by Marty Shea, Chief Environmental Analyst, Town of Southampton
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| Recently constructed public access boat ramp and restored fishing pier | |
A new century is coming to the South Shore Estuary Reserve and along with it, a formidable challenge: How to restore and protect the natural, diverse beauty of the open bays and wetlands, while still allowing for increased public use. The recently opened Edward J. Warner "Old" Ponquoque Bridge Marine Park in the Town of Southampton is emblematic of how these seemingly divergent goals can be married. Such a project provides a wonderful example of how innovative partnerships can lead to the revitalization of a site that is both recreationally and ecologically important. For many years, the words "Old Ponquoque Bridge" evoked images, of a debilitated waterfront with a long abandoned, deteriorating bridge structure jutting out from a disturbed shoreline. Thanks to the New York State Departments of State (DOS) and Environmental Conservation (DEC) the Town of Southampton and Southhampton Trustees were able to revive this historically popular access site. The goal was accomplished by reconstructing fishing piers, public access boating ramps, and tidal wetlands with scenic vistas of the Shinnecock Bay.
The Edward J. Warner "Old" Ponquoque Bridge marine Park is open to al state residents and offers a wealth of public access and recreational opportunities including a new public boat launch for marine craft, a scuba diving area, fishing pier, parking for cars and trailers, handicapped accessible walkways and roadway improvements. South of the bridge, in areas where wetlands were formerly filled as a result of past dredging, both tidal and coastal freshwater ponds have been recreated. Low sweeping dunes, a self-guided trail system and interpretive signage have been installed. Marine education programs will facilitate increased public awareness of the benefits of restoring wetlands in the estuary.
The public access improvements and wetlands restoration serve to implement the interim goals and recommendations of the South Shore Estuary Reserve Council's Comprehensive Management Plan. Moreover, the establishment of the Edward J. Warner "Old" Ponquoque Bridge Marine Park complements the Town's local waterfront initiatives, including the completion of the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program and Harbor Management Plan for Shinnecock Bay
Within the last three years, the Town of Southampton has been awarded a total of $85,000 in environmental protection grant funds (through the DOS Local Waterfront Revitalization Program) for public access improvements and wetland restoration at the Edward J. Warner "Old" Ponquoque Bridge. Further facilitating construction of this new Marine Park, an additional grant of $249,447 was obtained from the DECs Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources. The Town of Southampton invested $180,000 in the facility, using capital project dollars and Southampton's General Parks Fund generated between 1979 and 1999. This year, the Mark Sinclair Foundation, a not-for-profit organization in Hampton Bays, donated thousands of dollars. The donation enabled the town to install a handicapped accessible gazebo overlooking the bay.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County also contributed to the project. They, with the aid of Wilke Architects/Engineers, worked jointly with the Town to develop a wetlands restoration plan for the Ponquoque Bridge area. The wetlands reconstruction was born out of a comprehensive south shore estuary wetlands restoration study prepared for the Town in 1995 by Chris Pickerell Cornell Cooperative Extension. Both of these efforts were funded with $43,900 allocated through the DOS Environmental Protection Fund Local Waterfront Revitalization grants.
Editors Note: At the ribbon cutting ceremony held on Wednesday, June 23,1999, state officials commended the Town for enhancing public access and wetlands habitat along Shinnecock Bay.