The Long Island Sound
By: Keisha M. Brown
The history of the Long Island Sound begins with scorching of earth by ice…
Beneath the water of the Long Island Sound are clues to its past. Layers of sediments and rock tell us it was once a freshwater lake. When the last ice age ended 19,000 years ago, the great ice, left a pile of rocks and dirt at its southern end as it melted. These piles are called a moraine .
The Long Island Sound is an Estuary .
Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They serve as feeding, breeding, and nursery areas for many species that spend most of their adult lives in the ocean. Estuaries are places where rivers meet the sea. In the Long Island Sound, freshwater from rivers, runoff, and groundwater mix with saltwater from the Ocean
LONG ISLAND SOUND HAS BEEN CALLED THE "URBAN SEA" because of the millions of people who live close to its shoreline. However, below the water surface are rich communities of animal and plant life that are our Living Treasures.
About 170 fish and 1,200 invertebrates (animals without backbones) swim and crawl in the Sound, living in unique aquatic habitats.
Our Living Treasures: Habitats Issues
Since colonial times, humans have altered the Sound’s coastal habitats by concentrating housing, commerce, and recreation near the water. While there is still much healthy habitat in and around the Sound, the overall abundance and diversity of natural areas have been diminished. Development and increased population have resulted in the loss of coastal and inland wetlands, and eelgrass beds in the shallow, near-shore areas. These habitats provide a unique and highly productive ecosystem that supports an array of living resources.
The Twelve Priority Habitats are:
Historical Highlights: 40 Years and Counting
In a 1971 article, Newsday posed the question, “Who’s killing Hempstead Harbor?” Victim to industrial chemical and municipal sewage discharges, Hempstead Harbor, an embayment in western Long Island Sound, fell into decline.
Contrast that story with a recent Newsday editorial lauding the June 1, 2011 reopening of 2,500 acres of shellfish beds in outer Hempstead Harbor. For the first time in 40 years licensed fishermen were busy harvesting clams from the harbor. This overnight sensation can be traced back decades to the work of multiple partners: EPA for cleaning up Superfund sites, New York State for upgrading wastewater treatment, local towns for organizing a protection committee to oversee storm water improvements, and local citizens for monitoring the harbor’s water quality.
The Long Island Sound Facing Hypoxia
Hypoxia means an absence of oxygen reaching living tissues. Waters with inadequate levels of dissolved oxygen (less than 2 mg/l) to support fish and other aquatic species are called hypoxic.
Eutrophic ("rich food") conditions created by the overabundance of nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter, cause hypoxia.
Excess nutrients may come from a wide range of sources: runoff from undeveloped and developed land, atmospheric deposition, soil erosion, and agricultural fertilizers. Sewage, urban storm water and industrial discharges also contribute nutrients.
Protecting the Long Island Sound Habitats: Taking Action
In 1996, LISS established a Habitat Restoration Initiative, a bi-state effort to restore and protect 12 priority Long Island Sound habitat types that have been degraded, or are under threat, from development and pollution. The Initiative uses partnerships to accomplish the restoration objectives and leverage limited, state, local, and federal funds.
As of December 2011, LISS partners have restored 1107 acres of coastal habitat and opened 160 river miles for migratory fish to travel between the brackish Long Island Sound waters and upstream freshwater rivers and lakes.
The Long Island Sound Futures Fund has funded 17 habitat restoration projects and the planning of 2 projects for future restoration efforts.
The Initiative has promoted habitat restoration with information products such as a Habitat Restoration Manual, a database documenting local restoration projects, and a guidance document for applying for habitat restoration grants.
Sources:
- The Clean Water Act Action Team
- The Long Island Sound Study
- The Long Island Sound Restoration Fund
- Newsday Long Island
