Guilford Awarded More Than $1.6M For Coastal Restoration, Resilience Projects

GUILFORD, CT — Two projects in Guilford are set to receive more than $1.6 million in state funding through the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's (DEEP) newly created Long Island Sound Ecosystems Grant Program.

DEEP announced May 6 that more than $7.8 million was awarded statewide to 18 projects focused on coastal habitat restoration, water quality improvements and ecosystem resilience.

In Guilford, the National Audubon Society’s Connecticut office was awarded $460,917 for the planning, engineering and design of a coastal resilience strategy within the East River Marsh. The project falls under the habitat restoration category.

Save the Sound, Inc. also received $1.2 million for construction of a living shoreline project at Chittenden Park in Guilford. The project is intended to support habitat restoration efforts along the shoreline.

"Almost all of Connecticut is within the Long Island Sound watershed. These innovative projects will protect and restore valuable coastal marsh habitat, remove impediments to migratory fish passage, and advance innovative green stormwater infrastructure – advancing our shared goal of protecting and improving the health of the Sound that provides ecosystem, recreation, and economic benefits to the citizens of Connecticut," DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said in a news release.

"We are grateful to our federal partners at EPA and NOAA for their support in making this impactful program possible."