Milestones
Environmental threats driven by climate change tend to capture headlines, but successes from decades of research, field work, policy and community engagement are often relegated to science journals. Here’s some good news in our own back yard courtesy of Long Island Sound Partnership.
Long Island Sound reached a major milestone in water quality this year, with hypoxia, or low oxygen in bottom waters, at its lowest since the Long Island Sound Partnership began tracking the levels in 1987. That means fewer areas of the Sound were uninhabitable for fish, shellfish, and other aquatic animals.
Meanwhile, 2,041 acres of eelgrass were mapped, with the largest eelgrass meadow spanning 179 acres in Groton-Long Point, Connecticut. A comparison of the 2017 and 2024 LIS mapping found a net gain in eelgrass presence of 473 acres.