A New Underwater Frontier:
Great South Bay, New York

The Nature Conservancy in October 2002 entered a new frontier in marine conservation with the acquisition of 11,500 acres along the bottom of the Great South Bay, off Long Island, New York. This deal with the Blue Points Oyster Company marks the largest underwater conservation transaction to date. The Conservancy has issued a report about buying or leasing land underwater as a conservation strategy exploring how to protect critical marine ecosystems while respecting local economies built on aquaculture.

View of bayside edge of Smith Point County Park © J.N. Ozarski/The Nature Conservancy

Ecological Importance: This acquisition is part of a much larger project that involves protecting and restoring integrity of the entire 120-mile coastal system of Long Island's South Shore, which includes the nearshore ocean, shorefront of the South Fork, the dynamic barrier island system, the back bays (such as Great South Bay) and tidal creeks of Long Island proper. This system provides habitat for spawning, nursery and feeding for a host of fish and bird species. Despite being part a major population center that subjects it to tremendous stresses from development and recreational use, the Conservancy believes that if the nature-driven processes of this system are sustained, it can continue to function and support a rich variety of plants and animals.

Conservation Strategy: The Conservancy will work with multiple agencies, academic institutions, other non-profit organizations, aquaculture companies and the local community to cooperatively manage the property in a balanced and ecologically sustainable manner. A comprehensive water management program has been developed for the Great South Bay, including restoration, research and education, sustainable aquaculture and an area that is a nature sanctuary. The Conservancy hopes to pioneer new approaches and ways of managing this property that can be applied to other waterbodies.

Partners: Bluepoints Oyster Company, which generously donated the underwater property, valued at about $2 million, to The Nature Conservancy; State University of New York’s marine science division; Cornell Cooperative Extension; Town of Brookhaven; New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Learn more

• About The Nature Conservancy's success stories worldwide
• About how The Nature Conservancy works to achieve conservation results

This acquisition continues a nationwide Conservancy strategy of using leasing and ownership of submerged lands as well as shellfish restoration as a marine conservation tool, including the work the organization is doing in following places:

• Virginia Coast Reserve, Virginia: The Conservancy and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission will plant approximately 10 acres of seagrass and 40,000 bushels of oyster shells in waters surrounding a series of islands parallel to the Atlantic Shore.
  
  
• Peconic Bay, New York: The Conservancy has partnered with local groups to create five clam spawning sanctuaries, and planted a total of approximately 500,000 clams and 100,000 scallops, to help combat the onset of brown tide, an algae phenomena that destroys water quality and devastates the local aquaculture industry.
  
  
• Port Susan, Washington: The Conservancy recently bought 4,122 acres at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River on Port Susan Bay, which provides critical habitat for thousands of migrating birds, coho, chum, chinhook salmon, steelhead and sea-run cutthroat trout and herring. The Conservancy is in the process of creating a conservation management plan at Port Susan Bay, as well as a restoration strategy for shellfish, salmon and other estuarine animals.
  
  
• Pamlico Sound, North Carolina: The Nature Conservancy is working with public and private partners to construct a network of artificial oyster reefs in Pamlico Sound, the first step in a much broader effort to establish an oyster reef sanctuary program throughout the state, and is beginning to work with the state and other partners to develop a comprehensive restoration program for the sound. The Conservancy is also spearheading local education and community outreach efforts, including training for local teachers, helping coastal citizens become involved in oyster gardening projects and setting up shell-recycling programs with coastal restaurants and seafood dealers.