Hello!

As Thanksgiving approaches, consider taking a few quiet moments to ponder what you are most thankful and grateful for this year. Personally, I am thankful for the beautiful gifts Mother Nature has provided us here in Montauk; I am thankful for CCOM’s founding members whose persistence and commitment have saved over 70% of Montauk from development; I am thankful for all of you - our members, supporters, partners, and volunteers - who are integral to our efforts to protect and preserve Montauk.

We couldn’t do what we do without the support and generosity of the CCOM community. Please consider making a donation today. Thank you for helping us fight to protect Montauk's environment!

Warmest wishes this Thanksgiving,

On Monday, November 14th, CCOM delivered plant specimens from the floating wetlands project to the Gobler Lab at the Stony Brook University Southampton Campus.

Algae thrive when there is an excess of nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus. As the native plants mature, their roots grow, which enables them to take up nutrients as food. In this way, native plants reduce the amount of food that is available for harmful algae and could potentially lessen the extent and severity of the harmful algal blooms that have plagued Fort Pond for years. Dr. Gobler has extensive knowledge of harmful bloom and nutrient interactions and will be testing the native plants to determine their overall nutrient removal capacity.

CCOM’s floating wetlands are part of a multifaceted comprehensive effort to monitor, study and improve Fort Pond’s water quality. Other efforts include bacteria monitoring, harmful algal bloom monitoring and analysis, septic upgrade outreach, open space land acquisitions, and mitigating stormwater runoff.

Please visit our website for more information on the floating wetlands project and the other collective efforts to help save Fort Pond.

In an election cycle, it was refreshing to see that the majority of New York voters stood together and agreed to put our state’s environment ahead of party politics. Prop 1, otherwise known as the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022, prevailed and passed with flying colors.

Thank you to those who voted and heard our call! This will be the first Environmental Bond Act our State has seen in over 25 years. It authorizes up to $4.2 billion of state bonds to help tackle much-needed projects like flood risk reduction, climate change mitigation, water quality improvement and open space conservation. This funding could easily advance many of our ongoing water quality and coastal resilience projects here in Montauk.

Our Lindley-Morrison Signature Walk, held on November 5th featuring Dr. Bret Bennington, was a wonderful success. His thoughtful lessons about Montauk’s natural history, ecology, and geology were captivating. He is truly a rock star!

Together with our long-time partner, Third House Nature Center, we host the Lindley-Morrison Signature Walks to honor the founders of our two organizations and their significant contributions to Montauk. Stay tuned for more great opportunities to get involved. We will be announcing another series of walks in 2023 on our events webpage in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Get a head start on holiday shopping! All of our merchandise is on sale for the holidays. Give a gift that gives back to Montauk!

Plus, enter code EXTRA10 at checkout to receive an additional 10% off your total purchase of $50 or more! Tees = $20, Yeti's = $15, Totes = $15, and more!

Check out our website's SHOP PAGE or save on shipping and stop by the office at 6 Elmwood Ave.!