The grants are matched by $8 million from the grantees themselves, resulting in $20 million in total conservation impact for projects in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.
An array of Long Island Sound Futures Fund (Futures Fund) 2023 grants will support projects that improve water quality by preventing 2.7 million gallons of stormwater and 101,000 pounds of nitrogen pollution from flowing into Long Island Sound waters.
The projects will also remove 120 tons of marine debris from the sound and support planning for restoration of 880 acres of coastal habitat and 102 miles of river corridor vital to fish and wildlife.
The projects are designed to reach 30,000 people through environmental education programs that increase awareness of how to improve the health and vitality of the Sound.
Funding for the grant program comes from the EPA as part of the Long Island Sound Study (LISS), with additional support from FWS, NFWF, and The Zoetis Foundation.
The LISS initiated the Futures Fund in 2005 through EPA’s Long Island Sound Office and NFWF. Since its inception, the Futures Fund has invested $56 million in 640 projects.
The program has generated an additional $65 million in grantee matching funds towards these projects for a total conservation impact of $121 million.
Futures Fund projects have opened 121 river miles for fish passage, restored 842 acres of fish and wildlife habitat, treated 208 million gallons of stormwater pollution, and engaged 5 million people in protection and restoration of the sound.
A complete list of the 2023 Long Island Sound Futures Fund grants recipients is available on the NFWF Long Island Sound Futures Fund website.
Long Island Sound provides economic and recreational benefits to millions of people while also providing habitat for countless numbers of invertebrates, fish, and migratory birds.
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