Once More Unto the Breach… highs and lows of the past year

Let’s start with the good news: while lobbying our new Town Board members in January of this year, we found them to be welcoming, well informed and supportive, not only of our list of priorities, but even more important, supportive of those others in the Town that do the implementing of policies, plans and legislation. Some steps have already been taken to remedy one of our big concerns, the overcrowded housing in Springs that we oppose because of overloading of septics and pollution of groundwater, as well as its obvious threats to tenants’ health and safety. This is most hopeful…

Our involvement with the East Hampton Environmental Coalition (EHEC) contributed to the candidate questionnaire and the “Green Guide” position paper that was provided to each Town Board candidate. The fact that those elected were aligned with most of our positions may indicate that environmental issues were indeed a force in that election. But we will continue to work with the other organizations in the coalition to see that implementation occurs.

We continue to be astounded at how many projects Kim Shaw (EH Director of Natural Resources) is able to stay on top of and put into action. Among numerous grants that Kim is working to procure is one for a Marsh Restoration program for Accabonac.

We are also pleased to see that water quality issues, especially regarding septics, are getting a lot more attention: Group for the East End has been instrumental in getting focus on this through forums (such as “Water We Going to Do?”) with the Group, the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Long Island Pine Barrens Society and The Nature Conservancy uniting to form the Long Island Clean Water Partnership. And now we are thrilled that Suffolk County Supervisor, Steve Bellone, is making septic remediation a priority. (See ARE WE WASTE…ING AWAY in this issue.)

We produced two successful events during the summer: an art show (our first!) titled “Images of Accabonac” at Ashawagh Hall, and a showing of our latest film, “Grasslands”… which was well received in spite of oppressive heat that even air-conditioning couldn’t dispel. See separate article for our second presentation of “Images of Accabonac”!
At our annual party in September, we were proud to present our Friend of the Creek Award to Marian Lindberg of The Nature Conservancy for her diligent (and successful!) efforts to get important parcels on the creek purchased for protection (such as the recent Potter acquisition).

On the downside, what we didn’t do for the first time in many years was the Fisherman’s Fair, where we usually have a booth with our famous Accabonac Game, along with our other informative exhibits. There just weren’t enough of us available to make it happen. The other events gave us good exposure and brought in new members (and some funds), so we felt we could take a year off. However, it would be much better if we can find some more volunteers
(know any?) to help with the fair, our cleanups and other activities.

Alas, we must report with dismay that our high hopes about the restoration of meadow on the Barbara Hale Refuge have again been dashed. The DEC, contrary to what we had understood would be an increase in the area of clearing permitted, actuallly decreased the allowed clearing so much that it is “not worth doing,” according to Kim Shaw. We have since met with her about possible actions that could get the restoration back on track, and we are now encouraged that there may yet be a way to get our lovely meadow back …

While it does not affect Accabonac directly, we are concerned about the rush to harden the waterfront of Montauk village. We had a very informative meeting with Jeremy Samuelson of Concerned Citizens of Montauk (CCOM), who told us that there has been pressure to hurry to adopt a plan for the use of FEMA funds (from Sandy) to address the erosion and flooding issues in downtown Montauk. There is no question that Montauk is very vulnerable, being as low as it is, and the funding will be vital to help ensure resilience. However, the use of such funds does not allow circumventing of local laws. Ideally the response would employ a process guided by science vs. idealogical or other interests. While many have presented a “protect or retreat” ultimatum, we agree with CCOM’s position that shore hardening begets more shore hardening. There is a Local Waterfront Revitilization Plan for East Hampton that should be reviewed and FOLLOWED!

While this may come as a surprise to some, we are actually disappointed that the efforts to control the deer population have met with such resistance. We don’t necessarily condone the methods recently proposed, but we are adamant that something must be done soon for the sake of our natural environment – plants, insects, birds and other creatures that suffer from the foraging of our ever-burgeoning herd.
We apologize for the lateness of this newsletter, but we had hoped to announce the launch of our new website. Alas, it has not happened yet so we will delay publication no longer.

Hardest of all is loss. 2013 was a particularly tough year in this regard for the community of Springs. Among those we mourn, we are reminded every day of how much we miss Eileen Roaman (Catalano), whose peace flag continues to fly at the corner of Accabonac and Old Stone. There are many people and organizations to whom Eileen was essential, and APC is ever grateful for all that she did and all that she was to us.