Protecting & Restoring Long Island's Peconic Bays

DEC Announces Enforcement of New York's Plastic Bag Ban to Start Oct. 19, 2020

State encourages New Yorkers to #BYOBagNY as the DEC announces the enforcement of the New York Plastic Bag Ban beginning October 19th, 2020. Details of the announcement can be found here: https://www.dec.ny.gov/press/121415.html

“New Yorkers use an estimated 23 billion plastic bags annually-each for about 12 minutes-and approximately 85 percent of this staggering total ends up in landfills, recycling machines, waterways, and streets.” This plastic bag ban is an instrumental step to making our environment cleaner and our wildlife safer.

Learn more about the Bag Waste Reduction Law and the types of bags you can use: https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/50034.html


Photo: NYSDEC

Suffolk County Septic Improvement Program Workshop

Suffolk County presents a workshop on the Septic Improvement Program at PEP’s August 2020 Citizens’ Advisory Committee Meeting. Learn what the program entails, how to apply, and feel equipped to take the next steps in upgrading your cesspool or septic system for cleaner water quality.

Workgroup for Inclusion and Environmental Justice

We at the Peconic Estuary Partnership (PEP) have taken time over the past few months to reflect on how we, as a partnership of scientists, educators, public and private institutions, can act to change the racial disparity in our own small corner of the world and contribute to this change in the wider world. As... Continue reading

diamondback terrapin

Long Island Diamondback Terrapin Monitoring Workshop

The Peconic Estuary Partnership, Seatuck Environmental Association, and Dr. Russell Burke of the Jamaica Bay Terrapin Project of Hofstra University hosted a virtual terrapin monitoring workshop where attendees learned about the importance of monitoring and how to identify terrapins and evidence of their activity. The workshop concluded with the unveiling of Seatuck’s Diamondback Terrapin Watch, which is an online survey... Continue reading

Native Plant Gardening For Better Water Quality

Watch our May 2020 Citizens’ Advisory Committee Meeting co-hosted with Group for the East End, with guest speaker Rusty Schmidt, President of Long Island Native Plant Initiative (LINPI). Learn all about native plant species, where you can buy native plants, and how to get started on your garden. Native plants do not require fertilizer or... Continue reading

PEP Offices Closed & In-Person Activities Postponed

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the PEP offices are closed and all in-person meetings, events and activities are postponed until further notice to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. PEP staff are working remotely and can be contacted via email. As always, we will continue to share information about the Peconic Estuary through our... Continue reading

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