The Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor complex is recognized as a vital natural, economic, cultural, historic and recreational resource. It is home to the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge and to Frank M. Flowers and Son, one of the last of the traditional shellfish farmers. Ninety percent of the oysters, and up to 35 percent of the hard clams harvested in New York State, come from Oyster Bay. It was also the summer residence of President Theodore Roosevelt whose home, Sagamore Hill, is a National Historic Site. The Theodore Roosevelt Audubon Sanctuary, the first Audubon Songbird Sanctuary in the nation, is also located in Oyster Bay. The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is renowned worldwide for its Nobel Prize-winning genetic research.
Since 2000, Friends of the Bay volunteers and staff have been collecting samples and monitoring the water quality at 19 sites throughout the estuary from early spring through late fall. Friends of the Bay has released its 2007/2008 report on the water quality of the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Estuary. Our water quality monitoring program was developed in cooperation with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, local governments and other volunteer monitoring groups around Long Island Sound. Friends of the Bay considers this program a necessary component in the effort to preserve the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor ecosystem and to increase public awareness of local threats to water quality. This report is posted on the Friends of the Bay website at friendsofthebay.org.
Trained volunteers, working alongside Friends of the Bay staff, monitor a number of parameters in the estuary including water temperature, pH, water clarity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen, enterococci bacteria and fecal coliform bacteria. Measuring these parameters enables Friends of the Bay to better understand changes within the local marine ecosystem. Our water quality monitoring program was honored by the EPA with an Environmental Quality Award in April of 2009. This award is given to those individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to improving the environment and public health.
Friends of the Bay volunteers also assist in invasive species removal. The Mill Pond in Oyster Bay has an infestation of water chestnut, which clogs the pond and makes it difficult or impossible for fish and other marine life to live in it. Together with volunteers from The Nature Conservancy and staff from the Fish and Wildlife Service, our volunteers removed over 12,000 pounds of biomass from the Mill Pond. This will be a long-term project, as water chestnut is extremely invasive and difficult to eradicate.
Friends of the Bay participates in extensive beach clean ups twice a year, in the spring to celebrate Earth Day and in the fall for the International Coastal Cleanup. We partner with the Oyster Bay Power Squadron, the Town of Oyster Bay and other local groups to remove trash from the harbors, shorelines and waterways of Oyster Bay. These cleanups are extremely successful and much trash and debris is removed.
Friends of the Bay is compiling a State of the Watershed Report which will take a comprehensive look at the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor watershed. Fuss & O’Neill, a well-respected environmental consulting firm, is synthesizing this data into a report which will be presented to the community, local government and government agencies to get input and provide information to all who are interested in the health of the watershed. The report will be used as a foundation for the second phase of this project that will develop an action plan for habitat restoration, remediation and improvements to the water quality within the watershed area. ✦