The Peconic Estuary Program (PEP) would not exist if it weren't for the efforts of concerned citizens on the East End of Long Island. A Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) was formed in the early 1990s to help develop the PEP Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). Their involvement helped to ensure that the needs and concerns of the local residents were addressed. By participating, citizens develop a sense of ownership over, and vested interest in, efforts to protect and restore the bays - bays that provide such a critical part of the recreational, economic, and aesthetic environment of the East End. There is now a strong public commitment to take action on behalf of clean waters and healthy bays. After all, the estuary is part of our natural heritage, and we owe it to our children and grandchildren to protect it.
Continuing to educate, involve and gain the support of the public is vital to the future success of the PEP. All of eastern Long Island's residents and visitors need to understand their role as users of the system and the effect that their actions, or inaction, have on the quality and sustainability of the area's resources.
The CAC still meets and continues to play a vital role in the management and goal-setting of the PEP. Members help to implement the CCMP through a number of initiatives, including educating homeowners about reducing home fertilizer and pesticide use and complying with the Vessel Waste No Discharge Zone. The CAC is also helping to organize the upcoming State of the Bays Conference, tentatively scheduled for Fall 2005.
The CAC is currently recruiting members of the public who are interested in protecting and restoring the Peconic Estuary. To apply or find out more, click here.
