The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), has announced 41 grants totaling $10.3 million to nonprofit organizations and local governments to improve the environment of Long Island Sound.

The 2022 Long Island Sound Futures Fund grants are being matched by $5.8 million from the grantees themselves, for a total of $16.1 million in funding for conservation projects in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. In all, the funding will benefit 319,000 people through environmental education programs.

Funded projects include water quality improvement efforts to prevent 5.3 million gallons of polluted stormwater from flowing into Long Island Sound waters. The projects also will remove 8,000 pounds of marine debris from the sound shorelines and enhance 215 acres of habitat vital for fish and wildlife. Funding for the grant program comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) as well as from FWS and NFWF. Salesforce, Zoetis, Avangrid Foundation, and Covanta provided additional funding.

“Estuaries and their surrounding lands and waters represent some of the most productive ecosystems in the world,” said NFWF executive director and CEO Jeff Trandahl. “The funding awarded today embodies our continued commitment, together with our public and private partners, to improve the sound by fostering environmental stewardship and public awareness and education, restoring habitat for fish and wildlife, preventing pollution, and enhancing the resilience of coastal communities.”

For a complete list of 2022 Long Island Sound Futures Fund grants recipients, see the NFWF website.