| The coastal environs of Long Island Sound
represent a unique and highly productive ecosystem with a diverse array of living
resources, ranging from microscopic plants and animals that drift with the currents to
seaweed and economically important finfish, shellfish, and crustaceans. In addition, many
other types of wildlife, such as birds, sea turtles, and marine mammals, spend all or part
of their lives in the sound, on its shores, or in its watershed. Whether they are just
passing through or call it home, each plant and animal has several specific needs. There
must be adequate food, water, and shelter to support these living resources in a delicate
balance with people. Natural habitats are important because, collectively, they contribute
to the health of the Long Island Sound ecosystem. Some valuable roles that various
habitats play include nursery, feeding, and breeding areas for fish and wildlife species;
flood and erosion control; groundwater recharge; and filtration of contaminants from storm
water. While there are still abundant living resources in the sound and in its watershed, there is little doubt that their overall abundance and diversity have been diminished by incompatible human uses of Long Island Sound and its resources. The habitat loss in the sound varies. One-third of all tidal wetlands have been lost since the 1700s; most that remain have been altered by mosquito ditching. Populations of Atlantic shad and river herring have been drastically reduced by dam construction that prevents access to freshwater spawning sites. Once plentiful, eelgrass beds disappeared from the western and central portions of the sound in the 1930s and never returned. Most of the embayments along the coast have been altered through dredging, filling, and sand mining and by the discharge of wastes. Terrestrial habitats have been impacted by clearing and filling for development. In Connecticut, 70 percent of the state's forests had been clear-cut by the late 1800s. On Long Island, the forests were clear-cut even earlier; they were used for shipbuilding in colonial times. Degraded habitats are a problem because they do not contribute their full level of productivity to the ecosystem. So how do habitats become degraded? This process can occur either directly or indirectly as a result of human activity. The damage may be obvious, like filling in a wetland or clearing a forest. In many cases, though, the damage is more difficult to trace: It is possible to see signs of degradation with no obvious cause. The degradation may result from invisible chemical contamination; changes in water depth, clarity, or temperature; invasion by a nonnative species; or changes in soil type. Restoring habitats intentionally alters the current plant community, soils, and hydrology of a site in order to support once again a plant and animal community that existed at some point in the past. The former plant and animal community must have been displaced or degraded by human activities for the work to be considered a true restoration project. Sometimes habitat restoration can mean restoring the connections between different habitat types that are important to fish and wildlife species. These connections may have been severed by construction of a physical barrier like a dam or a road. In some cases, barriers may separate two sections of the same habitat type, which may reduce the amount of fish and wildlife that can use the area. Some examples of restoration include removing invasive nonnative plants from wetlands and forests, restoring the tidal flushing of a marsh, planting beach grass on trampled dunes, and removing obstacles to fish passage on rivers. New York and Connecticut are actively involved in habitat restoration
efforts as part of the Long Island Sound Study Habitat Restoration Initiative. The Long
Island Sound Study (LISS) began in 1985 to identify water quality problems in the sound.
The study later joined the National Estuary Program, an addition to the Federal Clean
Water Act, created to protect estuaries of national importance. The study produced a
Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) in 1994 that is being administered
by the three major LISS partners, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the
states of New York and Connecticut. The LISS Habitat Restoration Initiative was listed as
a recommendation in this management plan. The recommendation led to the first
nonengineering project for Long Island Sound-the development of a restoration plan for
coastal terrestrial and estuarine aquatic habitats adjacent to and in the sound. Similar
initiatives have started in other estuaries, including Puget Sound in the state of
Washington and in Chesapeake Bay. Subsequent steps included identifying and researching the different habitat types and their degradation problems. The team has identified 12 habitat types that play a critical role in the Long Island Sound ecosystem (see sidebar on habitat types). During the fall of 1995 the team sought assistance through a survey from local governments, not-for-profit organizations, and citizens to identify potential restoration sites. A student intern from St. John's University mapped all the nominated sites on topography maps that were later digitized by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The state governments in Connecticut and New York, along with New York City, independently identified known sites of concern, several of which were identical to those nominated through the public survey. A list of all the sites nominated for restoration includes over 450 potential sites so far. The restoration team has developed ranking criteria based on the potential ecological values of the degraded sites (see side bar). The ranking criteria will help the team establish priorities and decide where to direct their efforts in the sound as a whole over the coming years. Other important factors that influence the order in which sites are restored include the availability of funding, the presence of local partners, and basic knowledge about the site planning and design. These are voluntary projects, encouraging partnerships with landowners, local governments, and communities to implement and secure funding for each restoration. There are many existing federal, state, and private grant programs geared toward habitat restoration. Often, each grant targets a particular habitat type, such as wetlands or anadromous fishways. Matching grants with eligible projects allows organizations to seek funding on a project-specific basis as each project becomes ready for implementation. Progress for seeking restoration funding is already being made around the sound. New York's Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act will provide funding for projects using some of the $200 million designated for Long Island Sound. Six
projects-ranging from tidal wetlands and coastal grassland restoration to fish passage
facilities-have been funded by EPA under settlement funds, according to Carolyn Hughes,
executive director of the EPA Long Island Sound Office.
Also, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and New York Sea Grant are meeting with local New York governments to discuss their nominated projects and to complete field verifications. One Long Island project is under way: The town of Southold is restoring a coastal grassland at a county park in Orient. This area was once farmland but was purchased for preservation 14 years ago by Suffolk County. The area has become overgrown with some nonindigenous vegetation and wild roses. It will be relatively inexpensive to clear the area and reseed it with grasses. The plan is to reseed one-third of the 50-acre park each year for three years. Most of the expenses for this project are covered by in-kind services from the town and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while the remaining costs will be paid by New York state through an EPA grant under the settlement funds. The restoration of this grassland is expected to encourage ground-breeding birds and small mammals to return and use this area. Public meetings were held in the spring in New York and Connecticut to provide an opportunity for the public to review and give input on the Habitat Restoration Initiative. The team continues to seek more information on identified sites, overlooked sites, and comments on the criteria, priorities, and strategies for implementing the initiative. For more information on this effort, contact the restoration coordinators: Connecticut Sue Mickolyzck, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106-5127, (860) 424-3693; New YorkLisa Brown, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 205 Belle Meade Road, East Setauket, NY 11733, (516) 444-0469. Learn more about the Long Island Sound Study on-line at http://www.epa.gov/region01/eco/lis/.
Kimberly Zimmer is Public Outreach Coordinator for the Long Island Sound Study, New York Sea Grant. Lisa Brown is Long Island Sound Study Habitat Restoration Coordinator, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. |