FOREWORD 



Long Island Sound is one of the nation's unique and irreplaceable natural re- 

 sources. An almost fully enclosed arm of the ocean, it has over 1300 square 

 miles of water surface and nearly a thousand miles of coastline. Spreading 

 eastward along both shores from the great metropolitan center which lies at 

 the Sound's western end, a growing concentration of increasingly affluent peo- 

 ple make ever greater demands on this urban sea. At the same time, there is 

 a growing feeling that the conflicting demands are destroying the Sound, and 

 that the problems must be resolved if the Sound is to be preserved. 



The Long island Sound Regional Study is a comprehensive planning effort by 

 the federal government and New York and Connecticut, led by the New England 

 River Basins Commission. Assisting the Commission are professionals from 

 many disciplines representing the federal, state and regional agencies listed 

 on the back cover, a Citizen Advisory Committee, and a Research/Planning 

 Advisory Committee composed of members of the region's scientific community. 



THE GOAL OF THE STUDY IS TO PRODUCE A PLAN OF ACTION BY JANUARY, 1975, 

 WHICH BALANCES THE NEEDS TO PROTECT, CONSERVE AND WISELY DEVELOP THE 

 SOUND AND ITS RELATED SHORELANDS AS A MAJOR ECONOMIC AND LIFE-ENRICHING 

 RESOURCE FOR THE 12 MILLION PEOPLE WHO LIVE NEAR IT. 



This interim report is one of a series which outline demands placed on the 

 Sound, its capacity to supply these demands, and the present or expected 

 deficiencies to be overcome if it is determined that supply should meet de- 

 mand. The reports provide a base for developing single purpose management 

 plans which will evaluate the environmental and socio-economic impacts of 

 suggested alternative solutions and propose courses of action. These manage- 

 ment plans will be integrated into a comprehensive multi-purpose plan of con- 

 servation and development, reflecting relationships between types of demands 

 and setting forth goals and recommendations, the means for achieving them, 

 and a schedule of priorities. Interim reports in the series include: 



Sources and Movements of Water 



Water Q.ual i ty 



Scenic and Cultural Resources 



Mineral Resources and Mining 



Soi 1 s 



Erosion and Sedimentation 



Ecological Studies 



Water Supply 



Recreation 



Land Use and Ownership 



Flood Plains 



Electric Power Generation 



Transportation 



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