climate resilience

This is the second webinar in UConn CLEAR’s two part series introducing their updated land cover tracking tools. Using data from the Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD), this session explores how land cover across the entire Long Island Sound watershed has changed from 1985 through 2023, covering regions from Connecticut to the Canadian border.

This webinar highlights trends at the watershed, state, town, and local levels, with special attention to the 300 foot riparian zone along waterways, a critical area for stream health and climate resilience. The session will demonstrate how to interpret land cover change data using CLEAR’s map viewer and dashboards to better understand long term environmental patterns.

The USGS Long Island Sound Partnership Compound Flood Hazard Web Map Application is an interactive tool developed by the U.S. Geological Survey’s New York Water Science Center that helps users explore the combined impacts of multiple flooding drivers across the New York and Connecticut coastal regions. Drivers of compound flooding included in the assessment were precipitation, coastal (storm surge, tidal), and groundwater emergence, which when combined can lead to more severe and widespread inundation than from any single cause alone.

The map visually displays hazard rankings and spatial patterns of flood drivers so that planners, emergency managers, researchers, and the public can better understand where these flood hazards are most likely to coincide, thus supporting local decision making for flood mitigation, coastal planning, and resilience strategies. The application is based on USGS models and ongoing research into regional flood processes.

The Long Island Sound Stewardship Fund 2026 is now open and supports nonprofit work that helps protect and restore the health and living resources of Long Island Sound. Funding is available for efforts that strengthen organizations (capacity building), build new collaborations, or support piloting tools and planning that increases environmental and natural resource impact.

The GSI Impact Hub is an interactive platform that provides tools, research, and data to help communities plan and evaluate green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) projects. GSI uses natural systems like plants, soil, and stone to manage stormwater on-site reducing flooding, improving water quality, and creating healthier, more resilient neighborhoods. The Hub includes a benefits calculator, educational resources, and guidance to support city planners, advocates, and policymakers in designing projects that maximize environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Explore the GSI Impact Calculator, Detailed Resource Library, and Project Background to better understand how GSI can reduce flooding, improve water quality, and build climate-resilient neighborhoods.

This grant opportunity is open to municipalities and non-governmental organizations interested in partnering with SCSWCD to implement a variety of projects focused on improving Suffolk County and its environment. These projects focus on revitalizing and protecting Long Islands ecosystems, waterbodies, ground water and habitats. The goal of this grant is to attract new partners to develop and implement innovative and sustainable solutions for environmental issues.

The Land & Easement Acquisition Program (LEAP) is designed to bridge funding gaps and accelerate the protection of valuable conservation lands. CLCC will prioritize projects that:

• Have a closing time frame of 12 months or less.

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to conservation.

• Align with statewide land conservation goals.

• Have leveraged and/or exhausted other public and private funding sources.

The Land Capital Grant Program (LCG) is designed to bridge funding gaps and accelerate the protection of valuable conservation lands. CLCC will prioritize projects that:

• Have a closing time frame of 12 months or less.

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to conservation.

• Align with statewide land conservation goals.

• Have leveraged and/or exhausted other public and private funding sources.

The Land Capital Grant Program (LCG) is designed to bridge funding gaps and accelerate the protection of valuable conservation lands. CLCC will prioritize projects that:

• Have a closing time frame of 12 months or less.

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to conservation.

• Align with statewide land conservation goals.

• Have leveraged and/or exhausted other public and private funding sources.

The Land Capital Grant Program (LCG) is designed to bridge funding gaps and accelerate the protection of valuable conservation lands. CLCC will prioritize projects that:

• Have a closing time frame of 12 months or less.

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to conservation.

• Align with statewide land conservation goals.

• Have leveraged and/or exhausted other public and private funding sources.

The Land Capital Grant Program (LCG) is designed to bridge funding gaps and accelerate the protection of valuable conservation lands. CLCC will prioritize projects that:

• Have a closing time frame of 12 months or less.

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to conservation.

• Align with statewide land conservation goals.

• Have leveraged and/or exhausted other public and private funding sources.