Save Our Sound
The Alliance’s mission is to secure permanent protection and preservation for Nantucket Sound. Today, this unique natural resource is vulnerable and lacks the type of meaningful protections that apply to other ecologically significant bodies of water. The Alliance, along with a strong and diverse group of stakeholders representing tens of thousands of individuals, is seeking federal action to permanently protect and preserve Nantucket Sound by designating it as a National Historic Landmark.
We are pursuing this designation through both federal legislation and administrative channels. In Congress, we are actively promoting the Nantucket Sound National Historic Landmark Act (NSNHLA). This bill would designate Nantucket Sound a National Historic Landmark, prohibit the federal government from authorizing activities in the Sound that are inconsistent with protections that exist today under state law, safeguard traditional uses like fishing and recreation, and provide significant environmental protections to address environmental and other climate change effects. Within the U.S. Department of the Interior, we are seeking NHL designation to leverage the current Administration’s focus on preserving sacred tribal lands and Interior’s earlier determination of eligibility for listing the Sound on the National Register of Historic Places. Both paths will ensure protection of Nantucket Sound in perpetuity.
To support this preservation effort, the Alliance is also engaged in educational initiatives to spread awareness of the importance of Nantucket Sound, its unique environmental, historic, and economic values, and the need to protect it for future generations. The Alliance’s educational programs include the ACONS webinar series – A Celebration of Nantucket Sound – as well as a high school level program for students interested in gaining a greater appreciation for their environment and advocating for the preservation and protection of Nantucket Sound.
