Sustainable Communities Ecosystem Targets and Indicators

Sustainable and Resilient Communities ecosystem targets track progress towards attaining the goal of supporting vibrant, informed, and engaged communities that use, appreciate, and help protect Long Island Sound.


Waterfront Community Resiliency and Sustainability

All coastal municipalities have prepared plans for shoreline resiliency and infrastructure sustainability and resiliency by 2025, with all future development compliant with those plans by 2035. View Ecosystem Target

Harbor and Bay Navigability

Maintain all federal navigation channels in harbors and bays and manage dredged material in a cost effective and environmentally sound manner, consistent with a bi-state Dredged Material Management Plan, by 2035. View Ecosystem Target

Public Engagement and Knowledge

Increase the knowledge and engagement of the public in the protection and/or restoration of Long Island Sound. View Ecosystem Target

Public Beach Closures

Reduce by 50% the number of beaches reporting at least one closure day or the total number of beach-day closures per monitored beach due to water quality impairments by 2035 compared to a five-year rolling average from 2014. View Ecosystem Target

Marine Debris

Decrease the mass of marine debris in Long Island Sound by 2035, using as a metric a decrease from the 2013 baseline of 475 pounds of debris collected per mile during the fall International Coastal Cleanup. View Ecosystem Target

Public Access to Beaches and Waterways

Increase the number of public access points accessible by the public to the Sound and its rivers by at least 10 percent by 2035. View Ecosystem Target

Watershed Population

This indicator uses US Census data to track the population living within the Long Island Sound watershed. View Indicator

Population Within 50-mile Buffer of Long Island Sound

This indicator uses US Census data to track the population living within the Long Island Sound watershed. View Indicator

Volunteers at Coastal Cleanups

This measure indicates the efforts of volunteers to clean debris deposited on Long Island Sound beaches. View Indicator

Marine Debris by Category

This measure indicates the marine debris collected by category on Long Island Sound beaches. View Indicator

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