Eelgrass Restoration Slated for Greenport

Tod Hart has summered in Greenport for 50 years and recalls walking outside his family’s home and wading through the eel grass to see minnows, crab, scallops and small fish on the way to a sandbar where his family would dig for steamers.

Hart can no longer wade through the eelgrass — it has been gone for more than 10 years, along with the sandbar. About 25 years ago, Hart noticed that the sandbar was not as visible during low tide and he saw many swans and other sea birds in the area eating the grass and animals that lived in the grass.

“We tried to figure out the sequence of events. We noticed the eelgrass started to disappear when the swans appeared and we could no longer see the sandbar,” said Hart.

After doing an Internet search, Hart contacted Chris Pickerell, Habitat Restoration Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension Eelgrass Restoration Program. This program has focused on re-establishing eelgrass in eastern Long Island Sound along the North Fork, Plum Island, and Shinnecock Bay in Southampton.  Hart said Pickerell confirmed that swans do eat vegetation and the two men started discussing restoring the eelgrass meadow.

According to Pickerell, what his team learned from its previous work will help them identify additional areas in Gardiners Bay and around Shelter Island suitable for restoration. One project on tap this year is the restoration of Hart’s eelgrass meadow in the Peconic Estuary in Greenport. Pickerell believes restoring the eelgrass fields are essential to maintain the diversity in local waterways. Over the last 25 years, much of the local eelgrass meadows have been lost for a variety of reasons including development, dredging, and algal blooms.

“Eelgrass meadows are critically important to near-shore habitats that provide food and shelter for many species of fish and shellfish.  It also helps to stabilize coastal sediments and prevent shoreline erosion,” said Pickerell.

Cornell started the restoration program to study the problem and restore eelgrass in certain situations.  Through the program Long Island Sound, Peconic Estuary and the South Shore Estuary Reserve are monitored. It is based in Southold at the Suffolk County Marine Environmental Learning Center where Pickerell says there is a greenhouse for growing eelgrass and a lab.

The Greenport project will see the first time shore-side volunteers will help with the restoration.  

“A new method we developed will allow us to prepare our transplants onshore and reduce planting time underwater. We look forward to greater public involvement that will not only increase overall awareness, but also increase the size of meadows that we can create,” Pickerell said. 

Hart is pleased the program is moving forward and he hopes it will bring back the eelgrass and that his sandbar will be exposed during low tide once again.