Fighting phragmites could mean funding $1M bridge in Head of the Harbor
Head of the Harbor officials are looking to replace a culvert in this Harbor Road area with a bridge. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Head of the Harbor officials are seeking $1 million in funding to replace a worn-out Harbor Road culvert with a bridge, which village officials and environmental experts say is important to the health of Stony Brook Harbor.
The culvert, a structure allowing water to flow beneath roadways or other infrastructure, connects a tidal marsh with the harbor.
Village and environmental officials have said replacing the culvert with a bridge would let more saltwater flow from the harbor to an area owned by the county that is populated with phragmites — making it harder for the invasive plant to grow there.
That would be key in the village’s efforts to control stormwater runoff and improve the tidal flushing action into the harbor.
Lawmakers and environmentalists have identified Phragmites australis or common reed — which intrudes into salt marshes and blocks out native vegetation — as a continuing problem in Stony Brook Harbor.
With experts and other studies forecasting that rising Long Island sea levels could threaten barrier islands and shoreline neighborhoods, a Long Island Sound Study work group has been working with lawmakers and community groups on a conservation plan for the marshes surrounding the harbor.
The $1 million cost projection for a bridge would finance a study of design needs for the structure and its construction, according to Head of the Harbor Mayor Doug Dahlgard.
The village applied for a $1 million grant from the New York State Department of Transportation, but the agency rejected the application last month.
Dahlgard said village officials were “disappointed” by losing out on the grant.
Smithtown Councilman Tom Lohmann, who signed a letter of support for the DOT grant application, called the rejection “disheartening."
But both officials noted that village officials have moved forward with seeking other potential funding sources.
The village’s board of trustees voted July 19 to start the application process with the New York State Water Quality Improvement Project program for a grant.
Dahlgard said the village may consider breaking its funding requests for the project into smaller pieces — one for the study and one solely for construction — as officials continue to seek a funding solution.
George Hoffman, co-founder of the environmental nonprofit Setauket Harbor Task Force, said that phragmites is a problematic shoreline vegetation that can become frustrating.
Hoffman said he would like to see more activists get involved in issues involving protecting the harbor, as it borders two towns, Smithtown and Brookhaven.
“The ecology of the harbor is that the marshland is really where it starts in terms of the smaller little fish that become bait and food for the bigger fish,” Hoffman said. “It’s really critical to the ecology of Stony Brook Harbor and the Long Island Sound.”
Head of the Harbor officials are seeking $1 million in funding to replace a worn-out Harbor Road culvert with a bridge, which village officials and environmental experts say is important to the health of Stony Brook Harbor.
The culvert, a structure allowing water to flow beneath roadways or other infrastructure, connects a tidal marsh with the harbor.
Village and environmental officials have said replacing the culvert with a bridge would let more saltwater flow from the harbor to an area owned by the county that is populated with phragmites — making it harder for the invasive plant to grow there.
That would be key in the village’s efforts to control stormwater runoff and improve the tidal flushing action into the harbor.
Lawmakers and environmentalists have identified Phragmites australis or common reed — which intrudes into salt marshes and blocks out native vegetation — as a continuing problem in Stony Brook Harbor.
With experts and other studies forecasting that rising Long Island sea levels could threaten barrier islands and shoreline neighborhoods, a Long Island Sound Study work group has been working with lawmakers and community groups on a conservation plan for the marshes surrounding the harbor.
The $1 million cost projection for a bridge would finance a study of design needs for the structure and its construction, according to Head of the Harbor Mayor Doug Dahlgard.
The village applied for a $1 million grant from the New York State Department of Transportation, but the agency rejected the application last month.
Dahlgard said village officials were “disappointed” by losing out on the grant.
Smithtown Councilman Tom Lohmann, who signed a letter of support for the DOT grant application, called the rejection “disheartening."
But both officials noted that village officials have moved forward with seeking other potential funding sources.
The village’s board of trustees voted July 19 to start the application process with the New York State Water Quality Improvement Project program for a grant.
Dahlgard said the village may consider breaking its funding requests for the project into smaller pieces — one for the study and one solely for construction — as officials continue to seek a funding solution.
George Hoffman, co-founder of the environmental nonprofit Setauket Harbor Task Force, said that phragmites is a problematic shoreline vegetation that can become frustrating.
Hoffman said he would like to see more activists get involved in issues involving protecting the harbor, as it borders two towns, Smithtown and Brookhaven.
“The ecology of the harbor is that the marshland is really where it starts in terms of the smaller little fish that become bait and food for the bigger fish,” Hoffman said. “It’s really critical to the ecology of Stony Brook Harbor and the Long Island Sound.”
Fighting phragmites
- Head of the Harbor officials want to build a $1 million bridge to replace a culvert
- Experts say a bridge would let more salt water flow from Stony Brook Harbor to an area with phragmites and make it harder for the invasive plant to grow.
- The state rejected a grant application so officials are seeking different funding.
