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The Nature Conservancy Chapters along Long Island Sound have been awarded $500,000 in federal funding to research the restoration of seagrass along the Sound. The grant comes from this year’s Omnibus Appropriation’s Act and was co-sponsored by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.

Most people understand the importance that fish and shellfish, clean water and sediment play in a healthy marine ecosystem. But grass in seawater seems a little more remote. Lise Hanners from the Connecticut Chapter of the Nature Conservancy says seagrass plays a key role in supporting aquatic animals, especially young ones.

“You can think of it as a meadow under the water. It buffers the organisms that live within it  from the overwash of the waves, or the currents. It just provides a kind of sheltered area That’s why baby fish, young fish hide there because it provides cover and well as a little gentler place to live under the water “

But seagrass has declined significantly in recent decades, disappearing entirely in many locations in southern New England. Excessive nitrogen in the water is one factor. Water temperature and water clarity may also play a role. The Connecticut and Long Island Chapters of the Nature Conservancy will use this new federal grant to figure out why the grass is disappearing and where, along the Sound, it could be restored.