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LONG ISLAND SOUND STUDY COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLAN
Citation:
LONG ISLAND SOUND STUDY COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLAN. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 1994.
Description:
Long Island Sound is an estuary, a place where salt water from the ocean mixes with fresh water from rivers and the land. Like other estuaries, Long Island Sound (the Sound) abounds in fish, shellfish, and waterfowl. It provides feeding, breeding, nesting, and nursery areas for diverse animal and plant life. But the Sound is unique in the degree to which it provides recreational and commercial value to the region. Since it was formed mere than 8,000 years ago with the retreat of glacial ice and a rise in sea level, the Sound has become an important resource for people living along its shores. Native Americans were sustained by its abundant resources. Its embayments were natural harbors for Europeans and are still impaired from old abuses. Other uses or values face new threats. Residential, commercial, and recreational development have increased pollution, altered land surfaces, reduced open spaces, and restricted access to the Sound. Development has dramatically increased the use of the Sound as a place to dispose of human and other wastes. The paving over of the land has increased runoff and has reduced the filtration and processing functions of natural landscapes. Habitat destruction and alteration throughout the watershed have harmed native wildlife populations and reduced the breeding grounds and nursery areas for a variety of species. Colonists sought refuge after their long journeys across the Atlantic Ocean. Today it lies in the midst of the most densely populated region of the United States. More than 8 million people live in the Long Island Sound watershed and millions mere flock yearly to the Sound for recreation. About $5 billion is generated annually in the regional economy from boating, commercial and sport fishing, swimming, and beach going. The ability of the Sound to support these uses is dependent on the quality of its waters, living resources, and habitats. The regional economy also benefits from many other valuable uses of the Sound, such as cargo shipping, ferry transportation, and power generation With the uses it serves and the recreational opportunities it provides, Long Island Sound is among the most important estuaries in the nation. The current value and quality of the Sound are partly the result of the investments in water pollution control programs made in the two decades since the passage of the Clean Water Act. These programs have led to measurable improvements in pollution control and water quality, in spite of ever-increasing numbers of people and activities on the Sound and within its watershed. Obvious sources of pollution are now regulated and controlled through permit programs, tidal wetlands are protected, and major efforts in the states of Connecticut and New York to build sewage treatment plants and control industrial discharges have helped to restore degraded waters. More recently, with programs focusing on the ecosystem as a whole, the approach has become mere comprehensive to include increased efforts in storm water and no point source pollution control. In spite of these efforts, problems remain. The quality of Long Island Sound is still far from what it should or can be. Many of the uses or values of the Sound are still impaired from old abuses. Other uses or values face new threats. Residential, commercial, and recreational development have increased pollution, altered land surfaces, reduced open spaces, and restricted access to the Sound. Development has dramatically increased the use of the Sound as a place to dispose of human and other wastes. The paving over of the land has increased runoff and has reduced the filtration and processing functions of natural landscapes. Habitat destruction and alteration throughout the watershed have harmed native wildlife populations and reduced the breeding grounds and nursery areas for a variety of species. In 1985, Congress directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with the states of Connecticut and New York, to sponsor the Long Island Sound Study. A Management Conference, involving federal, state, interstate, and local agencies, universities, environmental groups, industry, and the public was established and was charged with developing a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for protecting and improving the health of Long Island Sound. The Management Conference has identified six problems that merit special attention: (1) low dissolved oxygen (hypoxia), (2) toxic contamination, (3) pathogen contamination, (4) floatable debris, (5) the impact these water quality problems, and habitat degradation and loss, on the health of living resources, and (6) land use and development resulting in habitat loss end degradation of water quality. The Management Conference has focused its efforts and resources on the most pressing problem among these, low dissolved oxygen, which affects a substantial portion of Long Island Sound in late summer, but has addressed all priority problems. The plan calls for a sustained and cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut and New York, the EPA and other federal agencies, local governments, and the private sector to maintain and enhance the uses and values of the Sound. But the fate of the Sound depends on mere than just the commitments of government agencies and regulated entities; it depends on the will and desire of the people of the region.