Grants Issued To Improve Wildlife Habitat And Stewardship Around Long Island Sound

New York State Recipients of the Long Island Sound Futures Fund Grant
Photo credit: Don Riepe, American Littoral Society

On September 24, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation received three of the 35 grants totaling $1.6 million which were awarded to state and local government and community groups in New York and Connecticut to improve the health of Long Island Sound. The grants awarded to groups in New York State totaled $913,202, and were leveraged by $1.6 million provided by local funds.

Parks’ Natural Resources Group was awarded $200,000 to restore native coastal forest in Pelham Bay Park and Alley Pond Park, and the Randall’s Island Park Alliance was awarded $35,000 to enhance monitoring of and education about wetlands on Randall’s Island. The 35 projects funded through the Long Island Sound Futures Fund will open up 50 river miles for passage of fish, and restore 390 acres of critical fish and wildlife habitat including lakes, underwater grasses, woodlands, meadows, wetlands, beaches, rivers and parks along the waterfront.

The Natural Resources Group received $100,000 for the Rodman’s Neck restoration project in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx and $100,000 for the Alley Pond Park restoration project in Queens. In Pelham Bay Park, 42 acres of coastal forest will be restored, adding to 65 acres already restored under a prior grant. In Alley Pond Park, 49 acres of coastal forest will be restored. Both projects are designed to enhance ecological function and connectivity in the region, improve habitat for migratory birds on the coastal flyway, and reduce hydrological problems such as non-point source pollution, erosion, and sedimentation into Long Island Sound. The projects will include removal of invasive plants such as porcelainberry and multiflora rose, planting of native trees, shrubs, and perennials, and development of a volunteer corps to restore and steward the coastal woodland areas.

The $35,000 grant to the Randall’s Island Park Alliance supports the Alliance’s Wetlands Stewardship Program. In 2013, the Program will engage 2,400 local students and 800 volunteers in enhancement and monitoring of and education about nine acres of salt marsh and freshwater wetlands at Randall’s Island Park. The volunteers will remove invasive species, assist in erosion control measures, clear waterfront garbage and debris, and plant hundreds of trees. The Wetlands Stewardship Program will continue to offer free on-site courses for local public school children with hands-on salt marsh and freshwater marsh exploration, oyster gardening, water quality, and plant, bird and insect studies. The Program also provides wetland tours to adult groups. Randall’s Island Park’s recently restored salt marsh and freshwater wetlands offer a unique opportunity for residents of New York City to explore and learn from the natural world, and are only a short walk across a footbridge or bus ride from under-resourced and densely populated communities in Harlem and the Bronx.

The Long Island Sound Futures Fund is a public-private grant program which pools funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and Wells Fargo. “These funds will go to hands on projects in communities that represent the diverse interests of Long Island Sound,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “From innovative green practices to restoring habitat to improving water quality, these partnership projects will result in direct benefits as we work to restore the health of Long Island Sound.”

The Long Island Sound Study initiated the Long Island Sound Futures Fund in 2005 through the EPA’s Long Island Sound Office and NFWF. To date, the program has invested $10.5 million in 261 projects in communities surrounding the Sound. With a grantee match of $23 million, the Long Island Sound Futures Fund has generated a total of almost $33.5 million for projects in both states.

“From restoring habitat to reducing pollution to promoting public awareness, these grants will help make tangible improvements in the health of Long Island Sound,” said New York State, Department of Environmental Conservation, Assistant Commissioner for Natural Resources, Kathy Moser. “In addition, the grants ensure the continued involvement of all the community groups and local governments that are so crucial to the state and federal governments' efforts here. Congratulations and continued success to all of the applicants.”

Long Island Sound is an estuary that provides economic and recreational benefits to millions of people, while also providing habitat for more than 1,200 invertebrates, 170 species of fish, and dozens of species of migratory birds. The Long Island Sound Study, developed under the EPA’s National Estuary Program, is a cooperative effort between the EPA and the states of Connecticut and New York to protect and restore the Sound and its ecosystem. To learn more about the LISS, visit www.longislandsoundstudy.net. For full descriptions of the Long Island Sound Futures Fund Grants, visit http://longislandsoundstudy.net/about/grants/lis-futures-fund/

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