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Home My WebLink AboutDam Pond - ..... . NFEC ~ NORTH FORK ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL, Inc. ~ A: ~T. a non-profit organization for preservation of land, sea, air and quality of life '. 1972 CORPORATE MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box311, Southold, N.Y. 11971 President: IltIllllil:Cltll8xRonn ie Wac ke r Secretary: lllantJS".......,..~ M. E. Tomas zewski MEMBER SERVICE & INFORMATION Route 25 at Love Lane - P.O. Box 799 Mattituck, N.Y. 11952 (516)298-8880 Ma..tD November 14. 1988 Sout~old Town Board Main Road Soutmllld. New York 11911 NaY 1 5 188 T ~ "1T_f:'W Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: As o;'e all know. undisturbed land and unpolluted waters 'IIlecome scarcer every day on t~e North Fork. Tae penalties we pay to permit over- lIuildin.~ include tile .rown tide. the scallop's disappearance. de- pleted fhb.in!!!;. llit!:her local taxes to pay for services needed 'Illy the developers' houses. and the visible loss or farmland and op~ space. Hew much lon~er. at this rate, will boaters and tourists come here to see tae same thint!: they've escaped at Rome? Aware of this pli~ht, the people of Southold Town have voted $1.15 million to acquire open space. In addition, the Town will 'IIlo ~ettin~ receipts from the continuation of tile extra t~ sales tax. And we hope .efore Ion!!!; it will .e receivin~ funds from a 2~ sales tax to 'Ill. imposed on hit!:h-pricod land transactions. So, throuch its Town Board. South.ld now b.as to make some wise decisions about what re- mainin, land and water to preserve and protect. Amon, the natural resources we have left, the North Fork Environmental Council particularly recommends tllat the Town use its funds to ac- quire these four places: DAM POND 'rhis 45-acre tidal ltody separates East Marion from Orient. Tne Town owns Dam Pond. But it does not own tile paroel to the west ef its nortllern half, containinc some of the most spectacular acrea~e on the North Fork. Still undeveloped, .ut planned for development, this 96-acre place is remarkable for its diversity. Here are tidal wetlands and a tidal creek (partly filled). Here are lOWlands, up- lands, old fields. and an abandoned sand and ~ravel quarry now ~ol- din~ five small ponds surrounded 'Illy ve~etation. Here are oak forests, a tree farm, and ~reenDriar thickets, as well as an old dirt road reachint!: most of these areas. All this is in aedition to t&e dunes and the .each on the north. mhe ~laee is a liTin~ eeolo~y lesson. Heme to a wide ~roup of plant communities and animal life, includin( red foxes, nawks, falcons, owls" waterfowl. and shore ltirds, its very variety is stunnin~. . -2- . '. II It's a /';000 place to teach our kids about our land," sllYs one Town efficilll who has used it for summer nature classes. Offenses committed a~ainst this land 'ey development would De even worse than usual. Tne proposed road would fill existinc marshland and f:Jrther silt up and erode the already partly-filled tidal creek, spi11in,; into Dam Ponli. Hil':n croundwater on lower portions of the sit,~ cllluld .ack sewat;e into tne wetlllnds and Dam Plllnd. Develllpment would destroy the site's scenic .eauty, cieprive tn.e wildlife of its ha.ltat, and further filthy the tidal waters that are the only aome of i~wo-thirds of our juvenile fish IlS well IlS our shellfiSh. The Town needs this land. RICHMOND CREEK Thr!.e undeveloped portions ef tlrlis forked creek are left, and two-- 27-$lCre Richmond Shores and tne 5-ac:re Duchc>w property__ have al- ready .een approved for develllpment. Tb.e otner, 50-acre RicMonci Cree,k Farms, is Ilwaitinc approval fellowine a complete DEIS. It is these portiams that we sn.ould acquire and preserve. The mouth of Richmond Creek has .een dred/';ed repeatedly, creatinl': a lllrt;e sand peninsula, DUt the .ackwaters of .oth forks of the creek have been little disturDed.* It remains one of the few /,:ood shell- fishin/'; areas we hllve left. And it's unpolluted. At a recent public hellrinl': .y the Southold Town Trustees, not only the North Fork Environmental Council, .ut the local League of Women Voters, the North Fork Audu.on Society, the New Suffelk Civic Asso- ciation, and the local Wllter, Land, and Wildlife Protection Group protested its development. The Trustees bIlve desicnllted the plllce a critical environmental area (CEA). Ricwnond Creek's shores are home to the newly-threatened diamond- .ack terrapin, tn.. endancered least tern, and the loclllly endanl':ered pipinl': plover. They're .reedinl': t;rounds and restinc places for mi- grat()ry ltirds and wllterfowl, and feedinj!; ,;rounds for the esprey. Its wllters hold nursery finfish and plentiful ShellfiSh. The State hilS c1esi/';nated this area a sil':nificant wildlife and fish hahitat. It i!1 one of the last beautiful, natural tidal wetlands left. The Town must protect it. DOWNS CREEK This large, unsullied slllt marsh and tidal creek is one of the two or three Illst creeks in Southold Town not to have been dred~ed. The threlltened dianomdback t8rra~in lives there and, except for a small .rid~e, an active osprey nest is the sole structur8 on its shores, and the mussel harvest is still plentiful. It is a place of stunninl': Beauty and is considered irreplacea.le. On the west Dank, furthermore, is an Ristorie site which had .een * County DPW Waterways Division says neither fork drecil':ed lito their knowledl!;e. . . . . -3- an early Indian lo~ fortification called Fort Corchau~ after the tribe that occupied it until the 1600's and probaDly centuries earlier. The fort, believed to be the only one of its type to remain, is lar~ely uninvesti~ated, but is recorded in the DiviSbn for His- toric Places of the U.S. Interior Department. ANGEL S'IO"lES, Section I The western half of this su.division ,roposed south of the far end of IVIain Bayview Road is the most si~nificant part environmentally of the develo,ment. It also has some archeolo~ical value. County biolo~y teams, after study, recommend that the western part .. either set aside with finality .y the developer or acquired BY the Town so that it can be preserved in perpetuity. Development would lar~ely evict the wildlife. It would displace resident deer, cut off their freshwater supply, and block their corridor to a more northerly ran~e. It would disposses s territorial 1tirds (probably to die, loecause all availa.le surroundin~ land is claimed by rivals), destroy the fruit-.earin~ bushes that feed much of the wild population, and render homeless the owls and other inha- ltitllnts of the dense conifer stands. The land and its fresnwater ,ond would be lar!;ely claimed .y human occupation. In particular, thout;b., the lart;e saltwater pond, a tidal wetland and a seashore nur- serJ, could easily be turned into an artif'-.cial play thin!;. * * * We all a~ree that our livelihood here and certainly our own well- .ein~ depend lar!;ely on vistas, clean waters, a healthy .oatin~ and tis mint; industry, and the seaside tourism these .rin~. We've t;ot to start somewhere to stop foul in!; our nest, our nei~hborhood, our shores, and our planet. These four endant;ered spaces are a ~ood !Illac.e to start. Sincerely, 12.0l\)\\ll. M~e''L Ronnie Wacker President