Overview
The PEP study area encompasses a variety of habitats - from dwarf pitch pine forests to salt marshes to soft bay-bottom communities - all of which are important to the ecology and productivity of the Peconic Estuary ecosystem. Some of these habitats are found nowhere else in New York State, and rarely found elsewhere in the United States. Some habitats are in danger of becoming fragmented, degraded, overused or completely lost. The Peconic Estuary region supports 111 documented species that are endangered, threatened, rare, or a “species of concern.” Also, many economically important species, like the bay scallop, weakfish, and winter flounder, spend all or part of their life in the estuary.
Threats to habitats and living resources in the Peconics
Natural resources and ecosystems need to be conserved and enhanced for future generations to enjoy and experience. Due to human encroachment, overuse, exploitation, excess nutrient inputs, invasive species and pollution, the Peconic Estuary ecosystem is beginning to show signs of stress. These signs have not gone unnoticed.
Physical alterations to the environment such as navigational channel dredging, filling of low-lying areas including wetlands, hardening of the shoreline (i.e., bulkheads and other erosion control structures) and clearing of land for human uses all directly impact habitat and living resources. Additionally, residential and commercial development and farming have led indirectly to degraded terrestrial and aquatic habitats. For example, road construction and culverts have modified the flow of surface water, causing changes to wetlands, fragmentation of habitats, and the decline of species diversity and reproductive success. Dredging and shoreline hardening structures change currents, wave energy and sedimentation patterns, which in turn lead to wetland loss, beach erosion, and altered species composition. The PEP will strive to implement a ‘No Net Increase’ policy for shoreline hardening structures by first working to ensure that there is no overall increase in the current linear feet of hardened shoreline, then seeking to decrease overall shoreline hardening by 5% over the next 15 years.
Status of habitats and living resources in the Peconics
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), there are approximately 5,680 acres of tidal wetlands in the Peconic Estuary. In addition, the FWS reports that 256 acres of all types of wetlands were lost between 1972 and 1994. The most significant factors in the loss of wetlands were erosion by marine processes, dredging, and filling for home and lawn construction.
One species that has suffered is the bay scallop. Although re-seeding efforts are taking place, the once abundant bay scallop population was virtually eradicated by the onset of Brown Tide in 1985. Because of the lower abundances of bay scallops, East End shellfishers have turned toward harvesting hard clams in greater numbers.
Eelgrass beds, an important estuarine nursery habitat for both finfish and shellfish (especially bay scallops), have declined recently. Once abundant throughout the estuary, eelgrass beds are now limited to waters near Shelter Island and other easternmost waters. Although the cause of the decline is uncertain, cloudy water resulting from Brown Tide blooms, excessive nutrients, and suspended sediments are possible reasons for the losses. With this knowledge, marine scientists from Cornell Cooperative Extension have conducted several pilot projects to restore eelgrass beds within the estuary.
Evidence suggests that finfish declines may be attributed to over-harvesting, but habitat degradation cannot be ruled out as an important implicating factor. It is suspected that shoreline hardening, fertilizer and pesticide use, commercial trawling, historic oyster culturing, recreational boating, and dredging have all impacted feeding and spawning habitats.
PEP habitat and living resources management goals
- Protect ecosystem health
- Support sustainable recreational and commercial fisheries
- Protect critical natural resource areas
- Protect rare, threatened, and endangered animal and plant species
- Restore degraded habitats
- Promote a coordinated approach to research and monitoring of habitat and living resources
What the PEP is doing to protect habitats and living resources
The PEP is undertaking initiatives estuary-wide to protect and restore plant and animal populations and the habitats in which they live. In 1996, scientists were convened by the PEP to identify areas of particular ecological significance; seventeen “critical natural resource areas” were identified for the purpose of focusing protection efforts. In addition, the PEP supports numerous projects that address the protection of shellfish, finfish and endangered species and the habitats that support them, including eelgrass, wetlands, and natural shorelines. Some PEP recommendations are being pursued by local governments, such as those that address shoreline hardening and the proliferation of docks and piers. Multiple habitat restoration projects, such as those occurring at Cassidy Preserve, Three Mile Harbor and Paynes Creek, have succeeded in removing invasive, nonnative vegetation (common reed, also known as Phragmites) and regrading the site to allow natural tidal flooding and the return of native wetland plants. Efforts are underway to restore diadromous fish access to dammed or otherwise blocked rivers throughout the watershed. In addition, open space preservation is protecting habitats and natural resources before they are fragmented or lost entirely.
