Hello!

Season’s Greetings! As we bid farewell to 2023, heartfelt appreciation goes out to our dedicated staff, esteemed board members, the Montauk community, our valued members, and committed volunteers. Your unwavering support has been pivotal in keeping CCOM steadfast in achieving Montauk’s environmental priorities. Thank you for being integral to our mission and community. 

In the spirit of the season, a time synonymous with giving, what better place to contribute than your own community? When you give where you live, you witness firsthand the impactful change your generosity brings to the place you hold dear. To sustain our ongoing efforts, we rely on the support of our community, and we sincerely hope you’ll consider making a tax-deductible, year-end gift to CCOM.

David Freudenthal | Chair

STEAM PROGRAM AT MONTAUK SCHOOL

Partnering with Montauk Youth and the Montauk School, we recently introduced a dynamic STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) program, enabling local tweens to delve into the heart of CCOM’s environmental projects. Their final project will be a film focused on FIMP and the Army Corps of Engineers that the kids will create themselves - from researching, interviewing, writing, reporting, filming (including drone footage), and editing!

In 2020, CCOM started this scholarship to honor a dedicated board member’s legacy by rewarding the next generation of young scientists. Our 2023 scholarship recipient was Cooper Ceva, a Montauk resident and East Hampton High School graduate, who is currently finishing up his freshman year at Boston College.

For nearly a decade, CCOM has participated in the science fair by assembling a panel of over 20 judges representing regional science and environmental organizations such as the Peconic Estuary Partnership, The Nature Conservancy, South Fork Natural History Museum, East Hampton Town Hatchery, and the Peconic Baykeeper, among others. We are so delighted to be a part of this wonderful event, that CCOM awards cash prizes to the winners in grades 5-8, recognizing and celebrating their achievements.

The announcement of 450,000 cubic yards of ocean-dredged sand for Montauk’s downtown beaches, part of the Fire Island to Montauk Point (FIMP) plan, was a significant milestone for Montauk and CCOM. This $11 million federally funded project, achieved through CCOM’s advocacy and collaboration with East Hampton Town, demonstrates our commitment to protecting Montauk’s beaches over the next 30 years.

We take pride in announcing a decade of steadfast commitment to monitoring water quality. Out of concern for declining water quality, we joined Surfrider Foundation’s nationwide Blue Water Task Force in 2013 to start testing enterococcus bacteria levels in Montauk’s waters. Our first sample taken was from West Creek in Lake Montauk on June 6th, 2013. Since then, the program has expanded, and we now work year-round in partnership with the Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island Chapter and Peconic Baykeeper to collectively monitor over 70 water bodies on the East End.

Having collaborated with Dr. Gobler, Director of the NYS Center for Clean Water Technology at Stony Brook University, for six years in monitoring harmful algal blooms in Montauk, we were thrilled to expand our partnership this year. In April, we enlisted him to join us in assessing Montauk’s wastewater problem. His close collaboration with our environmental team ensured a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental impact associated with the Town’s wastewater proposal.

This fall marked the conclusion of our three-year floating wetlands pilot study in Fort Pond. The purpose of this project was to explore options for lessening the extent and severity of harmful algal blooms. Each year we placed more than 7,000 native plants in floating mats. Algae thrive when there is an excess of nutrients. As the native plants mature their roots grow, which enables them to take up nutrients as food. As such, native plants reduce the amount of food that is available for harmful algae and can reduce blooms. This project exemplified the power of teamwork and community involvement in the pursuit of water quality and the preservation of Fort Pond. Stay tuned for the project results.