Environmentalists Decry Public Auction of Plum Island

Local environmentalists have two words for a suggestion pitched by the federal government to sell Plum Island at public auction: No way.

On Wednesday, Save the Sound and other members of the Preserve Plum Island Coalition blasted the U.S. General Services Administration and Department of Homeland Security after the release of the final environmental impact statement on the proposed sale of the parcel on Tuesday.

The agencies recommended a public auction of the 843-acre island.

 “The GSA has abdicated its responsibility to conserve the ecological value of Plum Island,” Leah Schmalz, director of legislative and legal affairs for Save the Sound, said. “The final environmental impact statement is fundamentally flawed."

She added that the GSA failed to adequately address concerns raised by the public after the draft EIS was released, and dismissed data and information about conservation alternatives that Save the Sound and others have offered up, including conservation plans that would protect the island's habitats and species.

The GSA, she said, "has chosen to ignore those interests and to focus solely on putting Plum Island’s natural resources on the auction block.”

Bob DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End, agreed. “Unfortunately, the Final EIS ignored the overwhelming weight of public testimony that sought to create a viable preservation strategy for the future of Plum Island. As a result, we now stand to lose one of the largest and most significant, natural and historical resources located anywhere in coastal New York or along the Connecticut shoreline.”

In recent months, Southold Town has proposed zoning that would include a conservation and a research district, and would prevent a private owner from developing projects ranging from homes to a casino on the site. 

The town has yet to vote on the new zoning but residents who turned out for a recent public hearing on the legislations showed support for the plan.

“Our thanks go out to New York’s and Connecticut’s congressional delegations, who have been working hard to protect Plum Island, and to the Town of Southold, which is moving ahead on zoning that might help prevent overdevelopment of the island if an unfettered sale becomes reality,” said Schmalz. “We’ll continue to pursue every avenue to save Plum Island.”