Wildlife on Plum Island in Danger of Losing Homes to Development

The 840-acre land just off the coast of Connecticut in Suffolk County, NY is home to hundreds of different birds and other animals.  With the risk posed by development by a private investor, many animals have been and still are in danger of losing their natural habitats on Plum Island.

Most recently, United States Senators representing New York and Connecticut sent a letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior urging that the island be transferred to one of the federal agencies under the department’s jurisdiction. A response is still awaited.

In 2008, Congress bypassed usual federal property disposal procedures with legislation that enabled sale of the island to the highest bidder. Save the Sound - a New Haven-based organization dedicated to fighting climate change, saving endangered lands, protecting the Long Sound and its rivers, and working with nature to restore the ecosystem - sued in federal court, along with two other environmental organizations and three individuals in 2016. They sought to demonstrate that the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the sale, produced by the General Services Administration and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which operates the island, was inadequate - in an attempt to block or stall the sale until all conservation options could be assessed.

“Not only did the lawsuit bring up the lack of consideration towards a conservation alternative but it also called out that the FEIS ignored endangered species and the coastal management act, among other deficiencies,” said Louise Harrison, New York Natural Areas Coordinator for Save the Sound.

The judge ruled to deny the federal government’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit in 2018.  According to Harrison, the language in the court’s ruling likely sent a warning to DHS that additional environmental impacts needed to be considered in any sale process.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a notice in August of that year of its intention to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement. The endangered species and coastal zone management would both be addressed in this document, but not the consideration of a conservation alternative, Harrison explained. To date, no such supplemental EIS has been produced for public review.

The Preserve Plum Island Coalition had formed around 2011, led by Save the Sound. Since forming, the coalition has grown to include118 organizations. The lawsuit in 2016 provided a spotlight on their efforts. 

In 2018 and 2019, stakeholders and other representatives of the Preserve Plum Island Coalition met to discuss the future of Plum Island in a visioning process led by Save the Sound and The Nature Conservancy called “Envision Plum Island.” 

“We also visited Congress in 2017 and 2018, however we were told we needed to come up with a clear plan,” said Harrison.

They went back to Congress in July of 2020, and presented their hopes and plans for the island.

After the region’s vision for Plum Island was made clear, Congress worked to repeal the language that had earlier positioned Plum Island for sale in an auction. The Department of Homeland Security has sent a draft notice of excess property to the Government Services Administration, which, when the DHS’s information is complete, is required to to notify all of the agencies in the federal government that Plum Island is available for transfer.         

“The scary part is, if agencies at the federal, state, or local levels are not interested, Plum Island could go back on the auction block, where it is at heavy risk of being put under development,” said Harrison.

The coalition was hoping the State of New York would be interested in Plum Island, however at this point the state is not ready to purchase Plum Island, as their focus now is invested in cleaning up the island, Harrison indicates. New York had been the preferred recipient of the island under the region’s vision, achieved through Envision Plum Island. 

With the fear that no federal agency would want the island, the coalition had to begin trying to influence the federal land disposition process. Last December they reached out to the Department of the Interior. With the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service agencies all within this department, the new goal is to interest one of the agencies interested in acquiring Plum Island.

New York and Connecticut’s U.S. Senators letter to Interior Secretary Deb Halaand, requesting she and the Biden administration use all administrative and executive tools to preserve Plum Island has yet to receive a response, but Save the Sound and the coalition remain hopeful. 

The island is currently restricted from the public, but with the goal of making Plum Island a national monument, or a wildlife refuge, as the campaign to bring the region’s vision of Plum Island Preserve to fruition continues.

Harrison mentions the region’s vision includes restricting certain parts of the island and limiting the number of people on the island at one time, so that the wildlife is not too overwhelmed.

“If we were to have access to the island, that would grow to 300 species of birds,” said Patrick Comins, executive director of the Connecticut Audubon Society,among the organizations in the Preserve Plum Island Coalition. They work to protect Connecticut's birds, other wildlife and their habitats through conservation, education, and advocacy.

The Society supports the coalition on an as needed basis, and helps to educate the public on why the island is unique.

“We’ve sent out action alerts when needed, and we have a network of volunteers who will contact legislators,” said Comins.

The island is unique because of the wide range of habitats, Comins noted. There are sandy beach areas, rocky habitats, eelgrass beds, and plenty more. 

According to Comins, there are currently around 228 species of birds that have been recorded on the island, with about 67 breeding species that are of concern, and 111 species of concern if you count non nesting birds. Losing the island to private development would greatly diminish its capacity to support such diversity of wildlife.

“Right now you can see a lot of seabirds on the island using the coastline, but they won’t be able to if there’s a high-rise building in the way,” said Bill Lucey, soundkeeper of the Long Island Sound.

 His job entails talking to the public, sampling water, and locating pollution sources. He also works to influence policy at the state and federal levels.

According to Lucey, the island is currently restricted from the public, as it is a research facility to prevent the spread of disease and to maintain biosecurity. Getting people back on the island will be a challenge, but it is possible if ownership remains in public.

“If it went into private hands and was covered with housing developments it would be a tremendous loss,” said Lucey.

Housing density along Long Island Sound has increased tremendously in recent decades. The days of seeing a small cabin along the coast are gone, according to Lucey. There are rows and rows of suburban homes and crowded beaches that have displaced wildlife’s homes.

One example of the impact of dense development and hardened shorelines is that it makes it increasingly difficult for a horseshoe crab to come to the shore, mate and leave their eggs where they can hatch without getting trampled.  Though the species is millions of years old, they have declined dramatically in the Sound during the past few decades.

Harrison mentions that Plum Island is the largest seal haul-out area in New York State and one of the largest in Southern New England. This title would be stripped, and many seals would be put in danger.

“Most of the island has remained undisturbed since the early 1950s. It’s hard to find another place like Plum Island where people don’t disturb the wildlife,” said Harrison.

There will be a loss in habitats and an increase in pollutants with a private development, according to Harrison.

To get involved with preserving Plum Island, visit https://www.preserveplumisland.org/, https://www.savethesound.org/take-action/join-activist-network/, https://www.ctaudubon.org/, or email Louise Harrison at lharrison@savethesound.org

Plum Island has its issues, according to Lucey, but no animal wants to see a high-rise building destroy their home - nor do a growing number of organizations and people.

This article was reported and written by Sarah Klepack, an intern at CT by the Numbers from Trumbull and a rising junior at Endicott College pursuing studies in communication and digital journalism.