The New York State Legislature approved a bill to ban offshore drilling Tuesday.
The bill amends the Environmental Conservation Law to prohibit offshore oil and gas production. It would prevent the state Department of Environmental Conservation from leasing state-owned underwater coastal areas for drilling and also stop the Office of General Services from authorizing leases that would increase oil or natural gas production in federal waters. READ
Sky-gazers enjoyed a rare sight Sunday as a supermoon coincided with a total lunar eclipse. The syzygy of Earth, the moon and sun caused the celestial phenomenon, but also brought unusual tidal patterns. These tides — the highest and lowest of the year — are colloquially known as the king tides. READ
An invasive species has been discovered on the East End in the Town of Southold.
The emerald ash borer, a beetle native to Asia first discovered in the U.S. in 2002 in southeastern Michigan, was found on private property in Southold last week, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation. The beetle is responsible for the destruction of hundreds of millions of ash trees in the U.S.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a pair of new state laws that will allow the five East End towns to use Community Preservation Fund money for water quality improvements for the first time. READ
Stranded and cold-stunned.
This is the fate of most sea turtles when the cold November weather arrives. The abrupt drop in the temperature of the Long Island Sound makes it difficult for sea turtles to adjust. READ
On Tuesday, officials announced $2.57 million in federal and state grant money to improve the health and ecosystem of the Long Island Sound. The funding will go toward 36 projects to be completed by organizations in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. READ
Greenport Village has hired an engineering firm to examine why the village sewage treatment plant discharged partially treated sewage into Long Island Sound on two occasions in November. READ
Funding for the protection and preservation of Long Island Sound could reach historic levels if Congress appropriates the full funding outlined in a bill that recently passed through the House of Representatives.
The Water Resources bill authorizes up to $65 million per year over the next five years for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound Program. That money would be used toward restoration and stewardship, according to Curt Johnson, the president of Save the Sound, a Connecticut based environmental organization. READ
Federal funds have been allocated for a restoration project at Cedar Beach, Congressman Lee Zeldin announced last Friday.
According to a Habitat Restoration Plan prepared by the Peconic Estuary Program last year, the project will restore ecosystem features in a “degraded” marsh area that has faced erosion challenges. READ
Keep looking up at towers and telephone poles and you will see more osprey than in years past as the population of young osprey on the North Fork has grown by about 50 percent over the last five years.
According to the Group for the East End, there were 198 active nests across the East End in 2014 and 301 active nests in 2018, resulting in a 47 percent increase of young produced over the five-year span. Additionally, The North Fork also has the densest population of breeding osprey, specifically in Southold Town.
