Save of the Week: Conservancy Leads Plan to Restore Great South Bay Ecosystem

Some people may think Carl LoBue has the best job in the world. Who wouldn’t want to spend their summers on the gently lapping waters of the Great South Bay, in one of the Northeast’s choice getaway spots? But there is nothing easy about the work Carl does. As the Marine Reserve Specialist for The Nature Conservancy on Long Island, Carl spends much of his time working with a long list of partners planning and implementing large-scale restoration projects in the Great South Bay.

Carl grew up along Great South Bay, which on a clear day is within site of New York City's skyscrapers. These days, Carl can often be found navigating the 13,000 acres that comprise the former shellfish grounds of the Bluepoints Company, which was once famed for its oysters. The work is varied but never dull. Working off the ReClamation, the Conservancy’s 21-foot boat, some of Carl's tasks include restocking clams, posting boundary markers, monitoring restoration projects, and communicating with local community leaders.

The Conservancy first acquired the bulk of Bluepoints submerged lands two years ago, but a key 1,500-acre parcel at the heart of the property was missing. Late this summer, the Conservancy completed the acquisition and the bottomlands now make up the cornerstone of a Conservancy-led plan to restore the depleted ecosystem of the Bluepoints property and the wider Great South Bay.

Ownership of underwater lands is a new tool in the Conservancy’s strategic conservation plans. Scientists hope that the restoration project in the Great South Bay will pave the way for more marine-based conservation on Long Island and throughout the Conservancy.

Restoration of depleted native shellfish beds is a major component of the Conservancy’s conservation and restoration strategy in Great South Bay. The Nature Conservancy has already planted close to 500,000 adult hard clams and 10,000 bay scallops in the hope that they will successfully reproduce. Scientists hope that rebuilding the populations of these filter feeders will help control development of nuisance algae blooms like brown tide. As "ecosystem engineers," shellfish pump large volumes of water to feed on plankton and other organic particles. This, in turn, influences the entire food web and enhances ecosystem stability. Scientists surmise that if we can bring the shellfish population up to a sustainable level, the health of the overall system will improve.

The Conservancy’s work in the Bluepoints property does not stop in winter. In teeth-chattering weather, Carl is still busy establishing spawner sanctuaries, monitoring progress, leading educational trips for partners and potential donors, and restocking hard clams and scallops.

“We believe that this long-term, large-scale, partner-driven project spearheaded by The Conservancy represents the best chance to make Great South Bay great again for future generations,” Carl said.

For more information:

• Success Story: Great South Bay
  The Nature Conservancy in October 2002 entered a new frontier in marine conservation with the acquisition of 11,500 acres along the bottom of the Great South Bay, off Long Island, New York.
• Places We Protect: Long Island: Atlantic Ocean Beaches and Bays
  Learn about this dynamic environment which provides essential habitat for hundreds of species of birds, plants, fish, shellfish, sea turtles and marine mammal, including several rare or endangered species.
• Where We Work: The Nature Conservancy on Long Island, New York
  Since the early 1950s, The Nature Conservancy has been active on Long Island, which supports a variety of ecological features unique in New York.
• How We Work: The Global Marine Initiative
  Across the Conservancy, our Global Marine Initiaitive works to establish new tools for the conservation of estuarine and coastal ecosystems, including leasing, owning and restoring submerged lands.
• Archive of our Saves of the Week and Success Stories
  Read more about our work to save the last great places on Earth.