HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 21, 1980 - Students Visit New InletFebruary 21, 1980
Students Visit New
inlet It felt like old
times last week when I spent a day with a
busload of students from Heliport High School here
on Long Island. Art Cooley had invited
me on a field trip to study the terrain of
Long Island and see some of its unique
features. The idea was to bring lunch and spend
the day moving about via bus so the
students could learn, fir- sthand, some of the
critical issues slowly emerging about our fragile
island. I
was picked
up about
8:15 as the bus passed through
Moriches. We were heading for a look at the new breakthrough in the
barrier
beach lust west of Moriches Inlet. Architecture Gone Mad Through Quogue and Westhampton and over the bridge
we traveled to the Dune Road that runs along the ocean. One would never realize the
ocean is just a short distance away, for all along on both sides of
the road are motels, hotels, condominiums and homes of all sorts.
For those who had never been there before it seemed as though architecture
had gone mad. Every size and shape of building imaginable came into view. Every once in
a while you'd be able to recognize one of the old cottages sitting
low in what seemed almost part of a natural area. How it's changed in 40 years!
No longer were there open grassy spaces of sand and dunes, with the surf pounding on a clean,
clear beach. The day was gone when you could stop the
car, go over the dunes and into the sea. To me the public lost one of its
great birthrights when that great beach was lost to private interests. Thank goodness the county had the
foresight to grab a small portion at Cupsogue at the west end of Dune
Road. We parked here and walked out along the beach to, where the ocean
had broken through in a recent winter storm. It seems incredible that much sand could be moved in such
a short time. There was a great gaping hole a thousand feet in width where the sea and the bay met. A winter's storm had shown its
strength. A few hundred feet farther to the west, past the break, were the - jetties of the Moriches Inlet with the inlet still intact. It was a lesson in nature'
s power and one which showed how fragile our beaches can be when put upon by the sea. cn MEalITN
No One Knows Answers What to do about this great gash is
hard to say for no one really knows the answers. There is only speculation when it comes to the multitude of forces that work within our waters and upon our beaches. Some say it
should be filled in, but this would cost millions of taxpayers' dollars, and perhaps only last a short while. Others say, leave it alone and let nature heal its own wounds as it has in
the past. On our way back we stopped along the area that had been washed out a year ago, and to our amazement houses were being rebuilt on the same location. Now they are
being built on eight -foot pilings so, should the sea wash over, hopefully it would go right on underneath. This height also qualifies the homeowner for federal flood insurance.
See editorial page 8. While we were visiting the area we stopped at the groin fields to the east. Here we saw great masses of rock -like jetties that were put out into the ocean
to stabilize the beaches. They do a good job for the homeowner to the east of the groin, but the people to the west or down -drift side suffer from washed -out
beaches. This problem can only be corrected, we are told, by putting groins the entire length of Long Island. For without this gigantic project, the owners to the west will continue to suffer.
How Freshwater Sanctuary Worked Our next stop was to see how a freshwater sanctuary worked in the old days. The Quogue Wildlife Sanctuary area proved to be ideal, for here there's
a beautiful pond where, before refrigeration came along, ice - cutting was a winter business. Carl Helms, the state's manager of the area, brought out a
collection of fine old ice - cutting tools and gave us a short talk on how they were used. Of course, the youthful fever of
the group ANWPAOINAN CHANGING TIMES - -Few places are left today where one can stop the
car, go over the dunes and
into the sea as once was done along the South Shore. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh took
up the idea and with a bit of direction took off with the proper tools to try some oftheirownice - cutting. Old ice drills,
slings, hooks, and saws were brought along, and in no time two young men had a four -foot square chunk of ice pulled out of the pond, just
as they did in the old days. Learning by seeing and doing was the order of the day. The bus wound its way back through the great Pine Barrens that stretched north of
the refuge. Our point of destination was the Strategic Air Command's radar domes that sit on the great Ronkonkoma moraine south of Riverhead. This moraine was left when the great
glaciers stopped 10 to 15 thousand years ago on their southerly trek out of the north. It's the high area that you pass over south of Riverhead. we could see
whytheAirForcehadlocatedhere, because of its elevation above the surrounding area. The great ocean to the south could be seen with its gaping hole in the barrier beach -- to the
east and west ran the great Pine Barrens -- and to the nor- theast the bay with our own Robins Island sparkling
in Peconic. How fortunate most of the Pine Barren area has been taken over by the state, for under it lies the greatest and purest fresh water supply in Suffolk County. Yet there are
those who cannot see this being locked up as a reserve for future generations. On our way down we were all brought back into reality as a partridge ran across the road
in front of us. This is a rare bird to see on Long Island and few have ever seen one, for they seek out the most desolate of wilderness areas. It seemed to
have no trouble existing in the great Pine Barrens, where there were plenty of bearberries about, with an occasional wintergreen. It was a glorious day and I wondered as I drove home
by myself how many of these students realize the importance of their place in shaping tomorrow's future. PAUL STOUTENBURGH x ao