Montauk Harbor, Commercial Dock. Photo Christine Sampson. The American Rescue Plan Act was passed in March of 2022. Councilman David Lys was instrumental in seeing that funds would be provided to Montauk’s commercial fishing fleet to help with onshore storage of their gear. The East Hampton Town board voted unanimously to provide the funds—$70,000 to Montauk for gear storage, from the eventual sum of $2.34 million allocated directly to the Town. Funds come from a program established to help businesses as a result of lost revenue during the pandemic- “Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund.” The full East Hampton
Photo: A piping plover and chicks. (Kaiti Titherington/USFWS) Piping plovers have been endangered since the 1980s because of increased public use of the beaches these shorebirds nest on, and because of additional predators. Coastal states have worked to conserve the birds — educating beachgoers, installing fencing and closing some parks during breeding season to protect their habitat. In the mid-1980s, there were fewer than 800 pairs along the Atlantic Coast. Today, there are about 2,000 pairs, distributed unevenly. More at whyy.org
By using a combination of satellite temperature and long-term environmental records, field and laboratory experiments, and measurements of scallop heartbeat rates, researchers determined the outcome. (Courtesy Stony Brook School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences graduate Stephen Tomasetti, PhD.) EAST END, NY — A new study indicates what many have long feared: The die-off of the beloved Peconic Bay scallops in local waters is likely caused by warming waters and heat waves. The study, commenced by Stony Brook University researchers and published in Global Change Biology, indicated that global warming has contributed to the loss of bay scallops. By Lisa Finn – Patch
Support for the change of name to our scholarship fund by The East Hampton Star is in this week’s edition. The Trustees wish to thank David Rattray and the editorial staff for giving a nod to an important and timely issue. Many thanks to David and Donnamarie Barnes of @plainsightproject.org, Dr. Georgette Grier-Key of Eastville Community Society in Sag Harbor, and Assemblyman Fred J. Thiele. The East Hampton Town Trustees are to be congratulated for changing the name of their annual scholarship. After being alerted by the Plain Sight Project, which studies slavery and its legacies on the East End,
Right Whale Breaching. Photo NOAA. Environmental and fishing groups said Tuesday there is “no evidence” that site preparation work for offshore wind farms in New Jersey and New York is responsible for a spate of whale deaths in the two states. Anjuli Ramos-Buscot, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club chapter in Atlantic City, N.J. Photo AP/ Wayne Perry. Anjuli Ramos-Buscot, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club chapter in Atlantic City N.J. January 17, 2023 with environmental groups in support of the offshore wind farm project as misinformation about the safety of whales is being compromised and to blame
North Atlantic Right Whale with her calf Photo Courtesy of NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is a government agency that offers an abundance of information about North Atlantic Right Whales and other marine species in our ocean waters. Below are links of interest about the endangered Right Whale, how NOAA monitors their migrational patterns and serves to inform mariners of their presence to avoid vessel strikes, the most common cause of their deaths. The public is able to sign up for reports from NOAA delivered to your email. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-atlantic-right-whale https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNOAAFISHERIES/bulletins/3433ccc https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-atlantic-right-whale
Accabonac Harbor Photo Susan McGraw-Keber Deputy Clerk Bill Taylor spoke to the Trustees about the need to dredge Accabonac Harbor due to the winter storm that blew in just before the holiday season rendering it difficult for boaters and fishermen to navigate off Louse Point due to the sand spit that was created. During the organizational meeting on January 9th, the Trustees voted to retain the services of East Hampton engineer Drew Bennett to assist in procuring an emergency dredging permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, (DEC). The Trustees were notified of the sand spit issue
Organizational Meeting of the EH Trustees – Televised LIVE by LTV Studios Channel 22 January 9th, 2023 The East Hampton Star of January 12th featured an article covering the proposed resolution and vote that would change the current name of the Trustees scholarship fund from “The Captain William J. Rysam Scholarship” to “The East Hampton Town Trustees Scholarship.” The board was unanimous in their vote! The complete resolution is available here on our website: https://ehtrustees.com/2023/01/we-have-a-new-name/ Read The East Hampton Star’s article here! EH STAR
Trustees Kayak Racks Photo Susan McGraw-Keber From this week’s East Hampton Star – an update on the resident’s lottery for a kayak rack spot for the season of 2023. If you enter the lottery, please note the price for the permit has increased to $250.00. Go to the “Applications and Fees” tab at the top of the opening page of our website. Scroll down to “Resident Kayak Rack Storage” for instructions on how to apply and enter the lottery. East Hampton star kayak rack lottery article
“The East Hampton Town Trustees Scholarship Fund” At our first meeting of the year the Trustees voted to change the name of our scholarship fund—here’s the resolution and why we changed the name. Resolution-2023-29-To-Change-name-of-Scholarship-fund-1Download Scholarship Fund
Enter the annual kayak lottery for the season of 2023! Kayaks on a Beach Photo Susan McGraw-Keber Lottery Instructions
Napeague Harbor view from Lazy Point Photo Susan McGraw-Keber 2019 The Trustees wish everyone a peaceful, prosperous, and blessings in the coming year!
Statement from Orsted Regarding Mooring System in Use
“As part of the fish monitoring study outlined in the SFW Fisheries Study Work Plan, the Stony Brook University team is conducting a regular visit to the sensor array off Wainscott today to collect data from sensors, replace batteries, and deploy new retrievable moorings alongside the previous moorings. As the Stony Brook team is deploying new moorings alongside the existing moorings there’s no change to the mariners briefing, our standard method for updating mariners on the presence of equipment in navigational waters. Members of the fisheries outreach team, in collaboration with the research team, have worked with the fishing community to select an alternative mooring, one that is smaller, lightweight and retrievable, and is more compatible with commercial fishing in response to the feedback we’ve received from the community on original deployment of cement moorings.”
Images of the mooring system and a diagram are shown below.
