NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
LAND PROTECTION
The Peconic Estuary System stretches across Suffolk County, New York's five eastern towns: Riverhead, Southampton, East Hampton, Southold, and
Shelter Island, collectively called the "East End." A small portion of the Peconic Estuary System watershed area, about 10 percent, lies in the Town of
Brookhaven.
A big concern on the East End is the increasing population and development seen in the past two decades. Between 2000 and 2035 population growth is expected to increase
slowly by an estimated 18 percent countywide; in the five eastern towns alone, population has been growing at a rate twice that of other regions of the county, especially within the
last five years as people continue to flock to the coast. Development and sprawl in the Peconic Bay region threatens the character of the community and result in the degradation,
fragmentation, and loss of valuable habitats. Unsustainable development adversely affects surface and groundwater quality and living resources, including many commercially
and recreationally important finfish and shellfish species.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION
Peconic Estuary Program
To help meet its goals to protect
habitat and water quality in the
Peconic Estuary System and the
rest of the East End, partners
sought the New York State Leg-
islature to create and pass a
"Community Preservation Act"
(Act), based on a successful land
preservation model in Nantuck-
et, Massachusetts.
Through the enabling state leg-
islation, towns could establish,
through local referenda, a Com-
munity Preservation Fund (CPF),
authorizing the collection of a
two percent transfer tax (paid by
the buyer) on all real estate
transactions in towns that au-
thorize the tax. The proceeds,
held in a dedicated fund, would
be used solely for preserving
natural areas, water resources,
and community character, in-
cluding purchase of open space,
farmland development rights,
and historic properties. Exemp-
tions exist to promote affordable
housing and agriculture. In ad-
dition, the towns would find that
they would be able to borrow
against future CPF revenues and
they have successfully secured
low-interest loans through State
Revolving Funds available under
the Federal Clean Water Act to
buy increasingly dwindling open
space at today's presumably
lower prices.
The Peconic Estuary Program
(PEP) provided data that helped
the towns create Community
Preservation Plans identifying
and prioritizing potential land
acquisitions. This information
was ultimately compiled in the
PEP Critical Lands Protection
Plan (CLPP), a comprehensive
effort to identify high-priority
conservation sites.
The PEP CLPP identified and pri-
oritized remaining open spaces
based on location, size and envi-
ronmental attributes. Factors in-
cluded proximity to coastlines,
wetlands, and already preserved
lands (or other land parcels that
could be preserved), sites con-
taining unique habitats, plants
and animals or communities,
and lands in subwatersheds that
were already stressed, as docu-
mented by nitrogen pollution.
The PEP also funded case stud-
ies in the Towns of Southold and
Riverhead to determine the ex-
Land Cover in the Peconic Watershed, 2001
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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tent to which properties adjacent
to or near protected open space
increased in value, in addition to
the environmental amenities
they afforded homeowners and
residents.
Each of the five East End towns
in the Peconic Estuary Water-
shed overwhelmingly approved
referenda to establish CPF pro-
grams. These towns have since
collected more than $526 mil-
lion in funding for land preserva-
tion in the past decade. Approxi-
mately half of the CPF funds
collected are spent preserving
lands within the watershed, in-
cluding nearly 4,000 acres. While
the amount raised and invested
in open space acquisitions so far
is staggering, it is estimated to
only be enough to preserve only
a small portion of the remaining
open space. The towns manage
most of the properties, which
they use in accordance with the
recommendations in their Com-
munity Preservation Plans.
Developing large coalitions of
diverse partners, including
farmers, bankers, real estate,
building and contracting profes-
sionals, and civic and environ-
mental leaders, was imperative
to demonstrating broad support
to the public. Equally important
was the preparation of a com-
prehensive case statement to il-
lustrate need, and identify the
number of acres to be protected,
and the amount of funding need-
ed to achieve conservation goals.
Although originally scheduled to
sunset in December 2010, in
2006 voters in the five East End
towns overwhelmingly approved
a referendum to extend the tax
from 2010 to 2030. Other mu-
nicipalities across the state are
actively seeking to duplicate the
East End's CPF success story.
Visit www.peconicestuary.org
to learn more about this and
other PEP efforts.
EPA's National Estuary Program
(NEP) is a unique and successful
coastal watershed-based program
established in 1987 under the
Clean Water Act Amendments.
The NEP involves the public and
collaborates with partners to pro-
tect, restore, and maintain the wa-
ter quality and ecological integrity
of 28 estuaries of national signifi-
cance located in 18 coastal states
and Puerto Rico.
For more information about the
NEP go to www.epa.gov/owow/
estuaries.
The NEP: Implementing the Clean Water Act in ways that are Effective, Efficient, Adaptive, and Collaborative.
EPA-842F09001
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