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This winter wreaked havoc on oyster crops across Long Island, leaving farmers with damaged gear and considerable financial losses. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that as temperatures have tamed, Long Island oyster farmers are back on the water assessing damages and plotting a path forward after an extreme winter that also left a mark on badly eroded beaches and ripped apart docks. The damage has set off a scavenger hunt to recoup equipment as the rebuild gets underway. Growers said the impacts could be felt for the next few years.

Most of the 50 members of the Long Island Oyster Growers Association reported crop and gear losses, according to Eric Koepele, the industry group’s president.

Preliminary data from an industry survey shows 33% crop loss and $2.4 million in projected gear replacement costs. Koepele said those numbers could climb as a clearer picture emerges.

The data collected in Long Island Oyster Growers Association’s survey was shared with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) has asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare a fishery disaster to bring relief funding to cash-strapped farmers faced with daunting costs to replace equipment and oyster seed. New cages can cost $300 apiece, farmers said.

Oyster farming on Long Island is enjoying a resurgence. Once globally acclaimed, the industry on Long Island was nearly decimated because of overharvesting and deteriorating water quality. New York State has a $4.4 million oyster industry with about 84 farms, according to a recent report by Farm Credit East, a financial institution for agriculture businesses.

Peter Stein, who owns Peeko Oysters on the Peconic Bay in New Suffolk, said he lost “thousands” of floating cages.

A line of those cages was carried 12 miles east, where the equipment entangled in the propeller of a North Ferry vessel, according to general manager Bridg Hunt.

The Long Island Oyster Growers Association asks anyone who spots gear to take photos and send an email with a location to info@liogany.org.

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Sitting in Gardiners Bay, just beyond Long Island's North Fork, is a mysterious 840-acre dot of land known as Plum Island. Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that over the years, it has been the focus of intense interest, ranging from those who want to conserve its natural wonders to those with conspiracy theories about the animal disease federal government research conducted there. Plum Island has even been the subject of a thriller by one of Long Island's most famous writers.

Last week, it was the preservationist vision of the mostly undeveloped island that took center stage during a Zoom presentation to the Long Island Regional Planning Council.

The Preserve Plum Island Coalition, which includes municipalities, wildlife advocates and others from Long Island and Connecticut, said it wants the island to include a wildlife refuge or other protected land that allows for equitable public access to the island.

Plum Island is home to wildlife such as the state-endangered piping plovers, and nearly 230 bird species that enjoy its freshwater wetlands, advocates say. It hosts a lighthouse and Fort Terry, which was built by the military in the 20th century to ward off naval assault. Between 1954 and 2025, the island housed a federally run animal disease center that studied livestock infections such as foot-and-mouth disease.

The coalition’s plan for Plum Island envisions people being able to visit the lighthouse and a research area with limited public access. The group also would like to see nature trails, cultural exhibitions and a historical district around Fort Terry.

"We're trying to secure the permanent protection of the significant natural and historical and cultural resources of Plum Island," said Robert DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End, which is part of the coalition.

But there may be obstacles, the coalition said. Currently, Plum Island is in the hands of the federal government while contaminated research facilities are decommissioned. After that, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which functions like the federal government’s Realtor, will identify potential caretakers of the property.

Louise Harrison, of the Save the Sound and Preserve Plum Island Coalition, said that the GSA will determine whether federal or state agencies, the county, the Town of Southold or nonprofit organizations have an interest in the property. If no owner is identified, she said, it will go "on the auction block."

"This is something we must prevent," Harrison said. "We're working assiduously to make sure this does not happen." Harrison told the Long Island Regional Planning Council that the GSA has already shown the island to employees who work at the federal, local and regional levels. She added that a consortium of multiple entities could take over the property for the purpose of conservation.

A GSA spokesman said in an email to Newsday last Wednesday that its "timeline for disposition of Plum Island is dependent on numerous factors including decommissioning of the current facility, and any applicable remediation necessary."

In 2023, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) introduced the Plum Island National Monument Act, which would make the stretch a national monument, according to a news release from his office.

The measure did not pass, but LaLota told Newsday recently that the "effort remains one of my top priorities."

"I continue to work closely with the Preserve Plum Island Coalition, the Trump Administration, and colleagues on both sides of the aisle on a path that offers the strongest path forward for Long Island," LaLota said in a statement.