Recent news articles about the Peconic Estuary and the Peconic Estuary Partnership.
July 8, 2026
“The Peconic Baykeeper will hold its annual Day for the Bay tomorrow, June 6 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the South Jamesport Beach. This year the event will include the Peconic Estuary Partnership, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the North Fork Anglers. Find Out More.”
May 31, 2026
“This year’s event will also have an enhanced educational component, pairing master gardeners and environmental conservation professionals. The Group for the East End and Peconic Estuary Partnership will be stationed at every location to answer public inquiries.”
May 11, 2026
“The Peconic Land Trust purchased the former Broad Cove Duck Farm property in 2021, and since then has been working with an array of partners to provide public access to the property, which is a haven for birds and other wildlife.”
May 7, 2026
“A waterfront preserve in Aquebogue that’s long been a haven for raptors, songbirds, shorebirds and waterfowl now has a statewide birding distinction.”
April 7, 2016
“The U.S. House of Representatives has reauthorized the National Estuary Program, which provides federal funding for the the Peconic Estuary Program and Peconic Estuary Partnership, as well as the Long Island Sound Program, through 2031.”
April 7, 2026
“A water protection bill that was co-sponsored by U.S. Representative Nick LaLota (R-Rocky Point) recently passed the House.”
May 3, 2021
“‘These plants are adapted to our region and all of the active species in our region are also adapted to using these plants in some way to get nutrients. It really is a great habitat for all of our native wildlife,’ – Sarah Schaefer, Program Coordinator for PEP.”
April 13, 2021
“The Peconic Estuary Partnership was awarded more than double the funding under the final budget, according to Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor). The package includes $450,000 for the partnership, which received $200,000 in state funding last year… ‘We’re absolutely grateful for the support,’ PEP executive director Joyce Novak said Friday, noting that state funding has remained stagnant for the last decade. The increase, she said, stems from years of advocacy work by the organization’s members.”
November 9, 2020
“To help protect the 250 square miles that comprise the Peconic watershed, the Peconic Estuary Partnership recently unveiled its 2020 Comprehensive Conservation and Management plan, which will serve as its roadmap for the next decade. The 88-page document identifies clean water, abundant wildlife habitats, a thriving coastal economy and climate change preparedness as top goals and outlines a series of 35 objectives to aid in its implementation.”
November 7, 2020
“Joyce Novak of the Peconic Estuary Partnership has established a technical advisory committee to try to find solutions including a more resilient scallop…’To see it be so decimated for two years in a row is a giant wakeup call for climate change and how we deal with putting nutrients in the waters,’ she said.”
November 6, 2020
“…the issue goes beyond water quality. Ecosystems are rapidly changing as a result of climate change, according to the Peconic Estuary Partnership. Warmer ocean temperatures are more susceptible to the harmful effects of nutrient pollution, the excessive input of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in bodies of water, another concern for scientists and baymen.”
October 3, 2020
“This coming Peconic Bay scallop season could prove a repeat of last year’s devastating die-off, says Dr. Stephen Tettelbach, a Long Island University ecology professor who heads Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Peconic Bay Scallop Restoration Program. In addition to the recurring warm water temperatures that thwarted last year’s scallops, the shellfish faced two additional threats this year, says Dr. Tettelbach.”
February 18, 2020
“The marine mammal was seen swimming in the water on the west side of Grangebel Park last Wednesday.”
February 9, 2020
“Researchers have discovered what they believe is a contributing cause of the “near-unprecedented” Peconic Bay scallop die-off of 2019: a parasite found in a sample of adult bay scallops..”
November 20, 2019
“A wetlands restoration project proposed for Orient could turn Narrow River Road into a recreational path for residents. It’s one of four recommendations outlined in a conceptual design plan funded by the Peconic Estuary Program in a partnership with Ducks Unlimited and Southold Town.”
November 18, 2019
“Ms. Schaefer said the Peconic Estuary Program will be convening a scallop technical review committee in the coming weeks. Mr. Tettelbach added that Cornell Cooperative is working to protect the remaining scallop population.”
August 12, 2019
“Joyce Novak, executive director of the Peconic Estuary Program, described the plan as a “giant leap” toward a healthier ecosystem and cleaner waters in the Peconics.”
July 14, 2019
“We also work with other East End villages and towns, through the Peconic Estuary Program, to develop regional solutions to protecting our bays, creeks and estuaries. Water quality is a regional challenge that requires regional solutions.”
June 24, 2019
“The Peconic Estuary Program has funded the salt marsh restoration work being carried out by Peconic Land Trust with technical assistance from Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program.” The latest phase in the restoration has been completed.
May 7, 2019
PEP Program Director, Dr. Joyce Novak, discusses the program’s priorities, projects, and updates for the Peconic Estuary at the Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association meeting.
April 23, 2019
Peconic Estuary Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program and Peconic Land Trust are hosting a Beach Grass Planting event in Greenport on April 24th. Volunteers will be a part of a Living Shoreline restoration project.
September 7, 2018
Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) announced $480,000 in federal funding for the Cedar Beach Creek Habitat Restoration Demonstration Project, working with the Army Corps of Engineers, which will restore local essential ecosystem functions in the degraded marsh system.
The Project grantee, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, will implement this project with New York District of the Army Corps, in coordination with Suffolk County Parks and the Peconic Estuary Program to improve this 65 acre marsh, beach, and open water mosaic.
July 13th, 2017
2017 year marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of the National Estuary Program – which occurred when Section 320 was added to the Clean Water Act in a series of amendments in 1987.
2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the Peconic Estuary Program’s addition to the National Estuary Program. When Riverhead News-Review reporter, Kelly Zegers, came across the 25 year old article written about the occasion, she shared this.
