Local Organic Gardening Agency

Receives Grant To Preserve LI Sound

OXFORD — Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) of Connecticut based in Oxford is receiving $17,251 to help promote organic landscaping for nonpoint source pollution control.

Gathering together on the shores of Long Island Sound, top federal and state environmental officials announced 33 grants to state and local government and community groups under the Long Island Sound Futures Fund (Sound Futures Fund). The $1,011,878 will be leveraged by $1.92 million contributed by the recipients, providing a total of nearly $2.94 million for on-the-ground conservation in Connecticut and New York.

“These funds will go to real on-the-ground projects in communities that represent the diverse interests of Long Island Sound,” said Ira Leighton, acting regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “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 Sound Futures Fund was initiated in 2005 by the Long Island Sound Study through EPA’s Long Island Sound Office and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Including this year’s grants, the program has provided $4.5 million to 138 projects in communities surrounding the Sound.

With grantee match of almost $12 million, more than $16 million in locally based conservation has been galvanized by the grant program. In all, funded projects will open up 40 river miles for fish passage, and restore 290 acres of critical fish and wildlife habitat, including lakes, underwater grasses, woodlands, meadows, wetlands, beaches, dunes, and park frontage.

This year’s grant program funded 21 large grants (grants greater than $10,000) totaling $943,755. Five grants were awarded for water quality, four for habitat restoration, one for watershed planning, one for invasive species control, seven for education, and three for stewardship projects.

Twelve small grants totaling $68,123 were awarded for educational activities to increase understanding and appreciation of Long Island Sound through community events and activities.

With the funding, grant recipients will restore 103 acres of tidal marsh, freshwater marsh, and dune and barrier beach thereby benefiting fish and wildlife.

Projects will also contribute to improved water quality.

Connecticut NOFA representatives will engage 150 homeowners and landscaping professionals in workshops focused on practices to reduce pesticide and nitrogen pollution from lawns and gardens to the Long Island Sound. In all, projects will engage 70 communities in developing a range of tools to deal with water quality problems.

Public engagement in projects is high. More than 181,180 citizens will be exposed to education and stewardship projects.

“Communities, fish, and wildlife are the real winners of the Long Island Sound Futures Fund grants,” said Regional Director Marvin Moriarty of the U. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Region. “This year, grants will go to projects like restoring eelgrass near Southold, New York, benefiting aquatic creatures, including fish like winter flounder and striped bass; and to support environmental education on Outer Island off Branford, Connecticut, for children who may be the future conservation stewards of the Long Island Sound ecosystem. We are a proud member of this partnership.”

The grant program pools funds from the US Environmental Protection Agency, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Shell Marine Habitat Program for projects to restore the health and living resources of Long Island Sound.

Long Island Sound is an estuary that provides economic and recreational benefits to millions of people, while also providing natural habitats to more than 1,200 invertebrates, 170 species of fish, and dozens of species of migratory birds.

A nonprofit established by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation sustains, restores and enhances the nation’s fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats. Through leadership conservation investments with public and private partners, NFWF is dedicated to achieving maximum conservation impact by developing and applying best practices and innovative methods for measurable outcomes.

Since its establishment, NFWF has awarded more than 10,000 grants to 3,500-plus organizations in the United States and abroad and leveraged — with its partners — more than $400 million in federal funds into more than $1.4 billion for on-the-ground conservation.