Pledge/Prayer: Pres. Bob Chase
Song: Pres. Bob
Brents Card Game Winner: Sam in a card-off with Tom
Sergeants Report: Keith
Welcome Guests
Raffle Winners: Sam Fulginiti, Tom Cloutier, Mike Velgouse
Happy Bucks:
Al Lindquist is leaving for his home in New Hampshire this week.
Bob Hester read a letter of appreciation from Claudia Van Ness for our help in the Grace Church Garden.
Walter announced a $500 donation to the Warm the Children fund.
Announcements:
Gerri: Sign up for the next meeting which is an evening meeting at 6pm. $30pp BYOB, catered by JAMMS
Joan Michaud: Ran King says hello
Marty: Passed out a master donor list for the Wine Tasting for the last 3 years.
Charlie Norz: Showed pictures of the Dictionary Project in action
Keith: Accepting volunteers to run for an office next year.
Program: Chris Cryder, Save the Sound
Since the early 70's, Save the Sound has been a forerunner of efforts to protect and restore Long Island Sound (LIS). In 2004, STS merged with the Connecticut Fund for the Environment - a CT-based, nonprofit legal environmental group. Chris Cryder is in charge of habitat restoration a job that involves restoring salt marshes, providing education about LI Sound and enhancing the spawning of fish in LIS. The LIS Estuary is where fresh water meets salt water and is home to many species. An industry of food and biomass accounts for about $5 billion dollars annually. At one time there were over 450 companies discharging waste into LIS and now there are 36. DDT has been outlawed resulting in Ospreys and Eagles flourishing. Bluefish and striped bass are also making comebacks and the PCB levels are down. Despite being banned in the 70's, PCB's are still around which shows how resilient that chemical is.
Smaller fish are in decline due to the increase in striped bass and the netting practices of the fishing industry. LIS is changing with an increase in warm water species and decrease of cold water species. Global warming will cause this trend to continue. Over the last 20 years, there has been a 1-degree Celcius increase in the temperature of LIS.
Chris talked about the declining lobster population and how increased water temperature as allowed opportunistic parasites to attack - shell rot disease is becoming more common. Other stressors such as hypoxia also exist resulting in impaired immune and endocrine systems. Their molting system is disrupted.
Young flounders are increasing while 2 year old flounders are in decline. Scientists don't know why. Another species having difficulty surviving where they used to fluorish is the oyster. The Oyster River no longer has any oyster due to the sediment from storm drains that come off I-95 and Route 1. The oysters have suffocated under this sedimentation. There have been attempts to rebuild the substrates that support oysters. Clam harvesting is up.
Some good things are happening - some bad things but LIS is definitely changing. The goal is to reduce the human impact on LIS and promote biodiversity. There is a 20 year, $1.6 billion plan to reduce raw sewage effluent into LIS. Go to www.ctenvironment.org
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