Please check out our Spring Volunteer E-Newsletter for the latest events in NY and CT!

 

 

Volunteers are needed to watch for spawning river herring. River Herring, Alewife and Blueback Herring, are native to Long Island and Westchester. Like salmon, they split their life cycle between salt and freshwater. Most tributaries once supported spring runs of returning river herring. Unfortunately, river herring runs have been decimated by dams, habitat loss, and declining water quality. While remnant populations exist in a few rivers, little is known about their overall status in our area. Documenting existing spawning runs is an important step in the restoration effort. Training sessions are in March 2019.

Training Session Dates:

March 5
Time: 4:30-5:30 pm
Place: Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, 301 Main St, Cold Spring, NY

March 7
Time: 6-7 pm
Place: Save the Sound, 545 Tompkins Ave., Mamaroneck, NY

March 18
Time: 6-7 pm
Place: NYSDEC Marine Resources, 205 N. Belle Meade Rd, East Setauket, NY

Please RSVP: Victoria O’Neill; victoria.oneill@dec.ny.gov; (631) 444-0441

Read the February 2017 issue of the Volunteer for the Sound newsletter.

Download the February 2017 issue as a PDF here.

Learn about the river herring’s migration and take part in monitoring its spawning activity. All are welcome to attend and participate in this citizen science project. No experience required.

• Monday, February 27, 2017 at 4:30-5:30pm at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, 301 Main Street, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724. Contact Victoria O’Neill at victoria.oneill@dec.ny.gov or 631-444-0441 to RSVP and for more information. Click here for the flyer.
• Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 5:30-6:30pm at the Manhasset Library, 30 Oderdonk Avenue, Manhasset, NY 11030. Contact Victoria O’Neill at victoria.oneill@dec.ny.gov or 631-444-0441 to RSVP and for more information. Click here for the flyer.
• Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 7:30pm at the SPLASH Membership Meeting, Freeport, NY. Contact staff@seatuck.org to RSVP and for more information.
• Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 5:30-6:30pm at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s 1st floor conference room, 423 Griffing Avenue, Riverhead, NY 11901. Contact peptalk@peconicestuary.org to RSVP and for more information.
• Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 6:30-7:30pm at Scully Estate, Islip, NY. Contact staff@seatuck.org to RSVP and for more information.

The Long Island premiere of the DamNation documentary will be held on Tuesday, March 15, 2017 at 7:00pm at the YMCA Boulton Center, Bay Shore, NY. For more information on this event, click here.

Read the September 2016 issue of the Volunteer for the Sound newsletter.

Download the September 2016 issue as a PDF here.

Read the August 2016 issue of the Volunteer for the Sound newsletter.

Download the August 2016 issue as a PDF here.

This article was written by Victoria O’Neill, Long Island Sound Partnership Habitat Restoration Coordinator at New York State Department of Environmental Conservation/New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. 

 

Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve, part of the Lloyd Neck Long Island Sound Stewardship Area, sits on a peninsula on Long Island Sound and has tidal wetland, grassland, forest, bluff, and beach habitats throughout the park. A 25-acre field that was historically used as pastureland was being maintained by New York State Parks as a successional field. An old hedgerow bisected the site, diminishing the value of the existing grassland habitat through fragmentation. Areas of the fields had become dominated by woody and invasive plants. As part of the restoration effort, invasive plants, such as black locust, mile-a-minute, porcelain berry, and mugwort, the hedgerow, and the woody plants were removed. These efforts created a contiguous grassland habitat, which provides greater habitat value to grassland dependent species.

Once the invasives were controlled, native grasses and wildflowers were planted in spring 2015, including coastal switchgrass, black eyed susan, and little blue stem. A mowing regime is part of the park’s management of the site and will encourage long-term success of the project.

Additional project details are available in the habitat restoration database. Partial funding for this project was through the Long Island Sound Futures Fund.

Read the July 2016 issue of the Volunteer for the Sound newsletter.

Download the July 2016 issue as a PDF here.

Read the May 2016 issue of the Volunteer for the Sound newsletter.

Download the May 2016 issue as a PDF here.

Read the April 2016 issue of the Volunteer for the Sound newsletter.

Download the April 2016 issue as a PDF here.