There was so much to celebrate at Save the Sound this year: President Leah Lopez Schmalz accepted a national award on the organization’s behalf from the Garden Club of America; Laura Wildman, our vice president for ecological action, became the first woman honored with the International Fish Passage Conference’s Distinguished Career Award; we welcomed eight new staff and observed senior legal director Roger Reynold’s 20th year; and you joined in a record-breaking season of volunteering this fall.
Below is just a sampling of other highlights you made possible in 2024. To keep up with news and ways to take action in real time, make sure you’re signed up for our weekly email newsletter.
WINTER
In a win for a sewage-free Sound, our settlement with the four municipal members of the New Rochelle Sewer District was finalized in January, giving us agreements with all 11 Westchester County municipalities in our 2015 case over Clean Water Act violations. Negotiations with the County are ongoing. The settlements will result in the repair of 39,000+ defects and 518+ miles of sewer pipe, as well as $1.2 million for environmental benefit projects.
Tweed New Haven Airport’s proposed expansion has the potential to significantly impact surrounding communities and wetlands, degrade air and water quality, and increase flooding. After the Federal Aviation Administration determined that the proposed expansion would not have any significant environmental impacts, Save the Sound and East Haven appealed that decision, hoping to ensure that the proposed expansion’s environmental impacts are thoroughly vetted and addressed.
“Plum Island’s iconic lighthouse and wild shores are in the view of thousands of boaters, fishers, and ferry passengers who wonder about it and wait for the chance to get closer to this part of the American story,” said Louise Harrison, our Long Island Project Manager, in March to the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Federal Lands Subcommittee. Congress heard her: in December a bill sponsored by Senator Blumenthal to study the island’s natural, historical, and cultural resources passed the Senate, and a parallel bill from Congressmen LaLota and Courtney moved forward in the House.
SPRING
There’s strength in numbers. Which is why we work with coalition partners at the New York state legislature, too, to voice our collective support for bills such as the NY Home Energy Affordable Transition Act. NY HEAT passed the state Senate, and it would have lowered energy bills for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers and reduced greenhouse gas emissions had it not stalled in the Assembly.
We did see a major win to phase out toxic PFAS chemicals from common consumer goods in 2027, protecting Connecticut’s water, ecosystems, and residents’ health. Passing unanimously, the bill expands products banned from containing PFAS. A similar bill failed to pass in New York and will be back again next session.
Made by Save the Sound and Reel Quest Films in collaboration with the River Restoration Network, Reconnected: Restoring the Rivers of Long Island Sound, a short documentary that highlights stream barrier removal through interviews with community members, environmental experts, and river advocates, premiered in May. It has since been screened at numerous community events and film festivals including the Wild & Scenic Film Festival and World Fish Migration Day. Alongside its release, our first dam removal report was published as an educational, accessible guide for those wishing to learn more about how dam removal helps both fish and people.
SUMMER
Save the Sound partnered with the Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound this summer to educate over 450 young sailors on waterway conservation. Through hands-on activities like water quality tests and plankton tows, participants explored Long Island Sound’s ecology, learning how their actions can protect and sustain its health.
In the span of two days this summer, the Supreme Court halted the Good Neighbor rule, which protects New York and Connecticut from interstate air pollution, and overturned the 40-year-old Chevron deference doctrine (in a fisheries management case to which we contributed an amicus brief), undermining the regulatory powers of federal agencies to interpret and enforce the law. This continued a dangerous and destabilizing trend of SCOTUS dismantling federal protections for our natural resources. “Taken individually, these decisions are damaging,” Roger Reynolds, our senior legal director, wrote in an op-ed. “Collectively, they are devastating.”
Bill Lucey, our Long Island Soundkeeper, was appointed Connecticut’s representative to the New England Fishery Management Council. He will help shape a range of fishery policy, from protecting river herring populations to ensuring offshore wind development is sited responsibly and assessing ecosystem risk in a rapidly shifting climate.
Paddle for the Sound participants paddled 303 miles this year, raising nearly $6,500 to protect Long Island Sound! Whether by kayak, paddleboard, or canoe, this friendly competition supported efforts to restore ecosystems, combat climate change, and safeguard the Sound. Thank you for making our ninth year a success!
This summer and fall, our field technicians assessed over 331 road stream crossings (culverts and bridges) throughout Westchester County as part of a Stream Barrier Inventory. The inventory, which updates the North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative (NAACC) database evaluates these crossings to identify opportunities for aquatic habitat reconnection and potential localized flooding hazards.
This summer, the Six Lakes Park Coalition held a series of community visioning sessions to map a future for the Six Lakes property in Southern Hamden. Key takeaways included that the community is deeply invested in the cleanup and public access of the 102.5-acre forested property, wanting walking trails, birding, education, and community connectivity. The visioning process concluded this fall with the release of the Community Vision for Six Lakes report.
FALL
Save the Sound is proud to announce the launch of its Henry L. and Grace Doherty Climate and Resilience Institute, a place-based climate change hub for individuals, communities, and decision-makers. Focused on policy and science, institute staff will use data and metrics to educate the public, mobilize stakeholders, and deploy the nature-based solutions necessary to cut climate pollution, protect our habitats, and stabilize our shorelines. The institute will work to advance climate science, build public demand for climate action, and win policy change in New York and Connecticut.
Eight dedicated teenagers completed intensive training this fall to become our inaugural class of Environmental Justice Ambassadors for their communities. The two-month program blended theory and action, giving the ambassadors the tools to be advocates for change. Ambassadors also worked side by side with their peers in community cleanups and rain garden installations.
In other good news from our water quality team, 98 percent of the open waters of the Sound received a B grade or better in our 2024 Long Island Report Card (which reports 2023 data). The news wasn’t quite as promising for bays and harbors; 42 percent of the 57 bays and bay segments monitored in the Unified Water Study received a C, D, or F.
The biggest clean water win this year was delivered by Suffolk County voters, who overwhelmingly approved the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act on Election Day. We worked with legislators and a coalition on this legislation creating a fund for expanding sewers and replacing septic systems that have long been the primary source of the county’s nitrogen pollution problem.
Thank you for making 2024 an incredible year for Save the Sound!
We are proud to welcome 1,029 new members—people like you who care deeply about clean water, protected lands, and a thriving Long Island Sound. Members are the backbone of our work, driving action to restore habitats, reduce pollution, protect biodiversity, and combat climate change. Renew your support or join today to help ensure a healthier future for our region!
Thank you again, and happy New Year from Save the Sound!