Hello!

Season’s Greetings! As we close out 2022, we are deeply grateful for the support of our staff, board members, Montauk community, members, and volunteers. It is because of you that CCOM was able to stay focused on accomplishing Montauk’s environmental priorities. Thank you for being such an important part of our mission and community.

The holiday season is a time of giving, and where better to give than where you live? When you give where you live, you see firsthand the impact your gift can make in the place that you love! For us to continue our work, we need the support of our community and I hope you will consider making a tax-deductible, year-end gift to CCOM. 

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season.

With gratitude,

Since 2013 CCOM has been leading the effort to address the impact of climate change on our coastline and community, and we are thrilled that the Coastal Assessment and Resiliency Plan (CARP) for Montauk and East Hampton was adopted into the Town of East Hampton’s Comprehensive Plan in September. It ensures all future planning must address the key issues contained within the plan. Please see CCOM's 5-point Call to Action for further information.

As a result of this work, East Hampton Town recently secured a $350,000 NOAA/NFWF grant for development of living shorelines in Fort Pond and Lake Montauk. Living shorelines help improve habitat, support fish and wildlife populations, and provide increased resiliency in the face of climate change. CCOM is excited to work with East Hampton Town to bring these living shorelines to Montauk. 

This year marked the second year of CCOM’s floating wetland project in Fort Pond. These wetlands are part of a multi-faceted 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.

Besides nutrient removal capabilities, the wetland installations provide incredible habitats to fish, birds, and other animals. We were thrilled to find several freshwater bryozoans attached to the underside of the mats - their presence is a sign of a healthy ecosystem as they can filter large amounts of algae from the water, making their existence on the floating wetlands even more conducive to decreasing harmful algal blooms.

2022 was our 5th year monitoring Fort Pond and Big Reed Pond for toxic blue-green algal blooms in partnership with the Gobler Lab at Stony Brook Southampton. Because of this partnership we were able to detect an algal bloom in Fort Pond in August and keep the community informed on the potential danger and duration of the bloom. The number of days the algal bloom was present was less than in the previous four years, which could suggest a reduction in nutrient inputs.

2022 was CCOM’s 10th year as a Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) partner. Blue Water Task Force is the Surfrider Foundation’s citizen science water testing program. Since 2013, CCOM staff and volunteers have been collecting water samples in Montauk, Amagansett and East Hampton, and performing bacterial analysis right in our office lab. This year, we processed ~750 water samples and ensured that our results were shared widely. For more information, please visit CCOM’s water quality page.

CCOM has played a key role in advocating for and educating the community on the benefits of septic upgrades. The December ruling by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Internal Revenue Service now ensures that septic upgrade award rebates are no longer considered taxable income. If you were previously taxed, we suggest contacting your accountant to learn how to file for reimbursement.

Millions of dollars have been directed into Town, County, and State programs to encourage property owners to upgrade their septic systems. These recent rulings remove a significant barrier to increasing participation in these programs. Since the program’s inception there have been 81 upgrades installed in Montauk.

For more information on how to apply for either a Town, County or State grant or rebate, please visit our website's resources page.

In January 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the Construction and Operations Plan for the South Fork Wind Farm and South Fork Export Cable Project. The construction is now well underway. Upcoming is the “conduit pull‚” where cable will be put in place around the casings now going in off Montauk and beneath Beach Lane. When completed the wind farm will produce enough clean energy to power 70,000 homes.

Earlier this year, CCOM and Third House Nature Center Inc. unveiled the Lindley-Morrison Signature Walks, a series of four annual hikes honoring the founders of the two organizations and their significant and long-standing contributions to Montauk.

Hilda Lindley and Carol Morrison fought tirelessly to protect Montauk from overdevelopment, and the walks, with experts in various fields, provided wonderful opportunities to learn about and enjoy the beauty, flora, and fauna of the lands that they successfully helped to preserve. As soon as we have 2023 walks scheduled, we'll let you know. You can also check back to our events page.

2022 was a busy event year for CCOM! From the Fort Pond paddle, beach cleanups, Summer Soirée, kid’s scavenger hunt, and family picnic, to catching up on CCOM priorities and initiatives at the farmer's markets, open houses, Rell Sunn, and the MightyMan events, the best part of it all was sharing our work with our members and community, who love Montauk as much as we do! Thank you!