Long Island Soundkeeper
Your on-the-water watchdog
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The Soundkeeper is your eyes and ears on Long Island Sound.
Through regular patrols of your bays and harbors, the Soundkeeper focuses on finding, reporting, and fixing our most vexing water quality problems.
In addition to being our on-the-water watchdog, the Soundkeeper speaks out on behalf of the many marine species that depend on a healthy Sound for survival. He provides a powerful voice for the shellfish, fin fish, whales and seals, and other full-time residents of the Sound.
When not on the water, the Soundkeeper is busy supporting and mobilizing communities around the Sound to take action for clean water. The Soundkeeper works with Save the Sound’s program staff across Connecticut and New York to develop strong environmental policy and solutions to water pollution. And, to make sure polluters comply with the Clean Water Act, the Soundkeeper is backed by the enforcement power of Save the Sound’s environmental attorneys who hold polluters accountable.
Whether on the water or in the statehouse, your Soundkeeper is fighting to protect and restore Long Island Sound.
You can help support this important work!
Meet the Soundkeeper
About the Long Island Soundkeeper
Affiliations
Long Island Soundkeeper is a member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, the largest and fastest growing international nonprofit focused solely on clean water.
The Alliance has its origins in our own backyard. Waterkeeper Alliance grew out of a citizen-led movement in the late 1960s to protect water and save the Hudson River from rampant and unchecked water pollution. The movement later spread to Long Island Sound as local lobster and oyster fishermen Terry Backer and Chris Staplefelt were driven to action by a dying Sound.
The Long Island Soundkeeper Fund, Inc. and Hudson Riverkeeper, Inc. were founding members of the Waterkeeper Alliance.
Join us to support the next generation of the Long Island Soundkeeper. Become a member of Save the Sound today.
Meet Soundkeeper Bill Lucey. Bill is a fish and wildlife biologist with more than two decades of experience studying and conserving marine life. He is also an experienced commercial fisherman and environmental educator.
As your on-the-water watchdog, Bill upholds Save the Sound's mission to protect and restore Long Island Sound. Bill is backed by Save the Sound's expert legal team and our water monitoring program to help identify polluters and hold them accountable.
The Soundkeeper has a 30-year history on Long Island Sound.
In the 1980s, your harbors were full of dying fish and shellfish, dirty beaches, and waters almost devoid of oxygen. The Sound was not safe for people or wildlife.
The summer of 1987 was a tipping point. Massive algae blooms—caused by nutrient-rich runoff, malfunctioning or outdated sewage treatment plants, and unmitigated pollutant discharges—sucked oxygen from the Sound's waters and created dead zones that suffocated fish, oysters, and other marine life. Huge numbers of dead fish fouled harbors and beaches. Lobsters clawed their way out of the water, desperately gulping for oxygen. A sulfuric stench bubbled up from the bottom of the estuary and permeated the air. The Sound was dying.
Lobstermen and oyster farmers were among the first to notice. They were also among the first to take action.
Under the leadership of Terry Backer and Chris Staplefelt, fishers in the western Sound banded together to fight back against polluters. The group formed the Connecticut Coastal Fishermen’s Association (CCFA) and, with guidance from Hudson Riverkeeper John Cronin and Riverkeeper Attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., they sued four municipalities along the Connecticut coast for violating the federal Clean Water Act.
Using funds from a legal settlement with the city of Norwalk, CT, the CCFA founded Soundkeeper, Inc. and Terry Backer became the first on-the-water watchdog for Long Island Sound.
Terry, a third-generation commercial fisherman, worked tirelessly to protect the Sound using Soundkeeper’s special blend of advocacy, watchdogging, and legal enforcement to restore its waters. In 1992, he was also elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives, where he spoke up for the Sound in hearings and on the floor of the legislature. Terry served as Soundkeeper until he passed away in 2015.
In anticipation of an upcoming merger between Save the Sound and Soundkeeper, Inc., and to continue the legacy of Soundkeeper Terry Backer, Save the Sound is relaunching this essential on-the-water watchdog. By putting the new Soundkeeper on the water, Save the Sound is expanding our capacity to be your voice for the Sound and our ability to identify pollution and hold polluters accountable.
The Long Island Soundkeeper is your eyes and ears on Long Island Sound. In addition to performing regular patrols of your bays and harbors, the Soundkeeper is an advocate, organizer, and resource for people and groups focused on water quality issues throughout the region.
Your Soundkeeper is part of a team. This on-the-water watchdog:
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coordinates closely with Save the Sound's water quality team, which monitors water quality in bays and harbors and identifies and prioritizes pollution reduction opportunities;
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advocates for the Sound in partnership with our program staff, who develop science-based policy solutions and seek funding for water infrastructure; and
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is backed by our team of environmental attorneys who enforce the Clean Water Act and hold polluters accountable.
Stay connected. Follow your Soundkeeper and all Save the Sound’s programs on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
