$1.29 million in grants has been awarded to 20 different local government and community groups to help improve the Long Island Sound ecosystem.
The projects are funded through the Long Island Sound Futures Fund. The grant money comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The grants have been leveraged for an additional $1.1 million.
Deb Szaro, acting regional administrator for the EPA, Region 1, says, “It brings partners together and leverages work that otherwise wouldn’t happen on a grander scale. So I think that’s the beauty of this program and the Long Island Sound Futures Fund. It makes those leverage capabilities and that match, and you get bigger results because of that.”
The projects will help protect the Long Island Sound watershed, restore and protect habitats, and fund education programs.