The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Office of Long Island Sound Programs administers two grant funds the Long Island Sound Research Fund and the Long Island Sound Account. The Long Island Sound Research Fund supports a variety of scientific research related to the Sound. This section describes the projects funded by the research fund and provides access to the related documents. The Long Island Sound Account is administered by the Long Island Sound License Plate Program which funds public education and outreach, increased public access, habitat protection and restoration, and scientific research.

In 1989, the Connecticut Legislature created the Long Island Sound Cleanup Account within the Clean Water Fund for grants to academic institutions in Connecticut to conduct research related to Long Island Sound. The Department of Environmental Protection(DEP), Office of Long Island Sound Program, administers the Fund. The goals are to fund research to assist in resource management, cultivate a partnership between DEP and academic institutions, and to support the requisite research disciplines in Connecticut academic institutions. In the majority of the projects funded, the principal investigator completes the research through the assistance of graduate and undergraduate students. This model provides educational opportunities to support the development of the next generation of estuarine scientists.

When funds are available, DEP establishes a research priority list with an emphasis on resource management issues and issues a request for proposals. The Scientific Standing Committee makes recommendations for peer review, conducts their own independent review, and makes recommendations to about research to be funded. Preliminary and final results have been shared through the Long Island Sound Research Symposium sponsored by DEP.

Over four million dollars to fund research was awarded from 1990 to 1996. One million dollar was dedicated by the state of Connecticut to conducting research related to the causes of the decline in the lobster population in 1999. Federal funding for research into the lobster decline was also authorized. A combined request for proposals was released by DEP in cooperation with National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service, Connecticut Sea Grant, and New York Sea Grant.

A final report is submitted to DEP for each grant. Most of these final reports are available through this website. However, the ultimate product is the publication of one or more peer reviewed articles in scientific journals. Citations to articles published in the scientific journals are included here. Links to the journal abstracts or full articles are provided wherever possible.

The Long Island Sound Account was established by the state legislature in 1994. A portion of the funds received through the sales of Long Island Sound license plates are reserved for restoration, education, public access and research. DEP's Office of Long Island Sound License Plate Program administers this program. There is an annual request for proposals with a recommended maximum award of twenty-five thousand dollars. As with the LIS Research Fund, a research priority list is compiled every year. Projects are reviewed and ranked by technical staff and recommendations are presented to an advisory board. The program has awarded one million dollars for fifty research projects to date.