Saturday, December 1, 2012

New Old Inlet Information Meeting

                                   Join in on an exchange of perspectives
                                      regarding the breach at Old Inlet   

                                         Saturday, Dec. 1 at 1:20 pm      
                                      Bellport Village Community Center   
                                                4 Bell Street             
                                             Bellport, NY 11713           

                                               Guest Speakers             

                                     Christopher Soller,  Superintendent  
                                        Fire Island National Seashore     

                                   Mr. Soller will  provide a brief update
                                   of the Seashore's involvement in the   
                                   implementation of a 1997 multi-agency  
                                   Breach Contingency Plan (BCP). This    
                                   plan calls for the immediate filling of
                                   breaches on Fire Island which do not   
                                   occur in federally-designated          
                                   wilderness. For a breach within the    
                                   Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune        
                                   Wilderness, a more conservative        
                                   response is prescribed,and includes    
                                   inter-agency monitoring of the behavior
                                   of the breach, while initially allowing
                                   it to close naturally. If the breach is
                                   determined to have adverse impacts on  
                                   water levels in surrounding            
                                   communities, it will be closed         
                                   immediately. Supt. Soller will share   
                                   data gathered by the National Park     
                                   Service and partner agencies at the    
                                   breach at Old Inlet. FINS              

                                    Kevin McAllister, President, Peconic  
                                                  Baykeeper               

                                   Mr. McAllister, president of Peconic   
                                   Baykeepers, will provide a perspective
                                   with regard to the ecological          
                                   advantages of additional sustained flow
                                   between the ocean and Great South Bay.
                                   Peconic Baykeeper is the only          
                                   independent not-for-profit advocate    
                                   solely dedicated to the protection and
                                   improvement of the aquatic ecosystems  
                                   of Peconic and South Shore estuaries of
                                   Long Island. As sprawl development     
                                   continues to harden the island's       
                                   landscape, pollution  threatens the    
                                   vitality and health of our bays. Their
                                   recovery depends on kinds of           
                                   enlightened costal management policies
                                   and responsible development practices  
                                   that can be adopted when citizens and  
                                   communities are informed and engaged in
                                   decision making.                       


                                        Charlie Flagg, Ph.D, Research     
                                       Professor, School of Marine and    
                                    Atmospheric Sciences(SoMAS) at Stony  
                                                 Brook SoMA               

                                   Prof. Flagg will share his perspective
                                   as a research scientist and will       
                                   provide a slide presentation of images
                                   of the breach at Old Inlet taken during
                                   his numerous observation flights over  
                                   the area. Mr. Flagg has been studying  
                                   the circulation of the costal lagoons  
                                   of southern Long Island using a        
                                   combination of numerical modeling and  
                                   observation. Currently, he is looking  
                                   at the impact that breaches in Fire    
                                   Island might have on circulation, sea  
                                   level, and salinity distribution in    
                                   Great South Bay. Pof. Flagg will share
                                   data collected at the Bellport marina  
                                   and by the SoMAS research buoy in Great
                                   South Bay that show some noticeable    
                                   changes since Sandy.                   

                                     Joseph Gagliano, Chairman, Bellport  
                                        Village Waterfront Commission     

                                   Mr. Gagliano will share his perspective
                                   as it relates to the actual effects    
                                   being experienced along the Bellport   
                                   Village shoreline post Sandy. Bellport
                                   Village lies directly opposite the     
                                   breach on Fire Island less then two    
                                   miles away.                            

                                         Additional guests include:       

                                   Representatives from shoreline         
                                   communities, municipalities, and       
                                   organizations who will share their     
                                   perspectives with regard to the actual
                                   effects that the breach is having on   
                                   the shoreline post Sandy.              

                                   Shoreline residents and property owners
                                   are urged to attend and will have an   
                                   opportunity to share their perspectives
                                   during the public comment period.      

                                   Please arrive 15 minutes early if you  
                                   wish to sign up for the public comment
                                   period.                                


Michael S. Bilecki
Chief, Natural Resources Management
Fire Island National Seashore
Ph (631)687-4760
Cell (516)805-3362
Fax (631) 289-4898
email: michael_bilecki@nps.gov




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