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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985 ~tMl~~(4/ FISHERS I.AND CONSERVANCY, INC. Town CIerIr SouIItoId NEWSLETTER LATE SUMMER - 1985 Dear Fishers Islander: Besides the concerns mentioned in the accompanying membership letter, your conservancy is already involved in amplifying some of these matters, acting on others, and is even introducing new environmental concerns. Current items of interest include the following: (1) Wetlands Classification and Research. On August 21st, 1984 at a Southold town hearing, the N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) informed us that Fishers Island was being placed under a special classification (C-1) denoting a highly sensitive environment. This means that the DEC's keen regulatory eye will carefully review all current and future Island building and engineering permits, especially those plans or projects that might disturb or alter our vulnerable coastline, marsh, or swamplands, as well as our rare flora and fauna. We are unfortunately subject to coastal and bluff erosion, are on a major bird migratory flyway, have an unusually sensitive habitat, and our ecological history is nearly unique among Atlantic Coastal Islands. Our recently established Conservancy, in co-operation with other Island organizations, is happy to be of any help to the N.Y. State DEC on all matters concerning Fishers Island's environment and any actual or potential disturbances to it. (2) Lobster Poaching. For many years now our Island lobstermen have had to contend with not only the problem of water-pollution and over-fishing, but also with the severe annoyance of legalized poaching. For example, Rhode Island and Connecticut lobstermen can gain N.Y. State lobstering licenses by the easy expedient of setting up a N.Y. State post office box address, acting as if that were their legal residence, which of course it would not be. This unfair practice needs remedy- ing, and a small start has been made in that direction by the N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation on an individual basis by means of appeals made to it by the Fishers Island Lobster- men's Association. Our Conservancy is helping the situation fully by supporting the stand of the Island Lobstermen's group, and also by sponsoring and aiding studies of the legal aspects involved. (3) Water Resources. This spring, we received a letter from Island resident and FIDCO Board member Robert Geniesse requesting that we undertake a study of the Fishers Island acquifer, and the various water-bearing strata under the Island. The question this study will address is whether or not the Island acquifer can withstand a severe and prolonged drought, given the ever-increasing water-use demands made upon it. We have agreed to look into the situation providing we obtain sufficient funding to pay for the opinions and documentation gained by outside experts in this field. ". .1"1.. - co. - 2 - . Newsletter (4) Mosquito Control. .,"" Th:UI""!lUmmer, with property owners permission, four qualified college girls have been treating most of the Islands' swamps, ponds, and marshes with a safe and non-toxic substance (BTI) for mosquito control. In certain fresh-water ponds they have also introduced harmless "Gambusia" fish (minnow-size) that primarily feast on mosquito larvae. The town of Southold and FIDCO jointly sponsor this safe service at no cost to Island residents, and the girls treat wetlands at over 90 locations roughly every 10 days (more after heavy rains) for efficient mosquito control. The BTI they use has been found harmless to all other adult and larval insects, as well as to animals, birds, and fish. The BTI harms only the larvae of black flies and mosquitos, and is as environmentally safe as any program available. Given their con- siderable success, then, on what is really a shoe-string budget, we hope seasonal and year-round residents will support the Fishers Island Mosquito Control Committee in its efforts to have both FIDCO and Southold town expand funding of the program to include the application of BTI in the spring and late summer, especially after heavy rains which cause burgeoning mosquito populations at times when the "mosquito girls" are unavoidably off the Island and back in college. (5) Starfish Threat. Unfortunately, a plague of starfish is beginning to decimate the mussel-beds at the far west end of the Island at Race Point. A key element in the marine food chain, mussels provide food for both crabs and foraging fish. Invading starfish grab onto the mussel shells with their suction arms, slowly pry the shells open, and then digest the interior meat of the mussel shell before moving on to a new victim. We contacted Dr. Mickey Weiss of Project Oceanography in Avery Point, CT; and Dr. James Hanks of the Nation- al Marine Fisheries Laboratory in Milford, CT; and both men agreed that the harmless-looking starfish could be a real threat to both mussel and oyster beds. Dr. Hanks said that there was no safe method of control but one - and that one fortunately applies to Fishers Island. He recommends that anyone wading through the shallow waters at low tide, and spotting starfish, pick them up (they are not dangerous to humans) and throw them well ashore. This easy and safe method of removing starfish from the water will help save the ecologically valuable mussel-beds, and prevent a real environmental threat to the marine resources of Fishers Island. * Lastly, we trust that your interest and enthusiasm in helping preserve the Islands' resources equals our own. We need you not only as members, but as helpers and associates as well. We all know that the natural resources we possess on Fishers Island are nearly without parallel on the whole Atlantic coast. We hope, with your own vital aid and support, to contribute to the preservation of that heritage. Board of Directors Fishers Island Conservancy, Inc.