Our History
For more than four decades, CFE and Save the Sound have successfully worked both independently and together to protect Connecticut's environment and Long Island Sound.
Connecticut Fund for the Environment was founded in 1978 by Fred Krupp to protect the land, air, and water of Connecticut. Save the Sound was founded in 1972 as the Long Island Sound Taskforce to preserve and protect the Sound. In 2004, CFE and Save the Sound merged, with Save the Sound incorporated as a program within CFE. Since the merger, CFE and Save the Sound have successfully fought threats to Connecticut's environment and Long Island Sound and worked to improve our land, air, and water.
Our list of accomplishments is substantial. Below are a few–all won with the help of our many effective partners:
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Protecting your open spaces: persuaded the State of Connecticut to protect all 18,700 acres of the Kelda water company's lands and reservoirs, in a $90 million purchase by the State and The Nature Conservancy.
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Upgrading our sewer systems: persuaded the State to commit more than $1.5 billion to the Clean Water Fund to upgrade municipal sewer infrastructure, some of the highest investments for clean water projects since the Fund's inception.
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Curbing greenhouse emissions: successfully worked for Connecticut's adoption of the strictest tailpipe emission standards for cars, and a requirement that new cars offered for sale are labeled with their greenhouse gas emissions.
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Blocking Broadwater: after four years of work with government leaders, thousands of activists, and scientific experts, achieved denial by New York State and the federal government of Shell Oil's Broadwater proposal, a massive 20-story natural gas plant that would have been built in the middle of Long Island Sound.
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Restoring key habitats: completed 19 projects and restored 78 miles of river habitat, 400 acres of lake habitat, 24 acres of native vegetation, and 171 acres of tidal marsh through Save the Sound's Habitat Restoration Program.
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Cleaning up our beaches: since 2002, brought together 14,862 volunteers across the state to clean up 121,209 pounds of trash from 455.81 miles of Connecticut shoreline.
Please explore our Major Victories and an interactive map of just some of the accomplishments your support has made possible over the years.