While Save The Great South Bay, 501(c)3 understands and supports the need for emergency dredging along the Brown’s River for safety and navigational purposes, we must express our opposition to the removal of the long established Red Maple Swamp Forest on the southern portion of the chosen spoils site. Spoils are the muck, 90% of which is water, that gets pulled out of the waterway and is put up on land to dewater for about a year before being moved to the Town landfill.
Site Not Used in Decades
It is only recently (12/20/21) that the exact location of the spoils site (B) has become sufficiently clear. While we understand this was a previously designated spoils site and all permits have been acquired to continue that use, its non-use since approximately 1984 has allowed ecological succession in the form of a Red Maple Swamp Forest. We question whether a full vegetative study was completed of the area prior to permits being issued.
This habitat is important to the environment for several reasons: it provides storm surge protection for local properties to protect them against flooding and it provides a natural habitat to a plethora of native species including the Great Blue Heron. The existing biome was created over decades and cannot be simply replicated.
Alternative Areas in the Immediate Area
There are existing County-owned lands in the immediate surrounding areas that are overrun by the invasive Phragmites which would make a more suitable location for spoils. While this might require some legwork to amend the permits to redirect the spoils and possibly some cost to create dykes, it would avoid the more costly alternative of clearing the southern portion of the land as well as the cost of attempting to offset that loss of habitat with additional plantings elsewhere.
Further, should the spoils site be moved to cover the Phragmites, on the nearby Merrill Mason Island for example, the spoils could be used as a base to restore additional native habitat.
To avoid this situation in the future, it is necessary for stakeholders to be included much earlier in the planning process. In particular, our organization has a vested interest in projects that directly affect the Great South Bay from Massapequa to Mastic Beach and as far north as the creek headwaters.
We Can Do Better
We urge the County, State and Federal agents involved in this project to consider the alternatives to protect the environment while serving the needs of the community.
Drone footage of the Brown’s River and spoil sites graciously captured with permit by Steve Borghardt on 12/26/21.
Dredge spoil frequently contains a seed bed that includes a bevy of invasive plant species. The few examples I have seen of county dredge spoil deposition, it is rife with nasty invasive plants that quickly compromise the area (Heckscher State Park comes to mind). I would definitely want to see the permits issued for this project.
“Save The Great South Bay” should have been consulted early enough to see their suggestions borne out. The little they say in this article makes it clear that Suffolk County, and the individuals who authorized this ever-worsening nightmare, forged ahead with the least amount of consideration, to undertake this massive, intrusive, damaging project in the most destructive way possible.
And BTW, who would they ahve consulted with – there is much secrecy as to who approved the horror show that is happening in the marshes at Brown’s River. Once beautiful and serving as a critical habitat, they are completely destroyed now – I want to know who is responsible for this.
Today – where our planet is rapidly becoming unliveable, where some of the small islands ARE uninhabitable already – for Suffolk County, and specifically those who authorized the Browns River Spoils Site – to ram in with the worst possible plan is nearly beyond belief. For such a sentitive project, how and why was this handled so very very poorly? WHY wasn’t a broader picture reviewed first, and WHY wasn’t this done properly?
Is it a matter of incompetence, a matter of greed and corruption, or, a combination of incompetence, greed, corruption and dangerous disregard for the natural world around us?
At one time Long Island must have been one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and one of the richest natural habitats on Earth. Today it is a veritiable garbage dump of shockingly bad zoning and destructive, greed-powered environmental choices – and all this devasation is permitted using taxpayer dollars.
I have been watching the mess only growing worse at Browns River since they started this destructive project – well over a year ago. It gets worse, and more deadly and extremely hazardous to our natural habitats every day, and is still getting worse.
Marshland is protected – for very important reasons – how did they get permits or other permission to devastate these marshes?
They have completely torn out the beautiful marshlands, destroying what was an amazing natural habitat, and have done nothing constructive – they have been only destructive.
HOW was this permitted? HOW were they ever allowed to decimate that enormous swath of protected marshland? Why was there no public hearing posted before this began? Who is responsble for this disaster and the shocking way it has evolved? In asking ‘who’ I am sincerely asking for the actual names of those responsible for this wanton destruction of marshlands, habitats and important vegetation, while leaving invasive vegetation.
I have been watching, for over a year, the total, incompetent and certainly insensitive, needless destruction of what was a large, beautiful, critical, natural habitat – one of the few remaining on what once was a beautiful island but now is truly a dump.
This total annhilitation of this habitat is in favor of what? In favor of anything other than pure greed?
While apparently dredging is sincerely needed – why was it permitted to occur in such a thoughtless and destructive manner? How were those persons who authorized this ALLOWED to authorize the complete destruction of such a large, critical, natural habitat? Sincerely HOW did they get away with this?
Please respond – my email address is below, and that you Save the Great South Bay for writing the first article I have seen on this and explaining what SHOULD have been done! ON a smaller scale I am sure.
This is a travesty, I have been watching it evolve into something worse, and then still worse, and then unbelievabley worse, for over a year in anger and heartbreak.
Thank you,
Dian Larkin Yudelove
BLue Point, NY