Watershed Action Plan Public Meeting

Hows the Water - August 23, 2010

(reprinted with permission from the Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot)

Friends of the Bay is pleased to announce the formation of a Steering Committee to assist in the development of a Watershed Action Plan for the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor watershed and estuary.  The plan will include measurable goals and prioritized action items that could be adopted by governmental agencies and private groups to protect and improve the health of the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor watershed and estuary.  The initial meeting will be held on Thursday, September 30 at 7:00 in the Parish Hall of Christ Church, 61 East Main Street, Oyster  Bay. 

The Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Estuary and its watershed have been facing increasing challenges in recent years.  Friends of the Bay is committed to the protection, preservation and restoration of the watershed area and is actively involved in water quality issues, watershed and wetlands conservation, and land use planning. Research, education, community action and advocacy are at the core of FOB’s mission. 

The Steering Committee will work with the project team to identify, discuss and evaluate strategies to address the watershed management goals and objectives.  The Watershed Action Plan will be developed consistent with EPA and NYSDEC guidance for the development of watershed-based plans, which includes nine key elements that establish the structure of the plan.  These nine elements include specific goals, objectives, and strategies to protect and restore water quality; methods to build and strengthen working partnerships; a dual focus on addressing existing problems and preventing new ones; a strategy for implementing the plan; and a feedback loop to evaluate progress and revise the plan as necessary.

I am so very pleased to invite the community to participate in this process.  Friends of the Bay is working to develop a forum by which residents, governmental agencies, municipalities and businesses can work together to restore and protect the ecological health of our unique watershed. It is exciting to see our efforts coming to fruition.    

Those individuals interested in participating on the Steering Committee should be available to attend three meetings to be scheduled between September 2010 and early January 2011, and to review and provide comments on various draft project documents during the planning process.

For more information regarding the Steering Committee or to volunteer to participate in the Committee, please contact me at (516) 922-6666 or by email at p.aitken@friendsofthebay.org.  Please place “Steering Committee” in the subject line of the email.

A small craft advisory and threat of heavy downpours kept the Friends of the Bay volunteers on land this past Monday.  The rain certainly was welcome, and I am confident that the rain and cooler temperatures will lead to improved dissolved oxygen readings next week when we do our water quality monitoring.