The term Soundkeeper. was first used in the American lexicon by the Long Island Soundkeeper Fund, Inc. in 1987 upon the founding of an environmental protection organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of Long Island Sound. The name and the organization's principles were modeled after the Hudson Riverkeeper Fund. Later, both organizations independently changed their official names to Riverkeeper and Soundkeeper. Soundkeeper and Riverkeeper are founding members of the Waterkeeper Alliance. The term Soundkeeper is a registered trademark of Soundkeeper, Inc. However, it has also become common practice to refer to the lead person who is the water presence of the organization as the "Soundkeeper".