Groton - The Groton Open Space Association is among 13 community groups in Connecticut to receive a total of $625,000 to improve the health of Long Island Sound.

The grant of $100,000 to the Groton group will be used to restore coastal forest and New England cottontail habitat. The project will be paid for by the Long Island Sound Futures Fund, which will open 12.2 miles of river passage for fish and restore 50 acres of wildlife habitat.

Federal and state officials said grants totaling more than $1.29 million will be provided by the fund to groups in Connecticut and New York. The grant program pools money from four public or private agencies.

"The conservation of local fish and wildlife depends on the communities that share these lands and waters," Wendi Weber, director of the northeast regional office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a prepared statement.