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 Films to produce a short documentary 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.

As part of the production, the Reel Quest Films crew made several trips to Connecticut and eastern New York to film at current and former river impediments (e.g., 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 and even took a sunset flight in a Cessna aircraft (courtesy of Lighthawk Conservation Flying). 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. Needless to say, we learned a ton and enjoyed translating all of this information into a film that both shows the beauty of the watershed and tells the story of how it is being restored.

Did You Know?

Reconnected was selected as a touring film in the Wild and Scenic Film Festival. In 2025, it played at the CCA Bank of New Hampshire Stage in Concord, NH; Wilton High School Little Theater in Wilton, CT; The Maynard Fine Arts Theater in Maynard, MA; and the Bellows Falls Opera House in Bellows Falls, VT.