Environment

The voracious southern pine beetles have surged again in the woods of East Hampton — and probably across the South Fork — and are likely “here to stay” in the estimation of one town land steward, who spoke at a Town Board work session on Tuesday.

Long Islanders who want to easily track where it is safe to swim or gather shellfish over the Labor Day weekend can tap into a new mobile phone app developed by marine scientists at Stony Brook University that carries up to the minute information about water quality across Long Island, closures of beaches or shellfishing areas and other water quality concerns.

The predictions were daunting — seven to 10 days without power; hurricane-force winds; 2 to 4 feet of storm surge — and the East End prepared. But for most people on Sunday, Hurricane Henri’s fury manifested as just another rainy day in August. 

Which is exactly what Chris Paparo and his team of shark researchers at the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center’s Shark Research Team are doing — studying shark activity and shark populations on the East End by catching and tagging a variety of shark species.

Researchers from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program in Southold have been conducting monthly underwater examinations of the scallop stocks in seven locations around the Peconic Estuary — from Flanders Bay to Napeague Harbor — to track the health of the stock in the wake of the massive die-offs in 2019 and 2020.

Mr. Schnurman said about 4,100 square feet of vegetation that included about 30 trees as well as vines, brambles, and other ground coverage was removed.

Mr. Cullum and his wife, Dee, are moving at the end of August to a house they recently purchased on a big lake in central Massachusetts.

The group is looking for waterfront towns and villages on Long Island to sponsor sea turtle sculptures and place them prominently in public spaces. In Southampton, a plain fiberglass turtle sculpture would then be decorated by the local community — artists or school children — and used to raise awareness, Mr. DeLuca explained.

Using a mix of lightweight and durable woods with stainless fasteners, the “Bay Box” oyster boxes developed and manufactured by Michael and Sundy Schermeyer, eliminate the need for flotation and plastic zip ties and, they say, do not become fouled with seaweed inside them the way the plastic bags do.

The group has listed the Pyrrhus Concer homesite in Southampton, the Sag Harbor Hills, Azurest and Ninevah neighborhoods in Sag Harbor, and the home and studio of the artists James Brook and Charlotte Parks in Springs as being vulnerable. Ironically, all three are the subject of ongoing preservation efforts.

In this week’s edition of 27Speaks, the editors are joined by Photo Editor Dana Shaw and reporter Kitty Merrill for a discussion about the declining population of horseshoe crabs and efforts to save the prehistoric creatures.

A group of about a dozen curious village residents gathered at Havens Beach on Saturday morning to stroll around the upland portion of the park, where a drainage ditch, stagnant in dry weather, fast-flowing during heavy rains, is sealed off from the rest of the park by a black chain-link fence.

Horseshoe Crabs: The Real Blue Bloods Of The Hamptons, Vulnerable To Extinction

Sugar kelp, a brown rubbery plant that can grow underwater fronds up to 15 feet long, is proving in test cases, the researchers say, to be highly efficient at soaking up nitrogen and phosphorous in tidal waters; can be sold for use as food, cosmetics ingredients or processed into highly effective organic fertilizer; and appears to even be particularly deadly to one of the most toxic species of “red tide” algae found in local waters.

For the past year, a dedicated group of preteens with a love for nature and an interest in learning more about the environment have been gathering together — both online and outdoors — to benefit the community and become better stewards of the earth.