A New Decade of Conservation and Management in Long Island Sound

The Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan is the blueprint for federal, state, and local governments, research universities, community organizations, and environmental groups to follow in developing projects to restore and protect the Sound. The Long Island Sound Study developed its first CCMP in 1994, and replaced it with a slimmed down, but still comprehensive plan in 2015. This year the Study’s partners are working on a major revision that is intended to carry the program’s actions through 2035.

As one of EPA’s 28 National Estuary Programs, the Long Island Sound Study is responsible for developing the CCMP with specific restoration actions to guide program activities, research, and funding. For the revision, LISS formed writing teams at the beginning of 2024 to develop the actions and objectives under each of the plan’s four overarching goals – Clean Waters and Healthy Watersheds, Thriving Habitats and Abundant Wildlife, Sustainable and Resilient Communities, and Informed and Engaged Public. The Informed and Engaged Public goal replaces the Sound Science and Inclusive Management theme from the 2015 CCMP and will prioritize program dollars for education, engagement, communication, and public access initiatives. In the early CCMP planning stages in 2023, LISS also established core values to guide the operation and activities of the program. The 2025 CCMP values include actionable science, respect and trust, and adaptive management. 

The actions describe activities to be taken in the next five years (2025–2029) to help achieve the objectives. Compared to the 2015 CCMP, the plan is streamlined from 136 implementation actions to 47 actions. While the actions are fewer, the objectives include many new measures of success. These include:

• Replace or upgrade 11,500 septic systems and cesspools (and other home and business wastewater treatment systems) with advanced systems that reduce nutrient pollution entering the Sound.
• Achieve and maintain permanent protection of 35 percent of the Long Island Sound watershed by 2030.
• Restore 1,000 acres of coastal Long Island Sound habitat, including 40 percent of it in areas lacking in natural habitat, by 2035.
• Work with municipalities to add 200 resilience projects to address flooding and other environmental challenges in New York and Connecticut communities.
• Create 40 new public access and improve 60 existing sites by 2035, around Long Island Sound’s shoreline and its connecting waterbodies in Connecticut and New York.
• By 2030, engage 1.3 million members of the public, including youth, educators, and adults, in Long Island Sound educational programming and outreach. 

As part of the yearlong writing process, LISS held five public engagement sessions to involve interested stakeholders in the CCMP process in addition to informal outreach opportunities and a standing invitation to provide comments via email and website form. Once the draft CCMP was completed, the plan was posted online and LISS held a formal 60-day public comment period to gather feedback from late September to November 2024. We received 244 public comments from over 30 individuals and organizations on the draft plan.

The finalized plan is set to be published in the summer of 2025 and will guide restoration efforts in Long Island Sound and its watershed over the next decade. To learn more, visit LISStudy.net/PLAN.