Feds call on county for Plum Island stewardship

Besides multiple bills making their way through Congress, the federal government has approached Suffolk County to take over stewardship of Plum Island when the research facility there is decommissioned.

Efforts to permanently preserve the island stalled in Congress last year, but officials at multiple levels of government have stepped in to try and ensure that the 1.3-square-mile island will be preserved in perpetuity.

Operations at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center on the 1.3-square-mile island are transitioning to Manhattan, Kan. This is expected to be completed in two years.

“The federal government has approached Suffolk County to gauge interest in the county assuming ownership of Plum Island,” said Michael Martino, county director of communications. “There is a very multi-layered situation, and we don’t know where it’ll go. But there are active conversations between the federal government and Suffolk County.”

Rep. Nick LaLota, who has taken up Plum Island’s preservation since assuming office, confirmed the ongoing negotiations.

“We had a meeting in the county executive’s office maybe a week or two ago. 
And we welcomed Suffolk County’s efforts to help us preserve Plum Island in perpetuity. There’s some good initiatives,” said Mr. LaLota. “This has always been a collaborative effort by multiple levels of government, community groups, both parties. The more the merrier, I say.”

Last year, bills were introduced in both the House and the Senate aimed at preserving this unique feature of Long Island’s heritage.

“So there were good efforts last year, no question about it, everybody was pushing, and there were some, you know, there was communication between staffers in the house and the Senate to try to get matching bills, and there was there were communications with committee chairs, so there was a lot of activity,” said Louise Harrison, Long Island project manager and senior science adviser for Save the Sound, one of the member organizations of the Preserve Plum Island Coalition. “And then the session of Congress came to an end.”

Another recent development is the possibility that stewardship could be shared by multiple organizations, each one managing a different aspect of preservation. This means that one organization might take over the repurposed buildings, while another might be in charge of natural resources, and still another could conduct research projects.

The bills have been reintroduced for this session of Congress, along with a call by Mr. LaLota for a special resource study. This is the study the National Parks Service uses before a site can be considered for national monument status. 

“Save the Sound and the Plum Island Coalition have been at this for years before me and they’ve been strong partners and helping to ensure I had legislative ammunition to persuade more and more of my colleagues,” said Mr. LaLota.

The President of the United States has the authority to declare a site a national monument through the Antiquities Act of 1906. This law authorizes the president to declare federal lands as national monuments if they are of particular historic, prehistoric or scientific significance. Since it was enacted, presidents have used this power nearly 300 times. Mr. LaLota has sent two letters to President Trump requesting that he exercise his authority in order to preserve Plum Island.

Plum Island hits many of these markers. It has a unique and complex ecosystem rich in natural resources. In addition to its recent scientific and military contributions, the island has a history in the area dating back to the Indigenous people.  

“The three main concepts of preservation of natural resources, recognition and acknowledgement of human history there and military history, and then a discovery and celebration of a cultural resources going all the way back to when people first came to the region 10,000 years ago,” said Ms. Harrison. “We still believe that a national monument can be whatever the president or Congress wishes it to be.”

Whatever form the preservation takes in the end, all parties have the North Fork in mind when it comes to visitation and its impact. 

“To the general public, that sounds like a lot of people driving to the East End through the delicate North Fork. That is not part of our vision,” said Ms. Harrison.  “We feel that anything that happens on Plum Island should be the subject of a management plan that has its eye on sustainability. We are not looking to create some kind of a new attraction. We want to preserve Plum Island, and so we’re going to be very cautious about the future use and what that means in terms of visitation; that’s top of mind.”