Weekly Digest: Seeds, glue, shells, a recipe for restoration

Volunteers glue eelgrass seeds onto clam shells to help with our restoration efforts.

Planting Eelgrass

If you were swimming in Long Island Sound before the 1930s you may have felt something brush your leg. It would have been green and long and flowing, almost like a ribbon in the sea. It would have been a home to many species of fish and a breeding ground for them. It would have kept the Sound’s water at a balanced, cooled temperature and purified it, an important element of a larger estuary.

Growing along the bottom of the Sound, across the shoreline of the states of Connecticut and New York, eelgrass was abundant. Tall, spindly, green seagrass spread, providing numerous benefits to the Sound’s ecosystem such as stabilizing sediment, reducing the intensity of wave impact, and eliminating excess nitrogen in the water. That’s why we’re working to bring it back.

“Eelgrass is a foundational species,” our Soundkeeper and key project organizer, Bill Lucey, says. “Eelgrass is the habitat that’s supposed to be here and it’s not.”

Read the full story.

Beyond the volunteers who joined our eelgrass restoration efforts earlier this month, we had so much support for so many of our projects this fall. See our special thank-you to all of you who have so generously given of your time and energy in this short video.


What You Can Do This Week 

  • NY ACTION: Governor Hochul has six weeks left to act on the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act, which passed the Legislature with overwhelming support earlier this year. In just a few clicks, you can urge the Governor to sign this bill into law and ensure that New York provides these venerable, vulnerable animals the same protections already in place in Connecticut.
  • CT EVENT: See a river in recovery! Last fall, we removed Dana Dam (aka Strong Pond Dam) in Wilton to reconnect Norwalk River habitats. Come see the restoration site one year later, and learn about dam removal design, implementation, and ecosystem benefits. Alex Krofta from Save the Sound will lead the tour on Dec. 3. Register today.
  • REGIONAL ACTION: Giving Tuesday is coming up next week! Mark your calendar and help protect the Sound and its coastal communities. Consider donating to Save the Sound on Giving Tuesday to fuel vital projects like wetland restoration and dam removals that shield homes, businesses, and beaches from further harm from climate change. We greatly appreciate your support!

Find Details on our Events page.


Strong turnout for second State of the Sound forum

Last Tuesday for the second-annual virtual State of the Sound Legislative Forum, New York state legislators and staffers from 24 Long Island Sound-adjacent districts joined David Ansel, our vice president of water protection and lead advocate in Albany. 

David introduced our budget and policy priorities for the upcoming 2025 legislative session, our director of water quality, Peter Linderoth, shared grades from the 2024 Long Island Sound Report Card, and Nancy Seligson, co-chair of the Long Island Sound Study’s Citizens Advisory Committee, spoke about the new Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. State Senator Shelley Mayer and Assemblyman Steve Otis, our partners in hosting this forum, spoke about the importance of collective efforts to protect the Sound and create resilient communities.

“I’m encouraged that so many legislators from around the Sound participated in our forum,” said David. “These districts and their communities share so many of the same issues. Together we can advance policy solutions for clean water in the Sound region and all of New York State.”

Spring flooding at the airport in 2022. Credit: 10,000 Hawks.

One step forward in our Tweed case

Our legal team has filed a brief in the federal court appeal aiming to ensure that the environmental impacts of the proposed Tweed New Haven Airport’s expansion are thoroughly investigated and addressed. We argued against the decision by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that improperly concluded that the expansion would have no significant environmental impacts. Among our concerns were the FAA’s failure to meaningfully analyze increased flights, air pollution, localized flooding, stormwater pollution, and wetlands impacts, while rising sea levels and intensifying storms put residents of surrounding neighborhoods in harm’s way.

“The Federal Aviation Administration has failed to meaningfully analyze and mitigate significant impacts of the proposed expansion, despite the fact that the airport is located in a floodplain, in a residential neighborhood, and in a state-designated environmental justice area,” said Jessica Roberts, staff attorney at Save the Sound.  

Read more about the case and the arguments we submitted in our press statement.


Quick Links

  • WindCheck Magazine covers our 2024 Long Island Sound Report Card and addresses the multi-faceted question, “How’s the Water?”
  • Critical regulations protect our air, water, and wild places—and some stand to be weakened by the Supreme Court or incoming agency chiefs. Our senior legal director, Roger Reynolds, and other regional advocates highlight some of the risks in the CT Mirror.
  • “Environmental groups present differing opinions of Trump’s energy and environment appointees.” Read the story in American Talk
  • Read about CT environmentalists’ responses to the future of state climate action, featuring our climate and energy attorney, Charles Rothenberger.
  • Areas of NY and CT were classified as experiencing “severe drought” and advisories were issued for residents and businesses to conserve water. Read “What to know about drinking water, wildlife and more amid Connecticut drought” in CT Insider and this NBC News article, “NYC issues first drought warning in over 20 years after record rainless streak.” It could take years for wildlife to return to the 2-acre burnt section of Prospect Park in Brooklyn after the brush fire, according to wildlife experts. Read the story in the NY Post.
  • Last week, an American alligator was rescued from a New York creek and found a new home at a reptile sanctuary. Check out the story about “Guidry” the gator in USA Today.

Photo of the Week

Raindrops forming on the tips of leaves traditionally haven’t been considered celebration worthy, but they were last Thursday—our first rainy day in recent memory. According to NOAA, Bridgeport just experienced its driest October in history, and October was the driest month ever recorded in New York City. Westchester County registered 131 brush fires in the first 18 days of November, the consequence of high winds and dry conditions during an eight-week stretch without any significant rainfall. There’s rain in the forecast for Thanksgiving, which in the midst of a rare drought across the region is something to be thankful for.

Would you like your photo to be featured in an upcoming issue? Send it to us at info@savethesound.org!

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Tuesday, Dec. 3
Dana Dam was removed in Fall 2023 to reconnect Norwalk River habitats. Come to the restoration site and learn about dam removal design, implementation, and ecosystem benefits.

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