The Natonal Fish and Wildlife Foundation has announced that its requesting proposals for projects being considered for funding in the 2017 Long Island Sound Futures Fund grant program. The deadline to apply is June 22, 2016. There will be approximately $2 million available for funding. Since 2005 the Futures Fund has invested $15 million in 352 projects. With grantee match of $30 million, the program has generated $45 million for locally based conservation. The projects have opened up 157 river miles for fish passage, restored 1,051 acres of critical fish and wildlife habitat and open space, treated 101 million gallons of pollution, and educated and engaged 2.1 million people from communities surrounding the Sound. for the first time this year applications will be considered for projects in the upper basin states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont for opportunities to further nitrogen removal, including: low-cost retrofits at wastewater treatment facilities, expansion of point and nonpoint source nutrient trading programs, and/or developing a water quality monitoring strategy for nitrogen.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation manages the Long Island Sound Futures Fund in partnership with the Long Island Sound Study through EPA’s Long Island Sound Office. Major funding for the program is provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Long Island Sound Study, and US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)