Don't sell Plum Island

Regarding "Be creative with Plum Island" [Letters, Nov. 22], the Preserve Plum Island Coalition is working with federal agencies and officials to reverse the Congress-imposed sale of the 843-acre Plum Island and have all or a significant fraction of it become a national wildlife refuge for the benefit of the wildlife and residents alike.

The coalition is a 49-member association of international, national, regional and local conservation, environmental and civic organizations working toward this goal. These include such respected national organizations as the Wildlife Conservation Society, Environmental Defense Fund, The Nature Conservancy and the National Audubon Society, as well as local groups such as the Orient Association.

We support the continued operation of the Animal Disease Center on the developed portion of the island. We would also strongly consider supporting the use of the laboratory and its surrounding developed environment for renewable energy research and production, most notably for photovoltaic research. In fact, we have had discussions with officials from the Long Island Power Authority in this regard.

However, this consideration is made with the condition that the undisturbed bulk of the island, up to 80 percent of the total acreage, remain in its natural state and be permanently dedicated for conservation purposes with suitable public visitation. The nesting ospreys, several hundred wintering seals, countless migratory birds, endangered plovers and terns, rare plants and sensitive wildlife habitats that collectively make up the living mosaic of the island, and the cultural assets in the form of the Plum Island Lighthouse and remains of the Spanish-American War fortification, Fort Terry, deserve no less than to be perpetually protected as public assets.

John L. Turner

Massapequa Park

Editor's note: The writer is a spokesman for the Preserve Plum Island Coalition.