Since 1995 over 70 state-assisted projects improving the South Shore estuary were completed, are underway or soon to start. The majority of these projects result from the fully funded Environmental Protection Fund and the Clean Air/Clean Water Bond Act, initiated by Governor George E. Pataki. This appendix describes the more significant projects, categorized by the outcome they help to achieve, and identifies the local government or other entities involved.

Following each project description in brackets are the State funding share, total project cost, and State funding source. Funding sources include: Clean Air/Clean Air Bond Act (CWCA); Environmental Protection Fund (EPF); Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF); Certified Local Government Program (CLG); Legislative Member Initiative funds (LMI); the National Recreational Trails Program administered by the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (NRT); and the Environmental Protection Fund/Open Space Account (OSA).

• Nassau County Department of Public Works will rehabilitate the Hempstead Lake North Pond complex. The project will stabilize water levels, restore aquatic habitat, and improve water quality. [$500,000/$1,000,000/CWCA]

Nassau County will undertake a water quality improvement project at Milburn Pond. The project will improve wetland habitats and enhance fisheries resources. [$437,500/$875,000/CWCA]

• The Town of Islip is installing a stormwater collection and treatment system at Brown's Creek. The project is part of a larger effort aimed at reducing nonpoint source pollution townwide. [$200,000/$400,000/CWCA]

The Town of Islip is installing a stormwater collection and treatment system in Oakdale on the lower reaches of the Connetquot River. [$600,00/$1,200,000/CWCA]

• The Town of Southampton will construct facilities to intercept and reduce direct discharge of highway stormwater runoff to Tiana Bay, Smith Creek, Quantuck Creek and Seatuck Creek. [$95,000/$190,000/CWCA]
• Hempstead will upgrade the West Long Beach sewage treatment plant by constructing a second treatment facility. [$1,870,000/$1,870,000/CWSRF loan]
• Nassau County will implement improvements at four pump stations in Wantaugh and Merrick Harbor Collection Districts to improve estuarine water quality. [$5,798,082/$5,798,082/CWSRF loan]
• The Town of Southampton will complete water quality-related land acquisition projects throughout the Town, including portions of the Reserve [$5,800,000/$5,800,000/CWSRF loan]

The U.S. Geological Survey is developing estimates of nitrogen loading to the estuary from tributary streams and ground water. [$100,000/$155,000/OSA]

• Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will perform water quality upgrades to facilities at several locations. Petroleum bulk storage tanks will be tested, replaced, and/or retrofitted at Robert Moses State Park. [$550,000/$550,000/CWCA]
• Suffolk County will assess and remedy subsurface discharge systems that are in need of rehabilitation at eight Suffolk County parks, three of which are in the Reserve. [$500,000/$1,000,000/CWCA]
• Department of Environmental Conservation will implement water quality improvement measures at Zach's Bay. [$530,000/$530,000/CWCA]

Suffolk County will construct facilities for collection and treatment of stormwater at multiple locations. These projects will improve water quality and may allow re-opening of some closed shellfish beds. [$835,000/$1,670,000/CWCA]

An inter-municipal water quality management plan is underway for the Town of Babylon and the three villages located along the town's Great South Bay shoreline. The plan identifies storm water discharge points, significant nonpoint source pollution problems, and appropriate mitigation measures. [$39,000/$78,000/EPF]

• The Town of Oyster Bay is conducting a field inventory of nonpoint source pollution sources for mainland and barrier island areas that surround South Oyster Bay. Information collected will be used as the basis for recommending stormwater mitigation activities to improve water quality in the bay. [$12,500/$25,000/EPF]

The Town of Brookhaven completed a characterization of stormwater contributing areas which empty into the Great South Bay. [$19,000/$36,000/LMI]

• The Town of Islip is completing a water quality management plan to establish priorities for upgrading poorly functioning drainage systems which empty into Great South Bay. [$39,000/$78,000/EPF]

The Town of Southampton is constructing drainage improvements along multiple roadways within the watersheds of Tiana and Shinnecock bays to reduce stormwater runoff to the bays. [$280,000/$560,000/CWCA]

• Nassau County has completed a project that maps storm water outfalls and storm water drainage areas in the southern part of the county. [$437,500/$875,000/EPF]

New York State has acquired the 19-acre Elias property, adjacent to Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, for additional protection of the Refuge's habitats. [$500,000/$5,000,000/other State funds]

The Town of Oyster Bay is developing engineering designs for shoreline restoration on the Unqua River in Marjorie Post Park. [$10,300/$20,600/EPF]

• The Poospatuck Reservation is restoring tidal wetlands through debris removal and saltmarsh plantings.[$105,000/$140,000/CWCA]

The Town of Babylon has upgraded its technical capability to map and analyze information about coastal resources using its Geographic Information System. [$2,500/$5,000/EPF]

• The Town of Brookhaven is restoring a degraded salt marsh at Ocean View Park. [$22,000/$45,000/CWCA]

The Town of Brookhaven is undertaking a demonstration project to restore hard clam habitat in Great South Bay. [$25,000/$50,000/CWCA]

The Town of Brookhaven is conducting a feasibility study for broadly restoring shellfish habitat through shell augmentation. [$40,000/$80,000/EPF]

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will rehabilitate an historic fish hatchery and main pond dam at Connetquot River State Park. [$1,000,000/$1,000,000/CWCA]

The State acquired a 127-acre parcel with freshwater and tidal wetlands at Benton Bay which provides critical fish and wildlife habitat. The property will be managed by the Department of Environmental Conservation. [$3,800,000/$3,800,000/CWCA and EPF]

The Town of Hempstead installed dune walkovers along a stretch of barrier island. These structures will allow dunes and dune vegetation to become re-established thus restoring the habitat and storm protection functions of the dunes. [$63,000/$126,000/EPF]

• The Town of Oyster Bay, employing a significant volunteer effort, planted beach grass along dunes at Tobay Beach. The grass is intended to stabilize and promote growth of the dunes, enhancing their value as wildlife habitat and buffering against storm damage. The town is also employing newly-acquired equipment to monitor basic water quality parameters such as salinity, dissolved oxygen, nitrate and ammonia levels, and turbidity. [$105,550/$246,135/CWCA]

The Town of Oyster Bay has prepared a wetlands habitat management plan for the bay islands in South Oyster Bay as well as a conceptual design for their restoration. [$10,000/$20,000/EPF]

• Town of Babylon staff and a team of volunteers have restored some wetlands along Ketcham's Creek. The Town has also developed a stormwater management and stream restoration plan for the creek. Similar activities are underway at Santapogue Creek. [$51,250/$102,500/EPF]
• The Town of Islip installed a Geographic Information System to facilitate management of shellfish populations through standardization of its annual bay bottom surveys. [$13,000/$26,000/EPF]
• The Town of Southampton completed a study to determine the restoration and enhancement potential of Town-owned wetland parcels along Moriches and Shinnecock bays. The Town has restored natural wetlands and created additional wetland areas at the Ponquogue Bridge. This project included installation of interpretive signage and informational kiosks. [$43,900/$87,800/EPF]

The Town of Brookhaven has developed a plan to help guide restoration of hard shell clam resources in the eastern portion of Great South Bay. (The Town has jurisdiction over the underwater lands in this area). The plan identifies areas suitable for establishing hard shell clam beds and sites suitable for the seeding of clams. [$15,500/$31,000/EPF]

The Town of Southampton has developed a plan for protecting and managing marine resources in Shinnecock and Mecox Bays with the aim of revitalizing commercial and recreational fishing. The plan includes strategies to enhance and maintain sustainable use of finfish, shellfish, and other fisheries-related resources through regulation of underwater lands. [$30,000/$60,000/EPF]

• The Heckscher Museum of Art will restore the historic Heckscher Cottage in Heckscher State Park, which houses the museum. [$150,000/$419,607/EPF]
• The City of Long Beach has developed local waterfront redevelopment plans for an undeveloped property on Reynolds Channel. The focus is on increasing public access and encouraging a mix of public and private uses. [$50,000/$250,000/EPF]
• The Town of Hempstead will improve wildlife habitat and enhance public amenities at a town park constructed on the former Merrick landfill site. [$2,000,000/$4,000,000/CWCA]

The Town of Oyster Bay is preparing a harbor management plan for South Oyster Bay. [$20,000/$40,000/EPF]

The Village of Southampton will develop design guidelines for construction within the Village's historic districts. [$7,972/$7,972/CLG]

• The Town of Brookhaven will acquire an abandoned parcel on the Forge River and Home Creek for development of a neighborhood park. [$170,000/$341,725/EPF]

The Ketcham Inn Foundation plans to restore the historic Terry Ketcham Inn in Center Moriches. [$100,000/$394,000/EPF]

• The Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation will restore beach and water supply facilities at Jones Beach and Robert Moses State Parks. [$2,450,000/$2,450,000/EPF]

The Village of Freeport completed the Woodcleft Avenue Urban Design and Development Study, which examined the feasibility of redeveloping vacant waterfront parcels for commercial and recreational uses. The strategy for revitalizing the Freeport waterfront is being followed by the Village. [$50,000/$100,000/EPF]

The Village of Freeport, with support of the South Street Seaport Museum, converted a deteriorated and vacant boatyard into a center for the interpretation and preservation of the marine environment and maritime history, as part of the Long Island Marine Education Center. The Museum has been in operation for several years. [$100,000/$200,000/EPF]

• The Village of Freeport is constructing a 120 foot waterfront esplanade along the Woodcleft Canal. The project will facilitate programs for the Long Island Marine Education Center. [$15,000/$30,000/EPF]

The Village of Freeport is completing a feasibility study and design plans for the four-acre Swift Creek site. The project will facilitate redevelopment of Freeport's "Nautical Mile". [$111,500/$223,000/EPF]

• The Town of Hempstead has developed a Geographic Information System to provide a common source of information for agencies involved in the permit process for waterfront projects in the Town. The system is intended to serve as a model for other waterfront communities. [$20,000/$40,000/EPF]

The Town of Islip has completed a design and marketing study for the Harborview area of Bay Shore's waterfront. [$37,500/$75,000/EPF]

• The Village of Patchogue has prepared a study of commercial and recreational expansion in its waterfront area. [$35,000/$70,000/EPF]

The Village of Patchogue is preparing a redevelopment strategy for the northeast quadrant of the Patchogue River corridor. [$50,000/$100,000/EPF]

• The Town of Brookhaven has conducted a study to determine the feasibility of re-establishing passenger ferry service between the mainland (Center Moriches) and Great Gun Beach on Fire Island. [$15,500/$31,000/EPF]

The Town of Brookhaven is preparing a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program for the Mastic Beach area. The program will address flooding and erosion, wetlands, water quality, navigation, docks, development pressures, water-dependent businesses, public access and recreation. [$50,000/$100,000/EPF]

• The Village of Ocean Beach is preparing a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. [$20,000/$102,695/EPF]

The Town of Southampton is finalizing a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, an intermunicipal waterbody management plan, and a harbor management plan. [$70,000/$140,000/EPF]

• The Town of Southampton has prepared a plan for the Shinnecock Canal to revitalize the area through commercial redevelopment and public access improvements. [$25,000/$50,000/EPF]

The Town of Southampton constructed a new boat launch at the Ponquogue Bridge with amenities to increase public recreation and tourism opportunities. [$70,000/$140,000/EPF]

• The Department of Environmental Conservation will improve facilities at its Quogue Wildlife Refuge, one of its most heavily used environmental education facilities. [$400,000/$400,000/CWCA]
• The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation established The Theodore Roosevelt Nature Center, a state-of-the-art environmental education facility, at Jones Beach State Park. The Center is a result of a federal-state partnership with the Ford Motor Company Fund and the Long Island Power Authority. [$125,000/$775,000/CWCA].
• The Deer Park School District in Babylon will establish an interpretive nature trail along the Carll's River. [$48,000/$60,000/NRT]

Additional outreach activities conducted by the Citizen's Advisory Committee and others are listed below. These were funded in part by the South Shore Estuary Reserve Council and often involve significant volunteer effort. For these reasons, no funding data are indicated:

• A South Shore information phone line was installed which the public can use to obtain more information about the estuary and become more involved in estuary-related activities.

The Long Island South Shore Estuary News newsletter is being issued annually.

A brochure providing information about the Reserve and the effort to develop the comprehensive management plan was developed and has been widely distributed in the Reserve.

Two portable displays were created and are shown at numerous events throughout the Reserve.

A model estuaries curriculum was launched at Sayville High School during the 1997 spring term.

A conference of concerned high school students from throughout the Reserve was held at Bellport High School in the spring of 1997.

A Directory of Educational Resources for the Reserve was released in early 1998; an updated version is scheduled for late 2001.

A survey of public perceptions about the Reserve was completed in 1998.

• A "Don't Feed the Quackers Crackers" video and elementary school curriculum was developed by the Town of Oyster Bay to educate students about the environmental impacts associated with feeding wild waterfowl.

A signage program to identify South Shore tributaries was initiated at Santapogue and Ketcham's Creeks (Town of Babylon); signs were also installed at Pattersquash creek in Mastic Beach. The program is intended to serve as a model for other sites throughout the Reserve.

In addition to State-assisted projects, there has been a substantial amount of work completed by State agency staff, federal agencies, academic institutions, local governments, environmental organizations, and other local interest groups. Some of these contributions are summarized below

The Department of State developed a GIS method that employs remote sensing technology for assessing tidal wetlands restoration potential in the Reserve. Additionally, as part of a joint project with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the State University of New York at Albany -- Remote Sensing Laboratory, an extensive amount of digitized data has been collected, employing various remote sensing techniques, and has been used to map existing land cover in the Reserve and to characterize changes in land cover between 1984 and 1994. The Department has subsequently completed a nonpoint pollution potential model for the Reserve based on topography, soil permeability, land cover type, and proximity to water. The model will be used by municipalities and others in targeting nonpoint source pollution abatement projects across the Reserve.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a living resources inventory and analysis as part of the general biological characterization of the Reserve and as a key component of the wetland restoration assessment tool.

The Long Island Wetland Restoration Initiative, a cooperative effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Environmental Conservation, Suffolk County Vector Control and Ducks Unlimited, has restoration projects on approximately 2000 acres to date.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the SUNY Stony Brook Marine Science Research Center worked collaboratively to initiate a bay hydrodynamics monitoring program.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed a reconnaissance study and plans to undertake a feasibility study for environmental restoration projects in the Reserve.

Land and Water Conservation Funds were used at the Robert Moses State Park for a hawk watch platform ($7,340); and at Jones Bach State Park for a nature center boardwalk ($108,648).