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  Pictured above: Sandpipers basking in the sun.
 


Groups, such as The Nature Conservancy, are helping to make Long Island's waters thrive once again and working to: (1) restore shellfish populations by creating spawner sanctuaries and shellfish nurseries where clams and scallops can grow, reproduce and live safely (2) monitor the role shellfish play in improving our water quality, controlling harmful algal blooms and enhancing habitat for other marine life (3) engage partners to restore the Great South Bay using their 13,000 underwater acres.

NY Sea Grant is a statewide network of integrated research, education, and extension services promoting the wise use and protection of marine resources. Peconic Baykeeper is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and improve the aquatic ecosystems of the Peconic and South Shore estuaries of Long Island.

  
 
 
 



  • The Nature Conservancy
  • NY Sea Grant
  • Peconic Baykeeper

Bays and Shellfish Restoration

Recently, the Conservancy obtained ownership of 11,500 acres of bottomlands in Great South Bay, known as the Bluepoints property. Regrettably, the water quality and habitats of the south shore bays are in poor condition and hard clam and other filter-feeding shellfish populations have declined and negatively impacted the bays and their food chain dynamics. Barrier island management greatly impacts the bays and we are working to ensure that these management decisions benefit the bays. Hard clams, bay scallops and oysters play very important filtering role in the bays, critical to food chain dynamics and water quality and thus we are focusing on restoring shellfish populations. The Conservancy is in the process of creating clam spawner sanctuaries, sponsoring research and monitoring related to Brown Tide, exploring sustainable shellfish aquaculture and working with a committee to form a management plan for Bluepoints.

The Nature Conservancy is happy to report that they have recently stocked over 2 million adult clams in the Great South Bay—a big step towards restoring a sustainable shellfish population.

Contact
 Carl P. LoBue • 631.367.3384 x113
clobue@tnc.org • nature.org


Hard Clam Research Initiative
The Hard Clam Research Initiative was launched in October 1999 to investigate the population dynamics of hard clams in Long Island's south shore estuary. Under the initiative, New York Sea Grant currently administer over $425K in funds in support of hard clam research. These monies were awarded through the Northeast Region office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service.

In December 1999, $50K was added to the Initiative’s pot for research by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which was also supporting a hard clam stock assessment on the New Jersey side of Raritan Bay (part of the lower New York Harbor). NYSG and SSER contributed, respectively, an additional $100K and $50K.

Contact
 Cornelia Schlenk • 631.632.6906
Cornelia.Schlenk@stonybrook.edu • nyseagrant.org


Baywatch
 Baywatch evaluates the ecological health of the Peconic and South Shore Estuaries of Long Island. Examining bay health indicators such as water quality, living resources, and habitat, this report establishes quantitative standards by which to measure the health of the Peconic and South Shore Estuaries, year to year.

Baywatch is an advocacy and educational tool to demonstrate the ongoing effect of development and pollution on the ecologically sensitive aquatic environment of Long Island. There is a need to develop a standard by which to understand and monitor the ever-changing state of our bays, particularly given the rapid development of much of Long Island. Understanding the health of the estuaries and the threats facing them are prerequisites for effective community involvement in their protection.

Contact
 Kevin McAllister • 631.653.4804
baykeeper@peconicbaykeeper.org • peconicbaykeeper.org


  

Long Island supports a variety of ecological features unique in New York, including maritime grasslands and shrublands, vast pine barrens and associated coastal plain ponds, coastal dunes and wide ocean beaches. Located east of New York City in the southeastern corner of New York State, this 120-mile-long island lies between the Long Island Sound to its north and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east.

The Nature Conservancy has been working on Long Island since the early 1950s. Since that time, the Conservancy has helped preserve thousands of acres here. Its work has evolved from an organization whose main conservation tool was land acquisition to one that uses a variety of approaches and works with many different partners to protect large landscapes, seascapes, and whole functioning ecosystems. Its work now includes efforts to protect underwater marine environments and restore populations of shellfish, which in recent years have dramatically declined.

Conservation Strategy
The Long Island conservation program is organized into six teams, each designed to implement a suite of strategies that abates specific threats or improves ecological health across all of our sites. These dynamic teams use a multidisciplinary approach to respond quickly to opportunity and achieve lasting conservation results. Each team develops and strengthens The Nature Conservancy’s scientific knowledge and communicates environmental needs to our public and private conservation partners and to the public-at-large.



Source for organization information:
The Nature Conservancy, NY Sea Grant, Peconic Baykeeper