Habitat Restoration in the Peconic Estuary · History of Habitat Restoration in the PEP “In 1997 the Peconic Estuary Program Habitat Restoration Workgroup was formed and charged

Habitat Restoration in the Peconic Estuary

Elizabeth HornsteinPeconic Estuary Program State Coordinator

History of Habitat Restoration in the PEP

“In 1997 the Peconic Estuary Program Habitat Restoration Workgroup was formed and charged with identifying important Peconic natural habitats with enhancement or restoration potential and identifying and prioritizing restoration projects. The end product was the Habitat Restoration Plan for the Peconic Estuary dated December 2000.”

Updated in 2009 and again in 2017

Habitat Restoration Plan 2017 Update

• Description of Peconic Estuary Habitats

• Threats to Peconic Estuary Habitats

• Summary of Habitat Restoration Efforts to Date

• Plan Goals/Objectives • Articulates overall goal and strategies to address threats• Define measurable ecosystem targets• Define actions to achieve goals and ecosystem targets

• Description of Ongoing Habitat Restoration Projects and New Projects to Prioritize for Funding

• Funding Opportunities and Resources

Peconic Estuary Habitats“There is a larger percentage of undisturbed habitats and a greater diversity of natural communities than

anywhere else in the coastal zone of New York State”

Threats to Peconic Estuary Habitats

• Development

• Shoreline Hardening

• Navigational Dredging

• Boating and Fishing Activities

• Excess Nitrogen, Harmful Algal Blooms, Other Water Quality Issues

• Invasive Species

• Climate Change/Sea Level Rise

Habitat Restoration/Protection Progress To Date

• 27 Completed Habitat Restoration ProjectsBeach, Shorebird, Wetland, Invasive

Species, Grassland, Diadromous Fish Habitat, Shellfish, Eelgrass, Water-Quality Improvement

• 4 Partially Completed Habitat Restoration Projects

• 13 Projects In-Progress

• 2,540 acres of land protected

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV)

1930: 8,700 acres of eelgrass

2000: 1,550 acres 2014: less than

1,000 acres

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV)

Protect and maintain existing eelgrass beds

Use research on eelgrass needs to determine potential restoration and enhancement opportunities

Support water quality goals that will increase habitat suitability for eelgrass.

Measurable Targets Increase in eelgrass

shoot density and extent in existing beds

Overall net increase in extent of Peconic eelgrass beds

Tidal Wetlands/Shorelines

Native marsh loss of 10.5%, or 363 acres, between 1974 and 2005

159 marshes identified in the Peconic Estuary, 86 were categorized as “at risk” (marsh loss >10%)

88.5% increase in Phragmites australis

Maintain existing high value wetland areas and restore degraded areas

Preserve lands that will allow for the natural inland migration of tidal wetland/shoreline habitat

Measureable Targets

Restore 250 acres of tidal wetland habitat

Net increase in native high marsh habitat and total native marsh habitat from 2005 level

Net decrease in acres of invasive Phragmites from 2005 level

Tidal Wetland Restoration Projects

• Enhance the resiliency and value of coastal habitats by encouraging living shorelines over hardened shorelines

Measureable Targets

No net increase in hardened shorelines (includes breakwaters, bulkheads/seawalls, groins, jettys, piers, and revetments) from next measurement

Living Shoreline Pilot Project- Greenport

PEP, Cornell Cooperative Extension and Peconic Land Trust

Diadromous Fish Habitat Restoration

Continue to restore and enhance viable diadromous fish habitat in the Peconic Estuary watershed

Measurable Targets: Restore 300 acres of diadromous fish

habitat on the Peconic River Increase in the alewife population in the

Peconic River from current level

Diadromous Fish Habitat Restoration

Monitoring Alewife

Upcoming Volunteer Alewife Monitoring Trainings

• Thursday March 1st 5:30-6:30, South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center

• March 8th 5:30-6:30 at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County

Questions?

For more information:

Elizabeth Hornstein Peconic Estuary Program State Coordinator NYSDEC/Division of Marine Resources/Bureau of Marine Habitat205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1, East Setauket, NY 11733(631) 444-0871 elizabeth.hornstein@dec.ny.gov