Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine announced July 15 that the county will seek to acquire Plum Island, the 822-acre island off the tip of the North Fork that has been home to a federal agricultural disease laboratory since 1954.
Plum Island is currently managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is expected to issue a “Report of Excess” of the island when the science mission at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center comes to an end in the near future, not long after which the county can officially express its interest in owning it.
Mr. Romaine announced that the county is pursuing state funding for development of a comprehensive business and operations plan, said the Preserve Plum Island Coalition (PPIC) in a July 17 announcement of the Coalition’s support for the county’s acquisition of the island.
Once the Report of Excess is issued, other federal agencies can consider ownership, though the Coalition says it is “unaware of any such U.S. agency interested in acquiring the island.” After that, the General Service Agency (GSA), the federal agency that oversees the management and sale of government property, would issue a Report of Surplus property, at which point it could be transferred for as little as no money to another agency looking to preserve it.
“The PPIC appreciates that the County Executive recognizes the complexity of preserving an island with a unique collection of disparate features,” according to the Coalition. “The island’s legacy includes historic Fort Terry and the Plum Island Light Station, the infrastructure built for the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, colonialism, and abundant ecological resources…. The county already is undertaking a study of ferry transportation options around the Peconic Estuary region, which may increase options for future public access scenarios.
“This is a hallelujah moment,” said Louise Harrison, Long Island project manager and senior science advisor for Save the Sound, which is a leader in the Coalition. “County Executive Romaine has raised the hopes of everyone who cares about the preservation of Plum Island. This is a giant step that inspires our imaginations about the possibilities for future partnerships with many parties, focused on conservation, research, education, cultural heritage of the Montaukett Indian Nation, and sustainable public access.”
Ms. Harrison said later that she learned of the announcement, which was made by Deputy Suffolk County Executive Jennifer Juengst at a meeting last week of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, from a reporter from Newsday who’d covered the meeting.
“We did not expect this, and to find out from a Newsday reporter was astonishing and delightful,” said Ms. Harrison.
The Preserve Plum Island Coalition was formed 15 years ago, after Congress included a measure requiring the sale of the island at public auction to the highest bidder after the laboratory closes. The requirement for an auction was removed from the sale in 2020 after nearly a decade of advocacy from the Coalition, culminating in a study earlier that year, “Envision Plum Island,” on the potential futures of the island if it is conserved.
When word got out about the auction — which could have enabled the island to be sold to developers — Plum Island had never been zoned by Southold Town. It had been in federal hands since prior to the town’s enactment of its zoning code in the 1950s.
In 2013, Southold passed zoning regulations for the island that allows the space currently used by the lab to be used only for a research facility and placed the remaining 640 remaining acres in a conservation zoning district, ensuring that part of the island will not be developed.
Ms. Harrison said U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer’s office had arranged a trip to the island the week prior to the county’s announcement for staffers from four local senators’ offices and environmental groups affiliated with the coalition. Ms. Juengst, Mr. Romaine and Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski were also on the trip.
“Plum Island’s a very complex place, and there are many aspects to taking on such a big entity and knowing how to manage it,” said Ms. Harrison. “It’s not just a nature preserve and a laboratory site and an old fort. All this requires planning.”
“Suffolk County has been a visionary leader in addressing many of the most critical conservation issues facing our region for decades,” said Bob DeLuca, President of Group for the East End, which is a member of the Coalition. “We are thrilled to applaud the Romaine administration for stepping forward to begin the critical work necessary to preserve the unique ecological value and extraordinary cultural history of Plum Island. Suffolk County’s leadership is pivotal, not only to protecting the island but in developing a viable, enduring, and sustainable management plan. The Preserve Plum Island Coalition stands ready to help and support this effort any way we can.”
Montaukett Indian Nation Executive Director and Government Affairs Officer Sandi Brewster-walker insisted the Nation, which is a member of the Coalition, have a seat at the table.
“The Montaukett Indian Nation strongly believes that it is morally wrong for Suffolk County to seek to acquire Plum Island’s 840 acres of land without consulting the Montaukett Indian Nation,” she said in the Coalition’s announcement.” This is part of our ancestral territory, and once again decisions are being made without any consultation with the Nation; we see this as Colonialism 2.0. We should be at all discussions concerning our stolen lands.”
Ms. Harrison said the Coalition “wants a future use of Plum Island to include the Montaukett Indian Nation. We understand that they were dispossessed of Plum Island in the 1640s. They deserve the right to have access. Public access in general has been cut off since the 1640s. It’s time to return Plum Island to the people, and we need the Montaukett Indian nation to be a part of that process.”
The Coalition is composed of about 130 organizations, and its “steering committee has been meeting monthly since 2011, working to bring together stakeholders to determine the public’s vision for the island and to encourage elected officials—including U.S. senators and representatives from New York and Connecticut—to explore every possibility to secure permanent preservation of Plum Island,” according to the announcement. “Over the last three years, the PPIC has developed a fruitful relationship with leadership at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center and the General Services Administration (GSA) advancing discussions about the realities of and opportunities for preservation.”
“Plum Island is an ecological crown jewel that must never be sold to private developers,” said North Fork Environmental Council Southold Land Use Coordinator Anne Murray, whose environmental group is also part of the Coalition. “Suffolk County taking ownership would be the ultimate victory for local conservation, permanently protecting this fragile wildlife sanctuary for generations to come.”
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Okay, Suffolk County will extend its control over an additional parcel. But when the issue of East End ‘affordability’ is invoked as an expanding problem, know that it is these extensions of government reach that are a major contributor to the out migration of middle class from the area.