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I’m finally catching
up with Kevin Mcallister of the Peconic Baykeepers. Today (mid-August
2005) we are on
the south shore of Shinnecock bay where Kevin is doing what is called
a ‘biological bay bottom assessment’.
Permits for a marina expansion are now before the Southampton Town
Planning Board. Kevin will provide board members
and the general public
an independent environmental evaluation of the project are which
is, mostly, publicly owned bay bottom. This public natural resource
will
be affected by the proposed 60 slip marina and new dredge
channel.
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The proposed site the marina expansion
is along south shore of Shinnecock Bay, in East Quogue. The restaurant/marina
must get permission from
the Town board as well as other regulatory agencies in order to dredge
publicly held bay bottom and enlarge the existing marina.
Shinnecock Bay has significant ecological value, find out about
the rare plants and animals that depend on the bay by going
to:
http://training.fws.gov/library/pubs5/web_link/text/sb_form.htm |
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Shinnecock bay is made up of a matrix
of expansive shoals. Shoals are shallow areas, sometimes
far from shore (like in this photo here, although this boat is
several hundred yards from shore, it must be walked across the
shoals to protect the engine and the many plants and animals living
there).
Shoals
make for very productive bay bottom, partly because sunlight is
abundant due to the shallow water. |
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The marina owner is asking for a permit
to dredge a long channel through the shallow bay bottom. To
accommodate large boats access to the marina, a channel or ‘dredge cut’ over
3600 feet long, 70 feet wide and 4-5 feet
deep at low tide would be required. |
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Today, Kevin’s job is to assess the current
ecological significance, and the
natural resource value of the bay area to be affected by the proposed
dredging. He will also makes notes and try to determine what potential
impact the construction would have on the bay’s environmental
health. At first glance it appears to be a very productive
area. Healthy bay areas
typically support a wide variety of plants and animals, including large
wading birds, shellfish, finfish, and many invertebrates and others.
Kevin will use his training in biology to inventory the individual
species found
during his time on the project site. |
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One method that will be used to gather, identify
and generally quantify what animal species are present is called ‘seining’ This
involves a simple two person net with bottom weights and two
wood poles at either end. The net is pulled slowly through the water trapping organisms inside. |
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While we were filming with Kevin, the net picked
up bunches of Atlantic
Silversides (Menidia menidia), an important food source for
protected shore birds and Mummichog
(Fundulus heteroclitus). Both finfish species are
an important part of the marine food web in healthy estuary systems. Both
fish area also important prey for other larger, commercially important
fish such as striped bass and bluefish. Mummichogs are important for
another reason as well. Mummichogs are also called ‘Mosquito
Fish’ because of the important job they preform during
the summer months as
mother nature’s mosquito control. Mummichogs feed intensely on
mosquito larvae, which helps to limit the population of adult mosquitoes,
which are the ones that feed on humans. |
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Kevin also picked up lots of red algae and floating seaweed. Other
organisms present included blue crabs, gray shrimp, horseshoe crabs, and
eelgrass. Eelgrass beds are an extremely important habitat for a lot of
sea life, and they are protected by state and federal laws. Any
construction activity in and around ellgrass beds requiring a public
review and local, state and federal government permits. |
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Kevin’s tools for the bay bottom assessment
includes the ponar dredge.
The hand held dredge is used for scooping up mud from the bay bottom
to see what infaunal organisms are present. Animals that live in the
underwater sediments are an important part of the bay’s food
web and can help paint a picture of the areas productivity
and overall environmental health. |
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The dredge collects a mud sample that is run through
a fine mesh screen,
trapping any organisms living within it. Kevin finds some worms that
are
typical for Shinnecock bay. Worms are important not only as a food
source for larger organisms, but because, just like the worms in your
backyard, they help to decompose organic matter, enriching the
productivity of the soil, or in this case the bay bottom. |
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Shellfish - like these hard shell clams, are extremely
abundant in shoals.
Most of Shinnecock bay is an ‘open shell fishing area’,
where anyone who
has a permit can collect shellfish. Marina’s and dredge cuts
can effect
shell fishing in two ways. First, productive area could be closed as
seasonal water quality fluctuations could cause contamination of the
shellfish population. Second, shellfish numbers are likely to decline
significantly due to changes in bottom contours and patterns of human
disturbance. |
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Intensifying human use in these fragile areas can
also lead to water quality impacts that reach everyone living in the
bays. Other important marine
life, like as this horseshoe crab, need clean water to flourish.
Town planners acknowledge that allowing this marina construction could
set a precedent
for other private businesses in the Shinnecock Bay area to use public
lands
for private gain. There are currently two other similar proposals on
the
table in neighboring bays. Please contact the Southampton Town Planning
Board to get more information, get involved! It’s your bay.
Go to:
www.town.southampton.ny.us/appointed boards.ihtml#E |
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The Peconic Baykeeper is an independent, not-for-
profit organization that is part of the national Water Keepers Alliance
(http://www.waterkeeper.org)
headed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
The Baykeeper is funded by government
grants, private foundation
and community membership.
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live near the water ?
Find
out what you can do to help. |
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Getting involved in this issue and others that affect your community
is easy! Go to your local town board meetings and speaking up!
They are always listed on community websites and in the local papers.
If you want to be heard you have to speak up!
For more information on how you can get involved and what the issues
are,
you can contact Kevin and the Peconic Baykeepers at 631-727-7346,
or visit
them on the web at: http://www.peconicbaykeeper.org |
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