2009 Large Grants Projects

New York

Hempstead Harbor 2009 Expanded Water Monitoring Program

Recipient: Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee Village of Sea Cliff
Federal Funds (EPA): $35,000
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $10,000
Matching Funds: $77,304
Total Project Costs: $122,304
Project Area: Hempstead Harbor, New York

The Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee will expand and continue its current water monitoring program to collect data required to open additional portions of the harbor to shellfish harvesting and to monitor impacts of planned projects.

2009 is projected to be a historic year for Hempstead Harbor with the opening of parts of the harbor to shellfish harvesting for the first time in 70 years. This grant will expand this successful water monitoring program to include 18 additional locations in the inner and mid- harbor. This information may allow the nine municipalities of the Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee to open more shellfish beds. The funding will support new sampling as well as weekly monitoring of 13 existing locations, production and distribution of an annual report, posting results on a website, and maintenance of monitoring equipment. The expanded program for 2009 will be used to not only gauge progress but also to pinpoint deteriorating water quality trends where additional water quality improvement efforts are needed. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is a key partner associated with this effort. The agency will provide additional lab work and analysis of water quality samples.

Western Long Island Pumpout Boat

Recipient: Going Coastal, Inc.
Federal Funds (EPA): $25,350
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $10,000
Matching Funds: $72,500
Total Project Costs: $106,850
Project Area: Eastchester Bay

Going Coastal will improve water quality in the Western Long Island Sound by providing pumpout services and education materials to recreational boaters.

Going Coastal, Inc. will operate a pumpout boat from May to October five days a week. It will pump 80 boats and remove a projected 1,200 gallons of waste each week with 28,800 gallons removed by the end of the season. The pumpout boat operator will maintain a daily log of use and distribute Pumpout Guides and wallet cards informing boaters about the importance of regular pumpout to water quality in Long Island Sound.

Parks Citywide Greenroof Pilot Project: Phase II

Recipient: New York City, Department of Parks and Recreation – Green Apple Corps
Federal Funds (EPA): $30,000
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $20,000
Matching Funds: $70,222
Total Project Costs: $120,222
Project Area: Five Borough New York City Parks and Recreation Department Facility, Randall’s Island

GreenApple Corps will construct a 5,700 ft2 greenroof to capture 250,000 gallons of stormwater annually from entering overtaxed Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) to reduce non-point source pollution into Long Island Sound and New York Harbor.

The Five Borough Parks Facility on Randall’s Island is adjacent to the Triborough Bridge and the entrance to two different expressways. The building collects air pollution from passing vehicles and that pollution washes off during rain storms and then flows untreated into CSOs and eventually into Long Island Sound and New York Harbor. A greenroof is being created at Five Borough to address this problem.

Highly-urbanized environments like New York City are comprised of hard, impervious materials covering more than 60 percent of the landscape. Impervious surface coverage of 15 to 20% or greater of the total land in a watershed is linked to dramatic changes in shape of streams, water quality, water temperature, and the health of the insects, amphibians and fish that live in these streams. Green roofs can help ease this problem because they absorb, filter and recycle rainwater containing common pollutants including heavy metals from car exhaust fumes. Greenroofs can retain upwards of 70% of rain water. When a green roof reaches full saturation from rain, excess water slowly percolates through the vegetation layer to a drainage outlet. The soil layer traps sediments, leaves and other particles, treating runoff before it reaches sewer outlets. Only about 25% of water becomes runoff, but because this runoff occurs several hours after the peak flow of rainwater it is less polluted. The US Environmental Protection Agency report Reducing Stormwater Costs through Low Impact Development Strategies and Practices recommends green roofs be used to help protect and restore water quality.

GreenApple Corps is a job training and public service initiative focused on green-collar job training for 18-24 year old economically-disadvantaged youth in a variety of work and learning experiences associated with the environment.

Harrison Pond Park Wetland Restoration and Dam Removal

Recipient: Town of Smithtown
Federal Funds (EPA, FWS): $48,243
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $46,750
Matching Funds: $94,993
Total Project Costs: $143,236
Project Area: Kings Park, Town of Smithtown, Suffolk County, New York

The Town of Smithtown will restore 0.35 acre of a freshwater wetland and facilitate stream flow to a tributary of the Nissequogue River.

Harrison Pond was a man-made pond constructed over 200 years ago. The pond was fed by groundwater springs and overflow traveled over a small dam and into a tributary of the Nissequogue River. The pond existed until September 2004, when significant rainfall from a major storm caused the dam to collapse. Prior to the dam collapse, a two-phase project had already begun in an effort to reduce sedimentation to the pond and restore water depth. Phase I of the project involved the installation of weirs to trap sediment upland and prevent it from reaching the pond during rainfall. This phase was successfully completed in 2006. Phase II, for which this grant in part provides support, will involve a wetland restoration project including project planning and design; removal of concrete dam pieces and rubble; removal of existing fencing; clearing for regrading; and removal of sediment in the culvert. Improvements also include: installing gabions and Reno mattresses for bank stabilization; construction of a 40-foot long wooden pedestrian bridge, gravel walkways and viewing areas around the pond; native plantings; and installing interpretative signs. The project will restore the freshwater wetland that feeds directly into the Nissequoque River and help maintain flow to the river.

Implementing the Nissequogue River Stewardship Action Plan

Recipient: Regional Plan Association
Federal Funds (FWS): $26,000
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $28,000
Matching Funds: $22,600
Total Project Costs: $76,600
Project Area: The Nissequogue River Watershed covers over 40 square miles largely in the Town of Smithtown, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York

The Regional Plan Association (RPA) will prioritize and implement the actions of the 2008 Nissequogue River Stewardship Action Plan. It will raise the visibility of the watershed and work with partners to develop conservation projects.

The 2008 Nissequogue River Stewardship Action Plan introduced over 100 actions for Habitat, Water Quality, Land Use and Open Space and Education and Outreach to preserve and enhance ecological function and provide access opportunities within the Nissequogue River watershed, a Long Island Sound Study-designated Stewardship Area. The RPA will convene an Implementation Committee comprised of partners from government, civic, business and environmental organizations to implement priority actions. To achieve implementation, RPA will rely upon the partnerships developed through the creation of the Stewardship Action Plan including the Long Island Sound Study, New York Sea Grant, US Fish and Wildlife Service, New York State Parks and Recreation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Suffolk County, Town of Smithtown, and the variety of civic groups, businesses and individual citizens that each contributed to developing the initial plan.

The project is projected to engage 150 residents in public meetings. RPA will work with the Committee to prioritize the plan’s actions, develop detailed implementation strategies and begin the steps of implementation for those actions prioritized. These implementation steps will include identifying and pursuing funding opportunities to start projects and facilitating action by students, volunteers and government agencies. RPA will also work to raise the profile of the Nissequogue Watershed and the Action Plan through an improved, interactive website; developing a Public Access television program; through participation in speaking engagements, events and conferences; and through meetings with public officials and agencies.

Perennial Pepperweed Removal-West Meadow Beach

Recipient: Town of Brookhaven
Federal Funds (EPA, FWS): $18,538
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $20,000
Matching Funds: $38,538
Total Project Costs: $77,076
Project Area: West Meadow Beach, Town of Brookhaven, New York

The Town of Brookhaven will implement a plant removal project that will eradicate pepperweed, a noxious invasive species at West Meadow Beach a 7,000 foot long peninsula located on Smithtown Bay.

West Meadow Beach is a New York State Significant Coastal Fish & Wildlife Habitat, on the National Register and a Long Island Sound Study Stewardship Area. In 2006, the West Meadow Beach Restoration Master Plan was initiated to begin the ecological restoration of West Meadow, to maximize public access and to improve educational opportunities. One-acre of the highly invasive pepperweed was identified along the beach during an ecological resources survey associated with that planning. In response to this rare occurrence on Long Island, the Town of Brookhaven prepared a pepperweed removal plan to eliminate this ecological threat and to protect native species. Removal of the plant will involve mechanical removal, hand pulling and grubbing/mowing/cutting. Both pre-and post monitoring efforts will be done by Town to measure and maintain removal success and to prevent the return of the pepperweed.

Sound Experiences: From Ship to Shore III

Recipient: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
Federal Funds (EPA): $20,000
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $15,000
Matching Funds: $15,478
Total Project Costs: $50,478
Project Area: Oyster Bay, New York

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County will provide direct educational experiences with Long Island Sound for students from underserved areas through land and shipboard-based activities about Long Island’s marine ecosystem.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, in partnership with The Waterfront Center of Oyster Bay, will promote a greater understanding of Long Island Sound by educating 24 groups of students (grades 4-8) from schools in underserved communities in Suffolk and Nassau County. Up to 575 children will be reached through fully funded learning experiences in the field. Topics to be covered include: the living resources of the Sound, water-quality issues, the interrelationship between the health of the Sound and the condition of the local watershed, and stewardship of the Sound.

Social Marketing Campaign: Beach-Nesting Birds, Long Island North Shore

Recipient: National Audubon Society, Inc. (NY Audubon)
Federal Funds (EPA, FWS): $13,750
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $13,000
Matching Funds: $15,329
Total Project Costs: $42,079
Project Area: Coastal areas on the North Shore of Long Island, New York

Audubon New York will conduct a social marketing campaign to change public perceptions and behaviors that contribute to identified threats to beach-nesting birds around Long Island’s North Shore.

Many of the threats to beach-nesting birds on Long Island are directly related to human activities on beaches. While management activities are in place to address some of these threats, public cooperation is still a challenge. This project will address this challenge by moving beyond traditional education and outreach to use social marketing – a creative approach to catalyzing social change. The social marketing campaign aims to change public perceptions and behaviors that contribute to identified threats on and around Long Island’s North Shore. Successful project action/outcomes will include increased support among target audiences for beach-nesting bird conservation actions, target audience(s) taking desired steps and actions, and increased beach-nesting bird productivity and/or survival.

Social marketing is a goal-oriented approach to change that should not be confused with traditional education and outreach. Social marketing does not place priority on the dissemination of information—rather, it involves targeting a specific sector of the population with the goal of changing a particular behavioral pattern in that community. Methods for changing behavior may include actions such as identifying influential members of the community and giving them incentives to model a new behavior, an ad campaign eliciting a positive or negative emotional response to a behavior, or providing easily available technical support that facilitates a desired behavior.

Habitat Monitoring in Flax Pond-II

Recipient: Friends of Flax Pond, Inc.
Federal Funds (EPA): $15,000
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $10,000
Matching Funds: $75,000
Total Project Costs: $100,000
Project Area: Old Field, New York

The Friends of Flax Pond will conduct education and outreach activities through its Summer Institute, Winter Lecture Series and field surveys.

The Flax Pond Summer Institute creates greater public awareness about the delicate balance of estuarine ecology, scientific research techniques and the field of environmental science through the study of mussels and juvenile horseshoe crabs and by conducting vegetation mapping. The Flax Pond Winter Lecture Series provides free public education on Flax Pond and environmental issues of great importance to the health of Long Island Sound natural resources. Scientist-led and citizen/ student scientist assisted field surveys will be implemented to track horseshoe crab spawning and diamondback terrapin nesting as a means to create public awareness and an understanding of the characteristics and environmental stresses affecting these marine resources. The various initiatives will engage 300 volunteer and community members of all ages.

The Flax Pond complex is 146 acres of wetlands behind a barrier beach stretching from
Crane Neck Pont to Old Field Point. It is a Long Island Study Stewardship Initiative site with significant ecological and scientific value. It provides habitat and nursery grounds for a rich variety of marine species, including finfish, shellfish, crabs, birds, turtles and a variety of marsh grasses and plants. It has been designated by the New York State Department of Conservation as a Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat.

Coastal Resilience on Suffolk County Long Island Sound Shore

Recipient: The Nature Conservancy
Federal Funds (EPA, FWS): $50,000
Foundation Non-Federal Funds: $0
Matching Funds: $78,792
Total Project Costs: $128,792
Project Area: Long Island, New York

The Nature Conservancy will create a centralized geospatial database and web mapping tool to support decision-making associated with biodiversity and hazard mitigation objectives in the context of sea level rise.

Long Island’s north shore communities need a tool for visualizing the impacts of sea level rise and coastal hazards, and for weighing these impacts in the context of options for community planning and natural resources protection. This project will combine local projections of sea level rise and storm surge with state-of-the-art LiDAR data to develop interactive inundation maps that permit visualization of sea level rise and storm surge under a variety of emissions scenarios and timeframes. The project will also use natural resource and land use data layers and develop prioritization frameworks to inform planning and management decisions relating to development and natural resource protection. A product of the project will be to develop a suite of existing and novel management tools that can be used by communities to enhance their resilience in the face of these changes. Seven towns and 60 participants will be engaged in the effort.

Connecticut

Water-testing Utilized to Implement Pollution Solutions

Recipient: Clean Up Stonington Harbors, Inc (CUSH)
Federal Funds (EPA): $11,906.84
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $0
Matching Funds: $17,085.00
Total Project Costs: $28,991.84
Project Area: The coastal waters of Stonington, CT from the Mystic River to the Pawcatuck River contiguous with Long Island Sound

CUSH will expand the use of a scientifically-based water-testing database along the coastline of Stonington, Connecticut using test sites on the Mystic and Pawcatuck Rivers.

With this funding, the multi-organizational CUSH Water-Testing Advisory Committee will expand the number of test sites to ten in order to better cover potential pollution problem areas. The data collected provides the means to identify pollution sources from businesses, non-point sources, storm drains, and sewage treatment facilities, among other sources. When pollution issues are observed, CUSH works with businesses, governmental agencies, and nongovernmental and community-based organizations to implement solutions to the problems and uses action plans as a means to educate the public about how to change behaviors. They partner with the University of Rhode Island’s Watershed Watch program, the Wood-Pawcatuck River Watershed Association, and Stonington High School engaging 20 community volunteers from these groups. CUSH’s data will be integrated with data from a consortium of other regional organizations and provided to the public in an interactive, on-line database for the Wood-Pawcatuck River Watershed.

Organic Landscaping for Non-point Source Pollution Control

Recipient: Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut
Federal Funds (EPA): $17,251
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $0
Matching Funds: $28,000
Total Project Costs: $45,251
Project Area: State of Connecticut

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut will help homeowners transition from chemical to organic landscaping in order to reduce pesticide and nitrogen pollution from lawns and gardens into Long Island Sound.

The funding will present organic land care training workshops to 150 homeowners and landscaping professionals and businesses. The workshops will educate participants about the wide variety of best-management practices focused on gardening without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Workshops will teach the use of on-site and locally sourced compost and compost tea as a preferred source of nitrogen for all lawns and plantings, as well as planting and irrigation techniques that reduce water use and runoff. The workshops will also promote the use of plants native to the local region. A website will maintain contact with participating homeowners to track the number of acres that are converted to organic management as a result of the project. The project goal is to shift 100 acres to organic management. Workshops will be advertised throughout Connecticut, Rhode Island and lower New York, but held in south/centrally located Connecticut venues. Website will be globally accessible but target the growing conditions of the northeast. The projected use of the website is 1,000 people.

Saugatuck River Watershed Diadromous Fish Passage

Recipient: The Nature Conservancy
Federal Funds (EPA, FWS): $47,976
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $40,000
Matching Funds: $44,800
Total Project Costs: $132,776
Project Area: Weston, Connecticut on the Saugatuck River and Easton, Connecticut on the Aspetuck River

The Nature Conservancy supports development of two fully-engineered fishway plans to eventually restore access to the Saugatuck’s entire historic river herring habitat; and downstream eel passage on the Aspetuck.

Hasen Pond dam, four miles upstream from the head of the tide, is the last dam preventing access to the entire historic range (the final three miles) of Saugatuck River spawning habitat. Juvenile American eels are found upstream of the Aspetuck and Saugatuck Reservoir dams and, in fact, comprise a significant proportion of the fish communities there. Because of the interconnected reservoir system an estimated 200 or more migrating adult American eels are killed annually when they become entrapped in the Hemlock Reservoir water supply system. After design, the Nature Conservancy and the Aquarion Water Company will install an experimental underwater lighting system that should deter migrating adult eels from entering the Hemlock bypass and direct them to an alternate, retrofitted conduit to ensure their safe downstream passage.

Removal of Cottages and Restoration of Dunes on Long Beach

Recipient: Trust for Public Land
Federal Funds (EPA, FWS): $50,000
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $50,000
Matching Funds: $601,531
Total Project Costs: $701,531
Project Area: Long Beach West, Stratford, Connecticut

The Trust for Public Land will remove 41 dilapidated cottages on Long Beach to facilitate restoration of dune and barrier beach habitat and public access to the site.

Removal of the cottages will restore one of most important natural sites along Connecticut’s coast and improve public access to the beach for passive recreational opportunities. The 35-acre Long Beach West contains sand dunes, tidal wetlands and sand flats. Long Beach and the adjacent Pleasure Beach shelter a 700-acre estuarine system that provides one of the most critical areas for birds in Connecticut including nesting habitat for federally threatened Piping plover and state threatened Least tern. The cottage removal will eliminate a point source of effluent and pollution into Long Island Sound and Lewis Gut.

Little River Tidal Restoration, New Haven County, CT

Recipient: Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Federal Funds (FWS): $24,620
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $25,000
Matching Funds: $42,000
Total Project Costs: $91,620
Project Area: The Little River on the border between New Haven and North Haven, Connecticut

Ducks Unlimited will restore hydrology to approximately 100-acres of tidal marsh by removing restrictions to tidal flow and restoring a meandering tidal creek system.

The Little River marsh is approximately 100-acres of tidal brackish wetland at the edge of a capped, former solid waste landfill. Prior to 1965 a road and dike was constructed across the Little River and fitted with undersized culverts which restricted tidal flow and allowed the non-native plant phragmites to flourish. The original natural channel meander was also changed and a series of low berms were constructed on portions of the marsh to create landfill space further restricting tidal flow. The project will remove sections of the berms, restore portions of the original channel to allow more natural tidal flow, conduct herbicide control of phragmites – all with a goal of restoring native marsh habitat. The marsh is owned by several private landowners all whom support restoration.

Outer Island Marine Environmental Education/Research Center

Recipient: Friends of Outer Island
Federal Funds (EPA, FWS): $24,976
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $10,000
Matching Funds: $94,000
Total Project Costs: $128,976
Project Area: Outer Island, the furthest offshore of the Thimble Island chain, Branford, Connecticut, a unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge

The Friends of Outer Island will build a revitalized educational center on Outer Island including a marine lab, learning stations and a classroom pavilion to provide hands-on learning and research opportunities about Long Island Sound.

Outer Island, an offshore unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, is a unique location for educating the public about Long Island Sound. The island, which was donated to the US Fish and Wildlife Service with the mission of research and education, lacks the infrastructure for a sustained educational program. The project will create an eco-friendly center for Long Island Sound environmental studies by refurbishing a neglected summer cottage into a hands-on marine lab and an open classroom pavilion. The new center will be available to groups for environmental education and research. The lab, the classroom and the learning stations will allow visitors to measure water quality and observe marine species with a goal of increasing environmental awareness through hands-on activities. In the first year of this revitalized educational center ten teachers will be trained and 100 stewards will be engaged in a range of programs and activities.

Long Island Sound Curricula Outreach to Connecticut’s Inner Cities

Recipient: Sea Research Foundation
Federal Funds (EPA): $28,835
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $0
Matching Funds: $27,790
Total Project Costs: $56,625
Project Area: Norwich and New Haven, Connecticut

The Sea Research Foundation will reach 750 elementary and middle school students with an aim of increasing their knowledge of Long Island Sound and interest in protecting it.

The overarching goal of the project is to provide direct, hands-on experiences with the Long Island Sound environment and its inhabitants with the goal of inspiring a cadre of young people to become environmentally responsible citizens who will act to protect and conserve the Sound and its watershed. The project is a year-long conservation science curriculum based on state and national science standards that turns Long Island Sound into a living laboratory for learning.

Yale Peabody Museum Outreach in Long Island Sound

Recipient: Yale University
Federal Funds (EPA): $23,000
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $12,000
Matching Funds: $101,638
Total Project Costs: $136,638
Project Area: New Haven, Connecticut

The Yale Peabody Museum will engage youth from urban schools in a Long Island Sound research project focused on creating a museum exhibit to educate the public about this research and local water quality issues.

The proposed project will support a Yale Peabody Museum after school program serving New Haven high school students. Students enrolled in the program will receive in-depth experiences conducting scientific research and paid internships. Yale researchers will present their work and discuss it with the students, introduce students to careers in marine sciences and to Long Island Sound environmental issues. Students will design and build a museum exhibit that integrates oceanographic and meteorological data collected by Yale researchers from the Monitoring Your Sound Central Buoy (e.g., carbon and nitrogen isotopes, trace metals, microbial genomics, zooplankton, and benthos). High school students will also work with researchers and a computer programmer to develop computer-based games and tutorials that will also utilize information from the Central Buoy time-series study. One-hundred students from low-income, unrepresented groups will participate from New Haven schools. The composition of students participating in the projects is: 64% young women, 60% from ethnic groups historically underrepresented in the sciences and 55% who qualify for free or reduced priced school lunches. Students receive academic credit at their schools for participating in this free, year-long program. Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History has approximately 160,000 visitors annually.

Creature Encounters Large

Recipient: The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Inc.
Federal Funds (EPA, FWS): $45,870
Foundation Non-Federal Funds (Shell): $9,000
Matching Funds: $133,640
Total Project Costs: $188,510
Project Area: The Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk, Connecticut

The Maritime Aquarium will educate the public about non-point source pollution in their communities through live animal encounters and presenting simple behavioral changes that can improve the environment.

The project will launch a new live animal series entitled Creature Encounters. Incorporating creative set, props and live animals as subjects, trained Aquarium staff will present several different 15-minute presentations, each with a focus on the natural history of focal animals and how people can protect habitat, especially from non-point source pollution. The goal is to present 573 performances to 11,460 people during peak visitation periods over an entire year. Content would focus on what animals need to survive and how people can protect habitat. The take home message – there are simple behaviors people can adopt to help control non-point source pollution. An evaluation would provide qualitative and quantitative data as to the success of the program.

Riparian Buffers in the Niantic River Watershed

Recipient: The University of Connecticut (Connecticut Sea Grant)
Federal Funds (EPA, FWS): $39,602
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $0
Matching Funds: $0
Total Project Costs: $39,602
Project Area: Niantic River Watershed, Connecticut

The University of Connecticut will create an updated coastal riparian area land cover dataset and develop workshops focused on the value of protecting and restoring these areas for town commissions and homeowners in the Niantic River watershed.

Connecticut Sea Grant, the University of Connecticut NEMO Program, the Niantic River Watershed Coordinator, and the Environmental Planner for the Town of Waterford will partner to promote riparian buffer protection and restoration within the Niantic River Watershed. A riparian buffer is a corridor of natural vegetation that serves as a transition zone between the water or wetland and upland development. The project will promote the use of riparian buffers to: protect fragile coastal habitats within the Niantic River watershed; protect the integrity and water quality of inland wetland and watercourse tributaries that flow into the Sound; and mitigate negative land use impacts to both the estuary and Long Island Sound.

Implementing Stormwater Solutions for the Salmon River

Recipient: The Nature Conservancy
Federal Funds (EPA): $57,899.25
NFWF Non-Federal Funds: $0
Matching Funds: $35,312
Total Project Costs: $93,211
Project Area: Salmon River Watershed (Middlesex/New London/Hartford/Tolland Counties), Connecticut

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) aims to foster adoption of recommendations from an evaluation of nine towns’ policies and practices associated with stormwater management to protect the Salmon River Watershed.

The Nature Conservancy and the Salmon River Watershed Partnership (SRWP) will promote and work to implement municipal regulations and practices that most directly affect water quality, flows, and overall health of this significant river system. The project builds on practical, specific recommendations from the Land Use Policy Evaluation for the Salmon River 2008 conducted by TNC under a prior Long Island Sound Futures Fund grant. The evaluation emphasizes tools known to best leverage river protection (e.g., stormwater management/low-impact development (LID) riparian zone protection, municipal good housekeeping) and will address regulatory barriers. Under the second phase of the project, TNC seeks to remove institutional and information barriers. TNC and SRWP will partner with towns, NEMO, and consulting engineers to hold a series of workshops with target stakeholder groups critical to reviewing and implementing stormwater management/LID and municipal good housekeeping and work in depth with two pilot towns to guide implementation of recommendations. Outcomes will be: engagement of key implementers throughout the watershed, improved regulations and practices in pilot towns to strengthen conservation of the river system, a transferable implementation model and lessons learned for towns in and beyond the watershed, a clear and common understanding among land use staff and decision makers of how to plan for and review LID projects, and a growing regional pool of design engineers/developers with enhanced ability to incorporate LID.

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