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Winter 2000 UPDATE Text-Only Edition [Return
to Publications]
Message from the Director
One year ago, the UPDATE newsletter focused on the health of living resources
in the Sound. The outlook was mixed, with both positive and negative news. There
was also a hint of caution; a warning that naturally occurring diseases can
unpredictably wreak havoc on populations of fish and wildlife. Massive oyster
mortalities in 1997-98 caused by a single-celled parasite called MSX accentuated
the point, along with reports of an unusual die-off of American lobster in the
fall of 1998, tempering the good news of recent record harvests.
But the 1998 lobster die-off was but a harbinger of what was to come in 1999
when the mass mortality of lobsters in Long Island Sound crippled a multimillion
dollar industry and put many fishers and dealers out of work. Marine disease
became front page news and a source of editorial page finger pointing.
Lobster fishers and dealers began reporting significant numbers of dead and
dying lobsters in lobster pot gear in the western half of Long Island Sound in
mid-September of 1999. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP)
Long Island Sound trawl survey also started to see a drop off of lobster catch
in September and a more noticeable decline in abundance, as well as an increase
in sick lobsters, in October. It was clear by November that the die-off was
unprecedented in scope and catastrophic to the lobster fishery. The lobster
die-off continued throughout the fall and winter. On January 26, Commerce
Secretary William M. Daley declared Long Island Sound a federal fishery disaster
area. On February 29, President Clinton asked Congress for $10 million; $6.6
million for research to determine what is causing the die-off and another $3.4
million for economic assistance and development initiatives. Congress has yet to
act on the bill.
Based on preliminary work, Dr. Richard French, a University of Connecticut
veterinary pathologist, has linked the die-off to a protozoan parasite,
Paramoeba, known to cause death in lobsters, crabs, and sea urchins. But
additional research is needed to confirm the parasite's link and to identify
other possible contributing environmental factors.
The need for more research was emphasized at the April 17-18 LIS Lobster
Health Symposium, which brought together experts from around the country with
people in the industry to discuss what happened and to develop an action plan to
better understand and manage lobsters in the Sound.This action plan will guide
management and research efforts.
A word of caution: the question of what caused the die-off is complex and the
likelihood of being able to manage it is uncertain. The course and causes of
disease are often poorly understood. For example, human health authorities
haven't answered why the region saw an outbreak of mosquito-borne viral
encephalitis, with fatal effects, in 1999. Understanding why a paramoeba is
killing lobsters in Long Island Sound may be just as complex an undertaking. Aid
in response to the fishery disaster designation has been proposed but still
needs to be approved by Congress in an emergency appropriation package.
If there is a positive side to the lobster mortalities, it is the discussion
it has spurred on how to strengthen the region's capability to study,
understand, and respond to the array of marine diseases that can devastate
living resources and the livelihood of people that harvest them. It's an
investment that seems especially wise after the events of the past year.
Mark Tedesco
CAC Corner by David Miller and John Atkin
There has been a lot of discussion over the last year about the concept of a
Long Island Sound Reserve. The recent Long Island Sound Watershed Alliance
annual conference focused on the concept, and there has been discussion in the
CAC, the EPA, and in New York's DEC and in Connecticut's DEP. Now is the time
for the public to be heard on the concept.
To that end, ten citizens' hearings are scheduled around Long Island Sound in
May and June. The National Audubon Societies of New York and Connecticut, with
local Audubon chapters, Save the Sound, the Regional Plan Association, and many
other organizations concerned about the Sound's future are joining under the
campaign banner "Listen to the Sound 2000."
Its aim is to gather public input and mobilize public concern to create a
comprehensive system of protected open space and restored habitats - a Long
Island Sound reserve system around the estuary. If you live, work, or play near
the Sound, please attend and tell us about the natural treasures along its rim
that you cherish, and your concerns and vision for protecting them for future
generations to enjoy. It is our opportunity to once again be the voice for Long
Island Sound.
The Sound is an extraordinary scenic and recreational attraction in the heart
of the country's most densely populated region. The costs of restoring and
protecting it are public costs and the public deserves the opportunity to have a
connection to this resource. Yet the Sound's shore is among the least publicly
accessible in the country and, as water quality improves, its parks, beaches,
and shoreline preserves - the jewels of the shoreline - are increasingly
overwhelmed by the public. We need more public access sites to protect what we
already have from overuse.
Now few unprotected open sites remain along the shore, and most of these are
likely to be developed within the next decade unless we mobilize quickly to save
them.
Outstanding New York sites currently at risk include: Riverhead's Grandifolia
Dunes, home to a unique dwarf forest; further east, several miles of largely
undeveloped bluffs - the largest remaining stretch of open land on the Sound;
and yet further east, Gardiner's Island, home of the last old growth forest
stand on the east coast. Outstanding Connecticut sites include the 29-acre,
virtually undeveloped Calves Island off Greenwich, the barrier beach to Great
Meadows salt marsh at Stratford, and 42 acres of uplands and tidal wetlands next
to Hammonasset State Park in Madison.
In response to these needs, National Audubon, Save the Sound, and the
Regional Plan Association have launched the Long Island Sound Reserve Project to
establish a comprehensive network of open space and natural areas along the
Sound's rim, as well as to provide for more opportunities for public access and
habitat restoration. National Audubon will organize all of the citizen hearings
and pull together all of the testimonies into a Citizens Agenda Report. This
report will be provided for a conference in early 2001 on establishing a reserve
system that includes open space, habitat restoration, public access, and parks.
Save the Sound will coordinate the participation of the Long Island Sound
Watershed Alliance, a grassroots network of some 200 organizations brought
together by the first Listen to the Sound campaign. Save the Sound will lead our
efforts on habitat restoration issues and incorporate programs included in the
CCMP. Regional Plan Association (RPA), as a partner, will use its influential
position as a planning organization dedicated to improving the quality of life
of the tri-state area, as well as bring extensive planning and mapping expertise
to the project.
Please join us in this exciting venture by enlisting your own local group and
other community groups - such as, scout troops, garden clubs, and community
associations. All you and they need to do is to agree to speak out for Long
Island Sound. History tells us that only then will the Sound be heard. See page
3 for the hearing schedule.
John Atkin is the Connecticut co-chair of the Citizen Advisory Committee and
is the president of Save the Sound, Inc. in Stamford, CT and Glen Cove, NY.
David Miller is the New York co-chair of the Citizen Advisory Committee and
executive director of the National Audubon Society of New York State.
March 9 CAC Meeting Port Jefferson, New York
The Long Island Sound Study (LISS) Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) met in
Port Jefferson on Thursday, March 9. The CAC was briefed on LIS lobster
mortalities by NYSDEC biologist Carl LoBue. The CAC also reviewed a draft policy
paper on financial responsibility for sediment sampling costs by the Sediment
Focus Group.
The CAC meets quarterly on the second Thursday of March, June, September, and
December at alternating New York and Connecticut Long Island Sound communities.
Meetings are open to the public. The CAC provides advice to the LISS management
conference partners and communicates issues of concern on LIS to their
organizations' membership.
The next CAC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 8 at the Bridgeport
Regional Vocational Aquaculture School in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Call the EPA
Long Island Sound office at (203) 977-1541 or check the LISS Website at:
www.epa.gov/region01/eco/lis/calendar.htm for the schedule of 2000 CAC meetings.
Connecticut’s Restoration Accomplishments for 1999
by Lori Benoit
The Connecticut Tidal Wetland Restoration Team, a subcommittee of the Long
Island Sound Study Habitat Restoration Initiative, accomplished a significant
amount of tidal marsh restoration during 1999. Members of the Tidal Wetland Team
include representatives from National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), US Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
(CT DEP) and Save The Sound (STS). Five tidal marsh projects were completed for
a total of 67.9 acres restored. The team also worked on an additional 17
projects that are in earlier phases of development such as preliminary
engineering or design.
One of the biggest challenges to completing restoration projects is securing
funding. Funding sources have included the Section 319 Nonpoint Source Program
of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CT DEP's Coves and Embayments
Program, Ducks Unlimited, USFWS and Connecticut Waterfowl Association. The
agencies represented on the Teams have contributed funds, staff time, and
equipment to the restoration efforts. Also, federal funds are available through
the Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA). The Federal
Highway Administration and the State Department of Transportation oversee this
program, which provides 80% of the cost of a project, while the state
contributes 20%. These funds can be used for enhancement projects where a
transportation structure, such as a road, railroad track, or bridge, has
adversely impacted an ecosystem such as a tidal marsh.
Once funding has been identified, project plans are developed and permits
secured. More complex projects, such as the restoration at Mill Meadows (See
related article on page 4), requires the services of an engineering firm to
study the degraded marsh and make recommendations for possible corrective
actions.
The Riverine Migratory Corridor Team came into existence at the end of 1999.
Last year the Team, consisting of CT DEP (Fisheries Division, Bureau of Water
Management, and Office of Long Island Sound Programs), in cooperation with
project partners such as NMFS, USFWS, and Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC),
removed or breached four dams and installed seven fish ladders. These projects
resulted in a gain of 22.5 miles of river habitat that is now open to migratory
fish species. The four dam removals were the result of a negotiated mitigation
agreement with the City of Waterbury involving a Sewage Treatment Plant upgrade.
Four of the fish ladders were funded by a variety of sources including the Long
Island Sound license plate program, National Resources Conservation Service,
Native American tribes, Trout Unlimited, private landowners, and CRWC. The other
three fish ladders were the result of two mitigation settlements and a dam
licensing agreement.
Although the Riverine Migratory Corridor Team has already worked together on
the anadromous fish restoration projects outlined above, it is expected that as
part of the LISS Habitat Restoration Initiative there will be greater
opportunities for coordinating activities such as grant-writing and project
planning. For year 2000, an ambitious work plan was developed which includes the
design and/or construction of 13 fish ladders.
The tidal wetlands team also has numerous restoration projects in development
for this year. Additionally, plans are underway to form two new teams that will
address restoration of coastal barrier beaches and coastal grasslands.
Lori Benoit works for Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and
is the Habitat Restoration Coordinator for the Long Island Sound Study.
Tidal Wetland Restoration: Mill Meadows, Old Saybrook, Connecticut
by Lori Benoit
A recent Connecticut restoration success story is the project at Mill
Meadows, a 17-acre tidal wetland in Old Saybrook on the upper reaches of the
Oyster River. The project, which was completed in October 1999, was the second
in the country to use federal ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation and
Efficiency Act) funding (see article on page 3, CT Restoration accomplishments).
In 1992-93, Coastal America, a consortium of federal agencies established to
improve coastal resource restoration and protection, investigated ten degraded
coastal wetlands in Connecticut to assess whether associated roads and highways
were the cause of the degradation.It was determined that an undersized culvert
was reducing the inflow of tidal water to Mill Meadows, causing a 1 ½ foot
lower high tide elevation upstream compared to downstream of the culvert. The
resulting reduction of tidal flooding of the marsh with salt water resulted in a
drop in the water table, loss of elevation, and the loss of essential wildlife
and fish habitat, as salt marsh plants were replaced by fresh water plant
species, especially the invasive common reed (Phragmites australis).
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Long Island
Sound Programs applied for and received ISTEA funding to design and construct a
restoration project for Mill Meadows. Detailed tide studies were undertaken and
then used to develop a tidal flow model.The model identified an appropriate
flooding regime of the wetland and defined the modifications of the existing
culvert necessary to provide these flows.The model was also used to evaluate
flood levels during various rainfall or coastal storm events, including a
combination of inland and coastal flooding to assure that the project would not
increase flooding of adjacent properties. To increase tidal flow, a 3-foot
diameter culvert was installed alongside the existing culvert under the road. A
slide/flapper gate on the culvert can be closed in advance of a forecasted flood
event to assure flood protection.The gate is then opened after the threat of
flooding has passed. With the return of salt water flow into the marsh, it is
expected that the amount of the invasive grass Phragmites will be reduced, and
the abundance of invertebrates and foraging fish will increase.
This project was one of five tidal marsh restorations completed last year by
the Connecticut Tidal Wetland Restoration Team as part of the Long Island Sound
Study Habitat Restoration Initiative. Project partners include the Town of Old
Saybrook, EPA, CT Department of Transportation, Coastal America, CT DEP Office
of Long Island Sound Programs and CT DEP Inland Wetlands.
Lori Benoit works for Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and
is the Habitat Restoration Coordinator for the Long Island Sound Study.
New York’s Restoration Activity for 1999
by Lisa Holst
Once again the Clean Air/Clean Water Bond Act supplied funding to Long Island
Sound habitat restoration projects. For the 1998/1999 round of awards, a total
of just over $2.42 million dollars was awarded to municipalities for habitat
restoration projects. Two of these projects, Baxter Pond and the Oyster Bay
western waterfront, will have the additional benefit of increasing natural
filtration of nonpoint source pollution, as well as increasing habitat for the
Sound's living resources. The remaining two projects, at Centre Island and Betty
Allen Preserve, are targeted to benefit primarily finfish resources.
The Betty Allen Preserve project, an anadromous fish passage restoration, was
ranked as a high priority project by the LISS Habitat Restoration Initiative
partners. This project is a partnership between the Town of Huntington, the
State of NY, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The state and town
are supplying the funding for the project, while USFWS is providing design
services for the planned fish ladder. The fish ladder will connect the
freshwater pond system at the preserve with the estuarine waters of Northport
Harbor.
The Centre Island project is a flow restoration project for an impounded
tidal wetland. A larger culvert and self-regulating tide gate will be installed
early this summer to reconnect the impoundment with the adjoining high quality
tidal wetland and creek system. The Village of Centre Island, the Natural
Resources Conservation Service, the State of NY, the Friends of the Bay
organization, and the property owners surrounding the impoundment all worked
together to make this project a reality. Staff from the NYS Department of
Environmental Conservation have been monitoring the finfish usage of the
impoundment prior to the culvert installation. Monitoring will continue after
the installation in order to measure the changes brought by the project. Staff
has also observed bird use and inventoried the plant communities at the site.
The Oyster Bay western waterfront project will enhance tidal and freshwater
wetlands along the creek which drains Oyster Bay Mill Pond. The wetlands will
increase usable habitat as well as provide additional filtration for the water
exiting Mill Pond. This project is taking place on the edge of the recently
acquired Jakobson's Shipyard property and adjacent to a Town of Oyster Bay
bathing beach. Other improvements to the shipyard property for public access and
education are planned and underway as well.
The Baxter Pond project was initiated by the Nassau County Department of
Public Works. The project provides pre-treatment for storm water runoff in a
sedimentation basin, then allows for increased filtration and shoreline
stabilization with wetland plantings along the pond's shoreline. The first step
in the project will be to dredge the accumulated sediments from the pond bottom
to return it to a depth which will support a warm water fish population. The
pond drains to Manhasset Bay in the western sound.
An additional $2.5 million in Bond Act (see table) awards have been announced
for 1999/2000, bringing the total Bond Act funding for habitat restoration
projects on Long Island Sound to just over $6 million since its passage in
November of 1996.
Lisa Holst works for New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
and is the Long Island Sound Study Habitat Restoration Coordinator.
YEAR PROJECT NAME TOWN AMOUNT FUNDED
LISS NOMINATED?
99/00 Aunt Amy's Creek
Brookhaven $106,627 Yes
St. Johnland Road Smithtown
$125,000 Yes
Whitney Lake N. Hempstead
$500,000 Yes
Pond
Park -
Great
Neck Estates N. Hempstead
$28,927 Yes
Tallapoosa Wetlands Bronx
$324,825 Yes
Edith Read/Nature Study
Woods Rye $110,000 Yes
Rye Town Park Rye $489,675
Pryor Manor Marsh Phase II
Mamaroneck $210,000 Yes
98/99 Baxter Pond N.
Hempstead $450,000 Yes
Manhasset Valley Park N. Hempstead $644,125
Centre Island Oyster Bay $75,000 Yes
Oyster Bay Western Waterfront Oyster Bay $1,700,000 No, but adjoins
97/98 Stony Brook Creek Brookhaven $40,806
Yes
Pryor Manor Marsh Phase I Mamaroneck
$34,500 Yes
New Rochelle Aquatic/Non-aquaticplantings New Rochelle $50,000 Yes, some
areas
96/97 Thatch Pond Smithtown $20,200
Moorewood Wetlands N. Hempstead $230,756 Yes, but not this one
Harrison Pond Park Smithtown $90,000 Yes
Pelham Bay Park Bronx $300,000 Yes
Forest Park Shrub Swamp
Queens $275,000 Yes
Total Long Island Sound Aquatic Habitat Restoration Funds from the Bond Act
Awarded to date: $6,005,441
Partnership Focus: Working with the Army Corps of Engineers
by Lisa Holst
In the past, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) was not
generally associated with habitat rehabilitation. This is changing, though,
through a relatively new set of programs authorized by Congress. These new
programs have made the ACOE an exciting partner in the habitat restoration
initiative.
For example, the New York District of the ACOE has been working with the
state and local governments on several habitat restoration project planning
efforts. One of these efforts is happening in Northport Harbor on a 19-acre area
of dredge spoil placed on tidal wetland in 1963. This site was nominated for
restoration by the Town of Huntington under the Habitat Restoration Initiative
and received a site priority ranking of "High". The ACOE is
cooperating with the Town of Huntington and the state representatives of Long
Island Sound Study Habitat Restoration Initiative to develop a Preliminary
Restoration Plan to reestablish approximately 10 acres of tidal wetlands at the
site.
The restoration site is within Twin Ponds Park, usually referred to as "Phragmites
Park" by town staff, on the north side of Route 25A. Key considerations in
designing this restoration project are continued public access to the site,
preventing adjacent homes from flooding, and returning as much vegetated tidal
wetland to the site as possible. This site is currently a popular hiking and
bird watching destination. The proposed restoration design will allow for
pedestrian access around the perimeter of the site without need for building any
boardwalks or other structures. This will reduce human impacts to the restored
wetland and eliminate the need for maintenance of structures.
Site restoration is expected to increase finfish breeding and nursery
habitat, and filter storm water that runs into the head of the harbor from
surrounding roads. The tidal marsh will complement the fish ladder installation
and fresh water pond restoration already happening upstream in the Betty Allen
Memorial Preserve.
The project will prove to be an exercise in creative problem solving,
however. The initial estimates for the volume of fill to be removed, runs into
the hundreds of thousands of cubic yards - an expensive prospect if all this
material must be excavated and hauled away by private contractors. Ken Feustel,
a planning team member with the Town of Huntington Division of Environmental
Waste Management anticipates that the town will be able to use at least a
portion of the material for beach nourishment projects. Excess material may also
be used as landfill cover or construction fill. Fortunately, the dredge spoil is
clean, coarse-grained sand, and beneficial re-use of the material should be
easy. Once the volume of material to be removed is known, the project planning
team will be exploring cost effective partnership opportunities to accomplish
the fill removal.
An additional complication in excavating the dredge spoil is transport of the
material off the site. The only land access to the site is from Route 25A, a
main east-west artery which is only one lane in each direction with a blind
curve just east of the site. Unfortunately, adjacent harbor waters are too
shallow to allow use of barge-based equipment. The New York State Department of
Transportation will be consulted on the logistics of trucking the sand from the
site. Stay tuned.
Lisa Holst works for New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
and is the Long Island Sound Study Habitat Restoration Coordinator.
Restoration Resources
Society for Ecological Restoration - www.ser.org/definitions.htm
Association of State Wetland Managers - www.aswm.org/wetlinks.htm
Restore Americas Estuaries - www.estuaries.org
Chesapeake Bay Foundation - www.cbf.org/rpp/index.htm
National Marine Fisheries Service Restoration Center - www.nmfs.gov/habitat/restoration/nspage.html
Dredging Update
The Work Plan for the Long Island Sound (LIS) Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) is available for public review. The Work Plan is available at the Website
www.epa.gov/region01/eco/lisdreg/ or paper copy by contacting the address below.
The Work Plan is the framework for the EIS, and will continue to evolve as
specific issues and topics need to be clarified and refined. EPA and the Army
Corps of Engineers (ACOE) are soliciting comments on this Work Plan. Comments
may be sent to the address below.
During the week of February 14, 2000 EPA and the ACOE conducted field work in
LIS onboard the vessel Isabelle. This field work provided baseline information
on LIS relevant to the EIS. Approximately 1000 sediment samples were collected
to test sediment chemistry, toxicity, and biology. Additional field studies will
be conducted in the Spring and Summer of 2000, which will include physical
oceanographic data and finfish and lobster collection for tissue analysis.
EPA and ACOE held two evening public workshops, April 11 at the Danfords Inn
at Port Jefferson, NY, and April 12, 2000 at the Groton Suites, Groton, CT to
present and discuss specific building blocks for the EIS that have been
developed since the October 1999 workshops. Topics discussed included the: EIS
Work Plan and the process for public input throughout the development of the EIS,
field work accomplished to date, as well as future Field Work activities,
Weights and Values for the evaluation factors (from the October 1999 workshops
fact sheets) and the Alternatives Screening Process using the Weights &
Values.
The workshops were designed for small group discussions on each topic and
were supported with a pre-workshop packet of information. Due to the wide range
of issues and the intricacy of the different topic areas, the EPA and ACOE will
be forming volunteer working groups. These groups will be made up of people who
have an interest in specific issues (examples: upland disposal; open water
disposal; beneficial reuse; treatment technologies, etc). The working groups
will be asked to give of their time by attending meetings, participating on
conference calls and reviewing information within a very short time frame. These
groups were explained in more detail at the workshops and the response was very
positive.
If you would like to be placed on the Long Island Sound Environmental Impact
Statement mailing list, give comments or would like more information please
contact:
Ann Rodney US EPA - New England Region
One Congress Street
Suite 1100, CWQ
Boston, MA 02114-2023
(617) 918-1538
(617) 918-1505 fax
rodney.ann@epa.gov
Program News
The Long Island Sound Study, along with the EPA Long Island Sound Office,
Save the Sound, SoundWaters, University of Connecticut, Southwest Area Commerce
and Industry Association (SACIA), South Western Regional Planning Association (SWRPA),
and the cities of Stamford, Connecticut and Glen Cove, New York are
co-sponsoring a special municipal conference as a follow up to one that was held
in June of 1997.
This year's conference - "Orchestrating Both Coasts for a Better Sound
II" - will take place on Wednesday, June 14th from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm at
the University of Connecticut in Stamford, Connecticut. More than 125 mayors and
municipal leaders from coastal towns in both Connecticut and New York are
invited to attend, with the highlight of the conference focusing on their
recommitment to a Bi-Coastal Municipal Partnership to preserve, protect, and
enhance Long Island Sound.
Convening a second conference will bring municipal leaders together again to
share strategies that have been successful and to identify obstacles,
opportunities, and potential pitfalls to avoid regarding the preservation of
Long Island Sound. Three panels, whose themes will focus on Land Use Success
Stories, Challenges for the Future, and Waterfront Development and Sound Access,
will form the core of the day's events. Penelope Davis Dalton, Assistant
Administrator at the National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, is featured as the keynote speaker.
With this year's conference location shifted to Connecticut, Stamford's Mayor
Dannel Malloy will host the conference and provide the welcome address to
conference participants. The conference will open with a look at the State of
the Sound through the use of environmental indicators and spotlight the next
State of the Sound Report Card being issued by Save the Sound. Panelists will
include municipal leaders from selected large and small communities in
Connecticut and New York who will present a broad perspective of issues relating
to coastal development. Mayor Thomas Suozzi of Glen Cove, New York will provide
closing remarks and call participants to attend the next conference in New York
in 2002.
For more information, call the Long Island Sound Office at (203) 977-1541.
Calendar
May 30-June 29 Listen to the Sound 2000 Hearings. See page 3 for the
schedule.
June 8 LISS Citizens Advisory Committee meeting in Bridgeport. Contact Joe
Salata for more information (203)977-1541.
June 14 Orchestrating Both Coasts for a Better Sound II. See adjacent column
for more information.
July 20 LISS Management Committee meeting, Stamford, CT. Contact Joe Salata
for more information at (203) 977-1541.
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