Provide assistance to the connecticut department of energy and environmental protection to implement its project to support the long island sound comprehensive conservation and management plan for the…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1, awarded a $13.7 million Cooperative Agreement to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) under the Geographic Programs – Long Island Sound Program (CFDA 66.437) effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2029. This agreement supports implementation of the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan through a multi-faceted environmental restoration and monitoring initiative. DEEP will coordinate cross-agency partnerships and deliver products and services including water quality and embayment monitoring data collection and analysis across the watershed, coastal acidification parameter assessment, habitat restoration coordination, acoustic telemetry monitoring of migratory fish species, seafloor characterization and mapping of Central Long Island Sound, and accessibility support for mapping data in Connecticut salt marshes. The initiative emphasizes developing ecological decision support tools and enhancing public understanding of Long Island Sound's environmental conditions.

DEEP will deliver technical outputs including progress and final reports, Quality Assurance Project Plans, and comprehensive technical reports documenting outcomes and management improvements. Subawardees include the University of Connecticut for plankton community sampling and analyses, coastal acidification monitoring, and macroalgae analysis, and the University of Maryland's Horn Point Lab for High-Performance Liquid Chromatography phytopigment analysis. The cooperative agreement is designed to support DEEP's broader goals of de-listing areas of concern, restoring habitat connectivity, increasing public waterway access, protecting coastal wetlands, and expanding acres of restored habitat and river corridors with improved ecological health.

Description

The purpose of this agreement is to provide assistance to the connecticut department of energy and environmental protection to implement its project to support the long island sound comprehensive conservation and management plan for the restoration and protection of long island sound and the environment. These activities are intended to support the recipient's goal to restore and DE-list areas of concern, restore and protect habitat connectivity, increase public access to beaches and waterways, maximize acres of habitat restored and river corridors with improved health, protect and restore coastal wetlands, enhance the public's awareness and understand of the sound, implement and coordinate habitat restoration, conduct water quality and embayment monitoring, develop accessible habitat-based ecological decision support tools, evaluate fish community ecosystems and conduct the acoustic telemetry of key migratory fish species, and continue to map the seafloor of long island sound to inform management decisions.activities:specifically, under this cooperative agreement, activities include cross-agency, government, and long island sound partnership coordination, collection and analysis of water quality monitoring and embayment data across the watershed for modeling; including coastal acidification parameters, coordination of habitat restoration, support accessibility of mapping data in connecticut saltmarshes, acoustically monitoring of key migratory fish species, and seafloor characterization of central long island sound.subrecipient:subawards include university of connecticut laboratory for plankton and community sampling, analyses and coastal acidification monitoring, and macroalgae analysis and the university of maryland (horn point lab) for hplc phytopigment analysis. Outcomes:the anticipated deliverables will be progress and final reports; quality assurance project plans (qapps); and technical reports. Expected outcomes include, improved management and implementation of comprehensive conservation and management plan goals and objectives; improved water quality, living resources habitat, and public safety; reduced contaminant and nutrient loads; improved water quality assessment to guide management activities and improve ecosystem health; maps, models and data products, and workshops and technical support. Create updated databases, webpages, outreach materials, open access tools, and peer reviewed publications. Direct beneficiaries of this program include the general population in the connecticut and new york portion of the watershed and its surrounding areas, schools, universities and other institutions of learning, environmental managers and policy makers.