Spring in Accabonac Harbor
Spring is here!
Schools of menhaden are arriving.
Birdsong greets us in the pre-dawn hours.
Ospreys and eagels are staking claim to their nests.
Piping plovers, sanderlings. Oystercatchers have been spotted in and around Accabonac
Please mark your calendar for our next Zoom presentation to be held on May 10, at 5pm.
Chris Paparo, aka “The Fish Guy” will be hosting his presentation “Birding From Your Beach Chair”.
Learn which birds can be seen from our favorite beach spots just by looking up!
We will be amazed by the variety of birds that are quietly enjoying the beach along with us.
Click the link below to register for this Zoom session:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpdO2vqDIiG9Gr5HnMFVsen5PzKlPikdY9
As warmer weather continues, the Cornell Extension of Suffolk County (“CCE”) water quality projects funded by Accabonac Protection Committee (“APC”) are getting into high gear!
At this time, we are funding three projects to be conducted by Ron Paulsen and Molly Graffam of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County.
1. Pilot Project Springs General Store: There is a significant ammonium plume entering Accabonac Harbor near the Springs General Store. The source of the plume is upland septic. Although the septic systems in the area have been upgraded, the ammonium plume may persist for 4 – 8 years. Further site characterization is necessary to refine this estimate, but the plume is causing problems for Accabonac Harbor. Funds provided by the APC will be used to complete a site characterization which will inform later phases to be funded through the Town of East Hampton CPF. It is anticipated that data and information generated during this project will help to develop a standard approach for treating ammonium plumes in future.
2. Northern Accabonac Harbor Surface and Groundwater Monitoring. This is the project Molly Griffam presented to the Trustees. The APC is funding two phases of this project: Phase I will map surface water field parameters and nitrogen/pathogen concentrations and Phase 2 will map porewater and groundwater field parameters and nitrogen/pathogen concentrations. Locations will be based on the Phase 1 survey.
3. Bacterial Survey Southwest Harbor and Pussy’s Pond: This bacteriological survey will add to the growing dataset of water quality information in the area.
These are truly innovative research projects. APC has enjoyed the collaboration with scientists Ron Paulsen and Molly Graffam of CCE over the past several years.
We look forward to sharing more information at our APC Forums throughout the year.
Special thanks to our members for their contributions that make this work possible. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the APC can visit our website, accabonac.org. We are a 501c3 tax exempt organization.
Kind Regards,
Patrice Dalton,
President, Accabonac Protection Committee
