The Long Island Sound watershed drains more than 16,000 square miles of New England and New York, including some of the oldest, most developed cities in the United States. In 2023, Save the Sound and the Long Island Sound River Restoration Network hired Reel Quest to produce a short film that celebrates the restoration work being done in the watershed and to encourage continued vigilance in improving the ecological health of the region. The result is the 20-minute film “Reconnected: Restoring the Rivers of Long Island Sound,” which focuses on the benefits of removing old dams and replacing undersized culverts. The film was recently chosen as part of the 2025 Wild and Scenic Film Festival. You can watch the entire film above or the trailer below.

This film was one of Reel Quest’s larger undertakings during the last few years. We made several trips to Connecticut and eastern New York to film at dam sites, former dam sites, and culverts on numerous rivers and streams in the region. We paddled in the marshes and tributaries near the mouth of the Connecticut River. We flew drones every day of the shoot, and took a sunset ride in a Cessna (courtesy of Lighthawk). We met and interviewed more than a dozen scientists dedicated to improving the water quality of Long Island Sound and the ecological health of the rivers that feed into it. We learned a ton and enjoyed translating all of this into a film that both shows the beauty of the watershed and tells the story of how it is being restored.