsuitable location will inevitably fail. How do
habitats become degraded? When humans occupy a space, they tend
to alter it in such a way as to make it unsuitable for most fish
and wildlife species to remain there. Families require a home,
schools, grocery stores, churches, post offices to meet their
basic needs. This translates into a huge territory required for
humans to roam that is very different from the natural habitat
that once existed there.
Natural habitats can become fragmented. A particular wild animal
may need several acres in which to forage for its food. If a
subdivision is built right in the middle of the animal’s range,
the continuous area for it to forage in is reduced. In effect,
the same number of animals in a geographic area become "boxed
in" by surrounding development and end up competing for
dwindling food and space. Once the disturbace to the habitat
reaches a critical point, the populations of fish and wildlife
species may become reduced, and some species may disappear from
an area altogether.
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Species can be affected by the loss of complementary habitats.
For example, some salamanders require standing fresh water to
reproduce in, as well as an adjacent forested upland area in
which to forage for food. While State and Federal regulations
protect wetland areas such as ponds, the forest surrounding it
may be cleared for development. The salamanders would disappear
from that area because an essential part of their habitat was
lost.
Other things cause degradation of habitat as well. Pollution is
a common problem in waterways and wetlands, be it chemical
effluent from an industry or sewage treatment plant, the dumping
of tires and garbage, or runoff from roads and parking lots. The
key to restoring habitats degraded in this manner is to find and
correct the source of pollution.
Sometimes habitats are so fragile that just walking through them
causes degradation. An example of this is sand dunes. Dune
habitats are very harsh environments, the vegetation is adapted
to salt spray and the low nutrients in the sand. However, the
vegetation has not adapted to people walking or driving on it.
Even pedestrian traffic on a dune system will cause the
vegetation to disappear in the paths. This leads to erosion of
the dune and loss of cover for the animals inhabiting it.
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Why restore habitats? It is in our own best interest to restore
degraded habitats. Healthy habitats will support thriving
populations of harvestable fish, shellfish and game species,
protect endangered and threatened species and provide scenic
views and vistas.
There are things you can do to help restore habitats, or keep
them from becoming degraded in the first place. By participating
in organized beach cleanups, you can restore piping plover
nesting habitats. By not driving on nesting beaches during the
breeding season, you can help prevent degradation. By disposing
of waste properly, you can help prevent bioaccumulation of toxic
materials by the wildlife in and around the Sound.
Another way to aid in habitat restoration efforts from the
comfort of your own back yard is to landscape with native
vegetation. By planting native trees and shrubs, wildflowers,
and encouraging wetlands on your property, you can lessen the
impact that building your house caused. You will also attract
many varieties of interesting birds and other animals. By
offering natural food sources, you will lessen the attraction of
your garbage can. By providing native cover species, you will
discourage the use of your attic as a nest.
Key Restoration Terms
Habitat Restoration: To intentionally alter a site to
approximate biological, chemical, and physical conditions
existing prior to disturbance of an ecosystem or natural
community.
Habitat Creation: To bring into existence an ecosystem or
community on a site which did not historically support that
community. This involves destruction of the existing habitat.
Habitat Enhancement: The intentional alteration of a habitat to
improve one or more, but not all functions of the existing
habitat type.
Degraded habitat: Reduced in quality or value. Characterized by
degeneration of structure or function.
Destroyed Habitat: Altered from an original state to the point
of being unrecognizable or having few original characterisics.
Shift in state from one community type to another.
Lisa Brown is the Restoration Planning Coordinator for New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Habitat Restoration For Long Island Sound by Sue Mickolyzck
The Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for
Long Island Sound recommended that New York and Connecticut
jointly develop a Habitat Restoration Strategy for the Sound.
Scientists from both states began meeting in February 1994 to
develop the strategy, with the goal of identifying degraded
aquatic and terrestrial habitats and prioritizing potential
restoration sites. The plan is being developed by a team
comprised of representatives from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC),
New York State Department of State (NYSDOS) and Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP).
The CCMP called for the states of New York and Connecticut to
"develop a restoration plan for coastal terrestrial and
estuarine aquatic habitats adjacent to and in Long Island
Sound."
Selected Habitat Types
Terrestrial: Coastal Barriers, Coastal Beach, Coastal Sand Dune,
Coastal & Island Forests, Riparian Zones, Coastal Grasslands,
Sea Cliffs and Bluffs.
Wetlands and Open Waters: Tidal wetlands, Intertidal Flats,
Rocky Intertidal, Submerged Aquatic Vegetation, Macroscopic
Algae Communities, Oyster Reefs, Mussel Reefs, Coastal
Embayments, Coastal Ponds, Freshwater Wetlands, Rivers, Sand
Shoals.
In addition to the staff time and resources made available by
the five participating agencies, the EPA has committed $250,000
for the effort. Funds are being used to support the staffing of
a restoration planning coordinator in each state. The positions
were filled by Lisa Brown with the NYSDEC Division of Marine
Resources in November, 1994 and by Sue Mickolyzck with the CTDEP
Office of Long Island Sound Programs a month later.
During the first year of the restoration project, the Habitat
Restoration Team will:
• select general habitat types to be targeted
• define criteria for defining habitats as degraded
• assess the status and trends of general habitats
• develop recommendations for general restoration goals and
techniques
• identify specific sites with potential for restoration
• define site ranking criteria
During the second year of the project, the Team will:
• rank sites according to established criteria
• develop site-specific restoration
goals and techniques
• identify costs and potential funding sources for each site
• finalize Geographic Information System products
• produce a final report
The Team plans to involve the public in the habitat restoration
project during site identification and in the review of the
draft plan and proposed priorities. The habitat restoration team
is in the process of developing a survey that will be sent to
local officials and non-profit organizations requesting input on
potential restoration sites. Once a draft plan has been
completed, the team plans to hold a series of public meetings to
solicit input on the draft plan.
Sue Mickolyzck is the Restoration Planning Coordinator for the
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Office of
Long Island Sound Programs.
Cooperative Partnerships- Working To Protect and Restore
Habitats
Partnerships are a key to the successes of the U.S.Fish and
Wildlife Service in protecting and enhancing habitats for
wildlife. The Service works in cooperation with other Federal
and State agencies, private organizations and
landowners to protect declining habitats through habitat
improvement projects, land acquisition, research and education.
Particular emphasis has been placed on the conservation of
wetlands and their associated habitats.
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Approximately half of the Nation’s wetlands, some 100 million
acres, that existed in colonial times have been destroyed. On
the Atlantic Coast alone nearly 500,000 acres have been lost
since the 1950’s. Despite Federal, State and local laws and
regulations, wetland alteration continues at a rate of 300,000
to 450,000 acres per year. Development and population growth
continues to diminish the quality and productivity of many
wetlands upon which we rely for food, flood protection, water
purification and recreation. Hundreds of species of
wetland-dependent plants and animals, including one-third of
those species listed as endangered or threatened, are also
affected by these wetland losses.
To reverse this trend in wetlands losses, many cooperative
initiatives have been established, the most notable being the
North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). Signed by the
U.S. and Canada in 1986, the plan establishes goals for
conserving wetland habitats and restoring waterfowl populations.
It identifies several regions of the U.S., Canada and Mexico
that are critical to waterfowl as breeding, migration and
wintering areas, the Atlantic Coast being one. Joint ventures,
partnerships between Federal and State agencies, conservation
organizations and landowners, have been established to achieve
these goals.
The Atlantic Coast Joint Venture gives special consideration to
black ducks, which have been steadily declining since the
1970’s. Through this program, important habitats are being
purchased, leased or protected by conservation easements, and
landowners are offered economic incentives for practices that
benefit waterfowl, such as reflooding fields once used for
agriculture or planting cover for nesting birds. It is hoped
that these efforts will provide for the protection of more than
6 million acres of wetlands and 62 million breeding waterfowl by
the year 2000.
Recognizing that over two-thirds of the land in the United
States is under private ownership, the Service also initiated
the Partners For Wildlife Program in 1987. This program is
designed to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat on
private lands by providing financial and technical assistance to
landowners interested in restoring degraded or lost wetlands on
their property. Special consideration is given to those projects
that would restore habitats of benefit to threatened and
endangered species, anadromous fish, neotropical migratory birds
and other declining species. To date, the Partners For Wildlife
program has restored over 300,000 acres of wetlands, 25,000
acres of grassland, and over 300 miles of riparian habitat by
working cooperatively with over 12,000 willing landowners.
The Service and Connecticut Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) have worked cooperatively to protect and
restore wetlands for the benefit of migratory birds and other
wetland-associated wildlife since 1991. Connecticut’s habitat
restoration program has focused primarily on restoring degraded
tidal salt marshes along the coast. Restoration activities may
consist of removing old dredge spoil material to reestablish the
original marsh elevation; replacing damaged or under-sized
culvert pipes and selectively cleaning out existing ditches to
reestablish tidal flow; or selectively herbiciding areas to
control less desirable, invasive plants such as Phragmites.
Sometimes low ground pressure equipment specially designed to
work in wetland habitats is used to construct a system of
interconnected ponds and shallow water channels on the marsh
surface. This technique is known as "open water marsh
management", increases marsh habitat diversity and provides
refuge for fish and feeding sites for shorebirds, wading birds
and waterfowl.
To date, cooperative partnerships with private landowners, and
other organizations such as The Connecticut Chapter of the
Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, the National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation, Connecticut Waterfowl Association and
Iroquois Gas Transmission Systems, have resulted in the
restoration of over 350 acres of wetlands in Connecticut.
Federal funds have been provided through both the NAWMP and
Partners For Wildlife Programs. The Service is looking to expand
its habitat restoration program in Connecticut to include
freshwater wetland and riparian restoration.
For more information, contact the Stewart B. McKinney National
Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 1030, Westbrook, CT 06498.
Volunteers Participate In Eelgrass Study by Sue Mickolyzck
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP)
has solicited volunteer support from groups located along the
shoreline to assist in the collection of data from an on-going
eelgrass study. Study participants are collecting water clarity
data from nine locations along the Connecticut coast in order to
help establish the minimum habitat requirements for eelgrass and
to determine possible sites for habitat restoration work.
Environmental impacts have caused a decline in eelgrass over the
last few decades. Although the specific cause of the decline has
not been pinpointed, water quality problems may be responsible.
Studies conducted in Chesapeake Bay have proven that decreased
water quality is a main cause for eelgrass decline.
Man-introduced nutrients, such as nitrogen, contribute to
excessive growth of microscopic plants called phytoplankton
which grow in the water column. The phytoplankton effectively
shades sunlight from the bottom sediments and prevents the
growth of bottom plants such as eelgrass. While eelgrass
distribution has recovered in eastern Long Island Sound, it
remains absent in the central and western Sound where the water
quality is poorer.
Eelgrass Zostera marina is a submerged flowering plant that
grows in estuarine and marine waters along the east coast of
North America from Nova Scotia to North Carolina. In Long Island
Sound, eelgrass may be rooted in muddy or sandy sediments down
to depths of approximately 15 feet. Beds of this seagrass
provide valuable habitat to numerous marine organisms as both a
nursery area and as a source of substrate for attachment. For
example, juvenile bay scallops Argopecten irradians depend
heavily on eelgrass as a surface for attachment and as shelter
from predators.
The CTDEP Office of Long Island Sound Programs has provided
study participants with equipment to determine the clarity of
the water. The volunteer researchers use a black and white,
circular secchi disk to record the depth at which visibility
disappears. The methodology they are using is a standard one
that was developed following a Chesapeake Bay protocol. As the
study progresses, a photoelectric light meter will be used at
each of the sites to obtain light absorption for the development
of conversion factors to be used with the secchi depth
measurements. The data are being collected during the eelgrass
growing season from spring to fall.
The monitoring and mapping of eelgrass in the Sound began
several years ago with researchers from the University of
Connecticut under a grant from the CT DEP Long Island Sound
Research Fund.
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The water clarity data being collected this season by volunteer
researchers will augment the data collected during the UConn
studies and will be used to identify areas of limited light
availability and areas of potential eelgrass restoration.
Eelgrass has been identified as a priority resource under the
LISS Habitat Restoration Project (see related articles).
The groups involved in the volunteer water clarity monitoring
include Save the Sound (formerly Long Island Sound Taskforce);
Nature Center for Environmental Activities; National Marine
Fisheries Service, Schooner, Inc.; Cedar Island Marina; CTDEP
Marine Fisheries; Northeast Utilities; and Project Oceanology.
Sue Mickolyzk is the Restoration Planning Coordinator for the
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Office of
Long Island Sound Programs.
Changes In Our Land Environmental History Exhibition
Have you ever wondered what the Long Island Sound Region looked
like without people? Before there were roads, houses, railroads
or boats; before there was any one to pollute the waters with
sewage, runoff or acid rain; when there were no paintings, books
or photographs to record this changing and beautiful landscape?
The Bruce Museum’s environmental history exhibition “Changes in
Our Land” invites the visitor to journey from this early period
to the present.
A gallery on the formation of Long Island Sound reconstructs the
geological events leading to the land forms seen today. A
History Wall gives an overview of three main periods in the
development of the region. The first looks at the abundance of
resources - birds, fish, shellfish and marshes - before the
arrival of European settlers. The second looks at the
agricultural period when most of the land bordering the Sound
and the rivers running into it became farmland. The third looks
at the industrial period and how the advent of the railroad and
the development of highways changed lifestyles. In each section
the impact on wildlife is discussed.
The biggest attraction of the exhibition is a marine room with
its large free-form touch tank. Here visitors can see specimens
from the Sound using the rock formations as their natural
habitat. Another main attraction is a room-size diorama of
woodlands bordering the Sound as they would have appeared five
hundred years ago. This diorama includes a Native American
dwelling and wildlife, like the mountain lion, which are no
longer seen in our local woods.
The issues facing Long Island Sound today and the work of the
Long Island Sound Study are addressed on a “jeopardy” wall. This
exhibit is composed of rotating panels. On one face of the panel
is a question such as “What is hypoxia? On another is the
answer. The wall is designed so that when all the questions have
been answered a pristine outline of Long Island Sound is
obtained. By turning the panels once more a map of the region
showing cities, villages, roads, railways and bridges is formed.
This activity clearly shows the impact of increasing population
on the region.
The Bruce Museum is located on Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT
06830, one and one half blocks south of I-95 exit 3 and one
block from the Greenwich railroad station. Open Tuesdays -
Saturdays 10 am - 5 pm, Sundays 2 - 5 pm. For further
information call (203)869-0376.
Long Island Sound Study’s Geographic Information System by Mark
Tedesco
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a powerful tool to
analyze and map spatial data. The Long Island Sound Study, with
technical assistance and guidance by the Living Marine Resource
workgroup, began development of a GIS in 1994 to permit mapping
of habitats and resources of Long Island Sound and its coastal
area. The firm of Applied Geographics, Inc. was selected to
develop the Long Island Sound GIS.
The first priority was to establish a base map of Long Island
Sound that integrated data from various sources into a cohesive
database. The scale of 1:24,000 was selected as appropriate for
Soundwide mapping and for the production of work maps since many
projects are currently done on U.S. Geological Survey’s 1:24,000
topographic quadrangles. The geographic extent of the base map
was determined by the Long Island Sound Study area. Landward,
this includes the areas in New York that drain to Long Island
Sound and the coastal area in Connecticut up to the salt wedge
of the rivers. The boundary of the map to the west is The
Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan, while the eastern
extent is The Race. Within this boundary the base map includes
roads, political boundaries, hydrography such as streams, lakes,
and wetlands, and the names of land and water features. To
complete the base map, the bathymetry or bottom water depths of
the Sound were added.
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The next step was to add available data into the Long Island
Sound GIS for analysis and portrayal on the base map. These
thematic layers include data on shellfish habitats and harvest
rates, beaches, sediment types, land use and commercial
activities, and habitats significant for living resources and of
scenic beauty. The map of shellfishing areas off of Stamford, CT
is an example of how the information can be used and portrayed.
To ensure that users can understand the quality of the data
portrayed in the Long Island Sound GIS, a data documentation
system based on the standards set by the Federal Geographic Data
Committee was created. This system fully describes the available
data, how it was collected and for what purpose, and creates
standards for ongoing documentation to guide the collection and
addition of new data into the GIS.
With the basic Long Island Sound GIS well underway, it is
beginning to be used to support habitat restoration initiatives.
The LISS Habitat Restoration Team (see related article) is
identifying how the GIS can assist in identifying and displaying
degraded habitats and help prioritize restoration activities. To
assure that the Long Island Sound GIS can serve regional needs
into the future, the LISS is investigating the feasibility of
transferring the data to the GIS maintained by the Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection’s Long Island Sound
Resource Center. The Resource Center is well qualified to
provide the necessary technical support to interface GIS data
with users to develop specific applications and to update and
integrate data on an ongoing basis. If the transition is
successful the prospects are promising for using GIS to better
understand and manage Long Island Sound.
Mark Tedesco is the Technical Director for the Long Island Sound
Office.
Marsh Restoration At Saybrook Point by Judy Preston
At the Fort Saybrook Monument Park in Old Saybrook, visitors
come to read historical markers and learn about the extensive
human history of the area. Until recently, a peripheral wooden
boardwalk led through towering stands of the invasive reed
grass, Phragmites, and seemed an after thought to the rest of
the park.
Phragmites is usually found along the upper border of
saltmarshes, especially where there has been a disturbance. This
aggresive plant is often indicative of salt marsh demise because
it can replace spartina grasses, wild rice and has little or no
food or habitat value for wildlife.
Today, thanks to a full scale marsh restoration project, this
park is a terrific spot to observe the hopeful rebirth of a
diverse salt marsh, and the ecological history of the park is
now as interesting as its human occupation.
In the spring of 1994, the CT DEP Wetlands Restoration Unit
undertook the revitalization of the Saybrook marsh, in
cooperation with US Fish & Wildlife Service, CT DEP Office of
Long Island Sound Programs, the Town of Old Saybrook, the Fort
Saybrook Monument Park Association, and The Nature Conservancy.
Historically, this area was open tidal brackish salt marsh, but
through time the advent of a constricting railroad dike and the
gradual accumulation of large logs at the inlet have reduced the
free exchange of brackish water into the marsh. Gradually, with
restricted tidal exchange and the accumulation of sediment
raising the marsh elevation, conditions became ripe for the
invasion of Phragmites. While this invasive species grows
readily along the shore, it is adverse to high concentrations of
salt. It often invades areas that have, through the unwitting
act of humans, been elevated or restricted from tidal flow just
enough to permit its successful spread.
Over the years this small marsh became a nearly solid stand of
Phragmites. The elevated “view” from the park boardwalk was
merely a dense stand of the waving ten foot high flowering
stalks (the word Phragmites is derived from the Greek word for
fence). From an ecological viewpoint, the predominance of any
one species over the diversity of potential multiple species
that occur in a healthy brackish salt marsh is undesirable. A
diversity of plant species hosts equally diverse wildlife
populations -- from insects to great blue herons.
The CT DEP Wetlands Restoration Unit is a team of individuals
that are capable of transforming a phragmites marsh into a whole
new system of shallow ponds and open marsh. Their craft, called
open water marsh management, relies on the opening of tidal
inlets and construction of shallow ponds to revitalize salt
marshes. Heavy construction machinery -- the traditional
foreboding enemy of wetlands -- has been specialized to restore
rather than destroy wetlands. Machinery with names such as “John
Deere 350 C Dozer/Backhoe” have been modified with wide tracks
that result in as little as 2 pounds of pressure per square foot
over the marsh surface, creating less of an impact than a
typical human foot print on the marsh surface! This specialized
machinery, some of which has also been made amphibious, permits
the restoration unit to access and modify the degraded marsh.
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At the Saybrook marsh, existing channels have been cleared of
debris and a series of shallow ponds created. The ponds are
indirectly connected to the tidal inlets by shallow depressions,
or swales. Monthly high tides bring small fish overland via
these shallow swales into the pond. The fish will keep potential
mosquito populations in check as well as attract wading birds
and other wildlife. The ponds are isolated from the tidal inlet
in order to prevent daily tidal draining. Overtime these ponds
will become increasingly saline through the process of
evaporation. The increasing salinity discourages the phragmites,
and allows other marsh vegetation to return.
Initially the changes at Saybrook Point look dramatic. It has
gone, seemingly overnight, from dense, impenetrable phragmites
to an open marsh with ponds. However, Phragmites’ first reaction
to radical disturbance is to come back like gangbusters in
response to the availability of nutrients formerly “locked up”
in the muck soils of the marsh. At some point, herbicides may be
employed to add an extra punch to the control of Phragmites. The
primary controls, however, will be the new, lower elevations of
the marsh and increased salinity levels. Over time, native marsh
vegetation -- particularly the spartina grasses -- can be
expected to return, many of which have lain dormant in the marsh
for many years.
Spartina is abundant in salt marshes, provide food and habitat
for many animals. The roots intertwine with ribbed mussels,
trapping sediments and creating the bulk of the marshland.
As more diverse vegetation makes a comeback, wildlife will
likely respond as well. Fish have already begun to attract
wading birds to the site.
This is a good news project. It’s an opportunity to “give back”,
to employ technology in a new and exciting way. At the Saybrook
Point restoration site,we’re trying to find answers to a very
complex ecological puzzle. No one knows for sure if this
restoration will be successful. It is unlikely that phragmites
will be entirely eliminated. But given a foothold, the chances
are good that a greater diversity of marsh plants will succeed
in creating a new, more diverse and healthy marsh at Saybrook
Point. The Nature Conservancy has monitored every move of the
restoration project, documenting each step on film and is eager
to become more involved in future restoration projects.
For more information contact The Connecticut Chapter of The
Nature Conservancy, 55 High Street, Middletown, CT 06457-3788
Research Cruise on LIS by Rick Rendigs
One of the tasks of the Branch of Atlantic Marine Geology (BAMG)
is that of investigating issues in environmental quality and
preservation in the marine environment. To this end, a basic
understanding of geologic processes such as sediment and
pollutant accumulation and transport becomes a fundamental part
in defining various sedimentary environments in the coastal
region. These studies typically include seafloor mapping of
erosion and deposition patterns using sidescan sonar (similar to
an aerial photograph of the seafloor) and other appropriate
measurements of the physical and sediment parameters, that are
important in controlling erosional, depositional, and transport
processes. Results generally take the form of sedimentary
environment maps and digital images of the seafloor. These data
products are useful for a variety of issues dealing with
contaminant transport and seafloor utilization.
A research cruise was recently completed in Long Island Sound
aboard the Environmental Protection Agency Ocean Survey Vessel
Peter Anderson by scientists from BAMG. This cruise is the
beginning of a long term effort by BAMG, in conjunction with the
State of Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey and
the Environmental Protection Agency, to determine a regional
perspective of sedimentary environments in LIS for the purpose
of addressing the following environmentally related issues: (1)
the regional distribution of geologic and oceanographic
conditions across the Sound; and (2) the locations where
fine-grained sediments and related contaminants are likely to be
either removed or deposited.
The objective of the crusie was to collect a regional set of
digital high-resolution sidescan sonographs that can be used to
make a reconnaissance map of the bottom sedimentary environments
for LIS. The information obtained during this
survey are considered basic to a wide range of environmental
issues and will be beneficial to other state and federal
agencies that will be involved with regulating the environmental
quality of LIS.
Future projects in LIS by BAMG may include sidescan digital
mosaicing of selected environmentally or geologically sensitive
areas, strategic sampling of sediments for geochemical and
textural analyses, and assessment and modeling of the wave and
current regimes within the Sound.
Rick Rendigs is a Marine Geologist for the US Geological Surveys
Branch of Atlantic Marine Geology.
Project Ocean Planet Awareness: A Core K-12 Education Initiative
Project Ocean Planet Awareness is an education initiative
developed by the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and
Education to maximize the educational usefulness of the
Smithsonian Institution's Ocean Planet Exhibition. The purpose
of the project is to provide teachers with an appropriate level
of understanding of basic oceanographic principles and issues.
For further information, please call Terry Schaff of Consortium
for Oceanographic Research and Education at (202) 232-3900,
ext.210.
EPA Education Grants
EPA New England announced they have funded 26 recipients of the
1995 Environmental Education grants. A LISS partner, SoundWaters
of Stamford, CT received $4,988 for a Science of the Sound
Learning Station Project that educates students and adults
within the Long Island Sound watershed about factors that affect
the health of the Sound.
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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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