Answer: Yes, the Long Island Sound Partnership has six Sustainable and Resilient Communities (SRC) Extension Professionals that work in the coastal communities of the Long Island Sound. Together they are helping communities to identify, prioritize, and advance high-impact projects that boost community resilience.
The SRC team built the Long Island Sound Resilience Resource Hub, a user-friendly website offering curated resources–including an up-to-date Funding Database–to help communities plan, implement, and sustain projects. The SRC team also provides project life cycle support by helping connect communities with support that meets them where they are, directing effort toward the most feasible projects, helping them to find and secure funding, and moving them forward through the ‘project pipeline’.
The Partnership also offers several funding sources to support implementation of sustainable and resilient projects, including: the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund, Long Island Sound Resilience Planning Support Program, and Long Island Sound Resilience Grant Writing Assistance Program.
*The Objective’s Measure of Success define reasonable outcomes and ensure that progress towards the Objective can be clearly and precisely tracked over time.
Based on the Measures of Success and Indicators, the overall status of this Objective is:
In 2025, five resilience initiatives were completed and 43 are currently in progress using Partnership support or in coordination with partners. To meet this objective’s goal, 20 resilience initiatives should be completed or in progress every year.
The primary measure of success is the implementation of 200 resilience initiatives by communities in the New York and Connecticut portions of the Long Island Sound watershed.
Since 2022, the Sustainable and Resilient Communities (SRC) Extension Professionals have been working to support communities with moving resilience projects from idea to implementation and increase the pace of resilience initiative implementation. As of September 2025, 5 resilience initiatives have been implemented with the support of the SRC Team, Long Island Sound partners, or Long Island Sound Partnership funding. Another 43 resilience initiatives are currently in progress. As these initiatives advance through the phases of project development, proportionately more will land in the ‘implemented’ category.
This measure is based on the current number of projects supported annually through Long Island Sound Futures Fund and the Long Island Sound SRC assistance programs. Initiatives could include implementation of green infrastructure, living shorelines, flood mitigation projects, stormwater management projects, road-stream crossing improvements, stream barrier removal projects, habitat restoration (e.g., marsh restoration and urban tree projects), policy improvements or changes, zoning and code updates, and new funding mechanisms to support resilience projects (e.g., creation of stormwater utilities). Prioritization and implementation of initiatives should follow the PERSISTS framework, which serves as a guide for Long Island Sound communities to move projects from concept to implementation.
A 2022 Needs Assessment found that the major barriers communities within the Long Island Sound Coastal Boundary face when planning, designing, and implementing sustainability and resilience-focused projects are: a lack of capacity and resources to identify, conceptualize, and develop resilience projects; and a lack of capacity, expertise, and resources to prepare and apply for funding. To address these barriers, the SRC Team offers two Assistance Program: the Long Island Sound Resilience Grant Writing Assistance program and the Long Island Sound Resilience Planning Support Program.
Meeting existing and emerging environmental challenges to Long Island Sound communities requires implementing actions, engaging in adaptive management, sharing new approaches, and coordinating regionally. By following the PERSISTS framework, the SRC Team encourages communities to prioritize sustainable nature-based solutions, provide maximum benefits to vulnerable communities, and ensure that stakeholders are convened and included along the way. An increase in the number of implemented resilience initiatives should therefore enhance Long Island Sound communities’ ability to withstand and adapt to flooding and other threats.
Elizabeth Hornstein, NY Sea Grant, eeh78@cornell.eduBenjamin Goldberg, NY Sea Grant, bgoldberg@cornell.edu
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