Hello!

What an amazing summer it is proving to be. We would like to give a huge thank you to the nearly 300 CCOM supporters who attended our Summer Soirée. Check out our video of the beautiful evening! We also had a blast catching up with everyone and talking about our environmental initiatives during our Kid’s Scavenger Hunt and Beach Cleanup, and at the Rell Sunn Surf Contest and the Farmer’s Market.

In partnership with the Town of East Hampton and Rusty Schmidt (a renowned landscape ecologist with Nelson, Pope & Voorhis), CCOM has begun developing plans for a comprehensive 10 year habitat restoration project at the 40-acre, town-owned Benson Reserve in Montauk. We presented these plans at a Town Board work session on July 18 that can be viewed here.

In the 1990s, CCOM successfully fought alongside others for public acquisition and preservation of the Benson Reserve. Because of this the public has access to hiking trails and beach access on that property. However much of the land has been overtaken by invasive plant species, especially in a 16 acre area of the site immediately adjacent to Montauk Highway.

Invasive species can destroy biodiversity and cause habitat degradation, resulting in fundamental disruptions of ecosystems. A successful invasive plant management program will not only restore native species but also protect the dune from future climate-related issues, storms, and erosion while also providing vital native coastal habitat to many species (e.g., monarch butterflies, migratory birds, and coastal songbirds).

In the first 1-2 year phase of a 10-year management plan for the property, invasive plant species will be removed both mechanically and by the temporary and seasonal use of a small number of goats in an 8 acre area of the 40 acre site. The use of goats for invasive plant management has been studied and implemented nationwide, and they have been shown to effectively reduce unwanted invasive vegetation.

In subsequent years the project will focus on restoring native habitat and preventing further spread of any remaining invasive species. This will be accomplished by hand removal, long-term monitoring, and planting native vegetation seeds collected from the site.

Out of concern for declining water quality, we joined Surfrider Foundation’s nationwide Blue Water Task Force in 2013 to start testing enterococcus bacteria levels in Montauk’s waters. Since then, the program has expanded immensely, and now we work year-round in partnership with the Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island Chapter and Peconic Baykeeper to monitor over 70 water bodies on the East End.

We are happy to announce the release of the 2022 Blue Water Task Force Report. The report provides an analysis of our year-round water quality monitoring results from all the sampling sites on the North and South Forks. In 2022, we jointly tested 1,788 samples at 78 sites. Results can be viewed in the 2022 report found here.

As the planet struggles with pollution and global warming, the call for radical change is louder and more obvious than ever before. Small tasks like sorting and responsibly disposing of your trash might seem like a minimal contribution, but it will make a big difference in the long run if you do it correctly. The main barrier to recycling is understanding the process.

It is important to check with your local recycling provider to ensure that they will accept certain items before placing them into a bin. You can find information about the Town of East Hampton Recycling Center here. Recycling facilities include the main center in East Hampton and the transfer station in Montauk. Bringing your trash to these well-established recycling facilities ensures the most positive impact.  Did you know that putting items in the recycling bin that can’t be recycled can contaminate the recycling stream and can cause costly damage to the equipment? For more general tips on how to recycle correctly, visit the Recycling 101 webpage offered by the Environmental Protection Agency.

We are so proud of our young environmental stewards and their families who showed up to our Kids Beach Cleanup on July 22nd. It is never to early to start talking to kids about how they can help the environment. We removed a great amount of micro-plastics from the beach that day.

Its important to remove microplastics from the environment because they are often mistaken for food by marine animals. Microplastics can take up space in the digestive systems of animals without adding nutrition value, which can result in reduced oxygen, energy levels and overall health.

August 24th | 9AM - 2PM |Montauk Village Green

Visit the CCOM Tent at the Montauk Farmer’s Market. Learn about our programming and pick up some of our new merch!

Just in time for the busy summer season, our new merch is ready for purchase!

Check out our website's SHOP PAGE!