Eelgrass - Long Island Sound
Peregrine falcon
Chester Creek (photo: Hal Malde)
Salmon River (photo: TNC)
Publications
Eelgrass Surveys for Eastern Long Island Sound
Significant
Habitats and Habitat Complexes of the New York Bight Watershed
Nomination
Report to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance
Northeast
Coastal Areas Study
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| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | USFWS
Region 5
Surveys
in 2002 and
2006 mapped
the eelgrass beds submerged along the shore of
eastern Long Island Sound and Fishers Island, with site visits aided by use
of aerial photographs, GPS and GIS tools. Eelgrass meadows are highly-valued
habitats in shallow coastal waters providing food and nesting grounds for shellfish,
small fish eaten by sport fish, and many migratory birds. Scientists believe that
eelgrass cannot grow along much of the Long Island Sound shoreline, in part, because
nitrogen acts as a fertilizer fueling algal blooms that block the sunlight eelgrass
plants need to grow.
Information about the current status of eelgrass will help several projects,
including one funded by the Long Island Sound Study to establish eelgrass
restoration objectives by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
and the University of Connecticut. This project will try to answer questions
relating to the effect that nutrient loading has on eelgrass vitality.
Completed in 1997, the 1,025-page
Significant
Habitats and Habitat Complexes of the New York Bight Watershed focuses
on the regional geographic distribution and population status of over 1,000
key marine, coastal, and terrestrial species inhabiting the New York Bight
watershed. The geographic scope of the study consists of the marine waters
of the New York Bight (the Atlantic coastlines of Long Island and New Jersey
out to the continental shelf), the New York — New Jersey Harbor Estuary
and the entire watershed of the Bight and Harbor, including the Hudson
River up to the Troy Dam. The study assessed the status of habitats, including
threats to the integrity of these habitats as well as threats to species
populations dependent upon them, and determined those habitats and fish,
wildlife, and plant populations requiring both immediate and long-term
protection, conservation, enhancement, and/or restoration. This habitat
assessment is being used to emphasize these regionally-important sites
to federal, state, regional, and local planners, resource managers, conservation
commissions, regulatory authorities, and the many private conservation
organizations throughout the region for further analysis of specific habitat
areas where species occur to protect, conserve, and manage these significant
habitats and their species populations.
In September 1994, in partnership with the state of Connecticut and
The Nature Conservancy, the SNEP office developed the Nomination Report
to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, leading
to the designation of the lower Connecticut River estuary and tidal wetlands
as the nation's fourteenth Ramsar site. The Ramsar Convention provides
three categories for selecting internationally significant wetlands: 1)
representative or unique wetlands in a region; 2) wetlands using plants
and animals as indicators of importance, especially rare and endangered
species; and 3) wetlands of particular value to waterfowl. The 66-page
nomination report, which includes GIS maps, demonstrates that the lower
Connecticut River wetlands fully meet all three Ramsar criteria for inclusion
as an internationally important wetlands complex. This partnership of the
Service with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and
The Nature Conservancy, Connecticut Chapter, reflects a consolidated effort
to share the expertise and more effectively achieve the common resource
protection goals of the three organizations. The Ramsar area is now the
focus of extensive habitat protection and restoration efforts.
Completed in August 1991, the 250-page Northeast Coastal Areas Study
identified 40 major coastal habitat complexes in need of protection in
southern New England and Long Island, New York. It assessed the status
of the region's living resources and developed strategies to protect, conserve,
and enhance the resources and their habitat complexes, which extend from
Cape Cod to Staten Island, including Long Island Sound and the tidal reaches
of the Connecticut River. The study identified 153 federal trust species
(federally-listed endangered and threatened species and candidates, migratory
birds, anadromous fish, and marine mammals) and 15 significant coastal
habitat types. The study also emphasizes the need to promote and develop
partnerships and cooperative agreements among all landowners, public and
private, to most effectively and efficiently manage larger habitat complexes
and their protection. This report has been used to set priorities for acquisition
through the National Wildlife Refuge System and partnerships.
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