Long Island Sound Study’s committees and work groups help to implement the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Long Island Sound. Together they represent the Long Island Sound Study Management Conference, a partnership of federal, state, interstate, and local agencies, universities, environmental groups, industry, and the public. The Management Conference was convened in March 1988 following the Congressional designation of Long Island Sound as an Estuary of National Significance at the requests of Connecticut and New York.
See Meetings & Events for announcements of upcoming committee meetings for MC, STAC, CAC, and HRSWG.
The Policy Committee has overall responsibility for LISS, including approval of goals and the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Learn More
The Executive Steering Committee provides upper-level management engagement in the LISS process and provides direction to the Management Committee on LISS programs and budgets. Learn More
The Management Committee develops goals, approves work plans, and plans and oversees projects. Learn More
The Citizens Advisory Committee communicates citizen concerns about the Sound and the Study to the management committee, provide advice on public education activities, and build a constituency to support the implementation of the Management Plan. Learn More
The Science and Technical Advisory Committee advises the Management Committee on the science and technical aspects of LISS’s goals. Learn More
The Climate Change and Sentinel Monitoring Work Group oversees the implementation of a broad, dynamic monitoring program to evaluate and make recommendations regarding the scope and magnitude of potential climate change impacts to Long Island Sound, and develop adaptive management strategies to address the impacts. Learn More
The Public Involvement and Education Work Group (PIE) was transformed and renamed to the Communications, Outreach, and Engagement Work Group (COE) in March 2023. This new work group aims to encourage deeper and wider collaboration across the full diversity of Sound communities in support of the Long Island Sound Study’s mission to conserve, restore, and sustain the Sound and its magnificent aquatic and shoreline resources. Learn More
The Environmental Justice Work Group (EJWG) brings together people in the watershed to help LISS actively move forward in its Environmental Justice implementation work and better serve the needs of minority and underrepresented communities who are disproportionately affected by environmental hazards. Learn More
The Habitat Restoration and Stewardship Work Group is responsible for promoting the conservation, restoration, management, and appreciation of LISS’s priority coastal habitats, wildlife, and Stewardship Areas through an improved understanding of current threats and conservation priorities. Learn More
The Nitrogen Coordination Work Group is an opportunity for staff from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation with support from LISS partners to coordinate ongoing nitrogen reduction efforts in the Long Island Sound Study area. Learn More
The Stewardship Work Group has been combined with the Habitat Restoration Work Group. Learn More
The Sustainable and Resilient Communities Work Group (SRC) helps to advance progress on select objectives and implementation actions of the Sustainable and Resilient Communities theme in the LISS Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Learn More
The Water Quality Monitoring Work Group facilitates the improved collection, coordination, management, and interpretation of water quality data for the Long Island Sound Study. This will encompass both open and near-shore water quality data needs. Learn More
The Watershed and Embayments Work Group assists the Long Island Sound Study Management Conference in effectively implementing the nonpoint source mitigation actions in the watershed and embayments as outlined in the LISS Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Learn More
Click to see the latest LISS meetings and events.
Justine Kibbe, the Island Naturalist with the Fishers Island Conservancy (front and center) discusses the Parade Ground grasslands restoration project at the quarterly meeting of the Long Island Sound Habitat Restoration and Stewardship Work Group. Photo by Judy Preston.
University of Connecticut Professor James O’Donnell, co-chair of the LISS Science and Technical Advisory Committee, speaking at a Citizens Advisory Committee meeting.
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