Suffolk County took on the responsibility for keeping its harbors navigable in the 1960s, when the number of recreational boaters on the East End was small. County government was run by a Board of Supervisors then, five of whom were from the five East End towns.

Over the years, the number and size of boats of every kind, including commercial fishing boats, have grown exponentially. What was true in 1960 continues to be true today, only more so. Many of the boats in local waters come summer are transient, and many come from other parts of Suffolk County, Huntington Harbor, for example, and the North Fork.

While the United States Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for keeping Montauk Harbor open, along with Shinnecock in Southampton and Mattituck in Southold, that leaves a lot of waterways dependent on the county.

In East Hampton, officials have been begging the county for over a year to do a thorough dredging of Three Mile Harbor, something that has not been done since 1974. All necessary permits are in place. The county, however, seems willing only to do a little of the necessary dredging at a time, leaving a good number of the boats hard aground and the marinas that service them annoyed that the harbor's condition is not good for business.

A dredge contracted by the county this spring, for example, left Three Mile Harbor on April 15 despite the pleas of the Town Trustees and Town Board, and despite the town's offer to lay out the $100,000 for channel dredging if the county would agree to return the money when it could. The County Department of Public Works, which is in charge, declined, citing budget and a prior commitment at Fresh Pond in Southampton.

As of this writing, County Legislator George Guldi was trying to see whether he could turn the Department of Public Works around before Memorial Day. Make no mistake: This is not some kind of political boondoggle or pork that's being asked for, and more than business is at stake. It's a matter of safety.

The alluring title of Lanford Wilson's new play, "Sympathetic Magic," may well mystify those of us unfamiliar with the phrase.

Since regular magic is notoriously capricious, we may reason, then sympathetic magic must be dependable: a kindly power that intercedes reliably on our behalf, sort of like a fairy godmother.

In the play, however, Liz (Tanya Berezin), an anthropologist, defines the term as magic based on the belief that one event can affect another, even at a distance, if there's a sympathetic connection between them.

She cites rituals performed by primitive tribes to induce the gods to do the right thing: staging a rain dance to make it rain, for example - not always a successful ploy, but comforting in its belief in an attentive higher power that can, at least, be appealed to.

Earth Or Heaven

Mr. Wilson is a Sag Harborite. His play, which opened on April 16 at the Second Stage Theatre in Manhattan, is about an eclectic group of family and friends all searching, in their various ways, for some form of sympathetic magic - if not on earth in sunny, neurotic California, then in heaven or the starry reaches of the cosmos.

Andy (David Bishins), an astrophysicist, slings his briefcase down on John Lee Beatty's clever high-tech set and lectures the audience on the visible universe, a grain of sand compared to the veiled beyond.

He works with a fellow astronomer, Micky (Jordan Mott), in a university observatory, researching black holes and other celestial phenomena. With their boosted-up telescope, they're looking for the farthest and oldest object that can be seen from earth.

AIDS Chorus

And they may have found it - there does seem to be something out there - but if the dean (Herb Foster) has his way, the university will hog all the credit for their discovery.

Dennis Barichy's beautiful lighting design also spirits us to a "medium-high" Episcopal church that displays a banner reading, Yahweh: I AM. Don (Jeff McCarthy), its gay pastor, labors tirelessly for his inner-city parish and its burgeoning caseload of AIDS patients.

He is helped by Pauly (David Pittu), his lover and the church choirmaster, who's rehearsing a chorus of sick and dying men in the "Kyrie Eleison" - "Lord Have Mercy" - from Mozart's Requiem.

Studies Of Shamans

Don's sister Barbara (Ellen Lancaster), a sculptor of monumental, "castrating" works, according to her critics, has just had a successful opening. She "lives in sin" with Andy and, unbeknownst to him, is pregnant: the secular artist and astrophysicist making a stab at the heaven on earth of human love.

Liz, the authority on sympathetic magic and Don and Barbara's mother, has devoted her life to studies of shamans and snakes' blood in her search for some sort of anthropological theology: she fears dying, and is going blind.

Rounding out the rather large cast for these straitened artistic times is Susan (Dana Millican), who's typing Liz's memoirs. She brings a puppyish gush of hero worship to the gathering of noted artists, scientists, and clergymen.

Stargazing

This is not the first of Mr. Wilson's works to stargaze. There are the earlier short plays "The Great Nebula in Orion," "A Poster of the Cosmos" (an ironic reference to the soccer team), and "The Moonshot Tape."

In "Sympathetic Magic," however, we find the playwright looking more deeply into outer, as well as inner, space: a seeker yearning to connect the baffling dots of the "visible universe" with imponderable infinity.

One wishes that Mr. Wilson had given himself a little more time to let this cosmic longing take root in his characters. They often feel like representatives of clashing philosophies rather than like people struggling to give meaning to their lives.

Excellent Acting

Despite brilliant direction by the playwright's longtime collaborator, Marshall W. Mason, and excellent acting, particularly by the no-nonsense Ms. Berezin, the funny Mr. Scott, and the intense Mr. Bishins, the play fails to illuminate the sympathetic magic between nurture, sexual orientation, violence, art, astronomy, religion, and the average person.

It is almost too abstract and too private at the same time: such unfathomable themes spread out before us, and such brief glimpses into the human heart - sort of like God playing peekaboo.

Three approvals, two postponements, and a lot of talk about poolhouses filled a lengthy East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals session Friday.

In a year's time, the board has considered requests from at least 20 homeowners - two this week - to convert garages or other existing structures into poolhouses, said Gene Cross, the village planning consultant. Perhaps, he suggested, it is time to amend the Village Code to allow poolhouses in pre-existing structures, spelling out specific limits on indoor facilities and setbacks.

That would eliminate a lot of hearings, Mr. Cross observed. More important, he said, once the requirements are spelled out, homeowners will find it harder to obtain variances that stretch the law - for inside showers or wet bars, for example, or to create kitchen facilities where none had existed.

Gould Street

The Z.B.A. approved both of this week's poolhouse requests. Steven Brown of Gould Street can convert a 410-square-foot garage into a 250-square-foot poolhouse, the maximum allowed, with the remaining space for storage.

Mr. Brown had received a variance in October 1995 to renovate the garage to a storage building, but without permission began work on a poolhouse and bath.

"The refrigerator is a nice touch, too," noted Joan Denny, a board member, with some sarcasm. She visited the site recently.

"The contractor thought the owner had a permit," said Tom Lawrence, the building code enforcement officer, "and the owner didn't think he needed [another] permit."

Nonetheless, Ms. Denny and the other board members agreed to allow the renovation, provided it includes only a sink, a toilet, and an outdoor shower. The code enforcement officer will make spot checks to assure compliance.

Egypt Lane

The board also approved Cordelia and William Laverack's 180-square-foot poolhouse, with bath and shower, on Egypt Lane, also a conversion of a 400-square-foot garage. The balance of the building will be storage.

The building is 2.4 feet from the side property line and 2.1 feet from the rear line, where required side and rear yard setbacks are 20 feet.

Fred and Sharon Stein of Old Beach Lane received permission to convert 655 square feet of storage space above a nonconforming garage into a workout room and art studio. William Fleming, the Steins' attorney, said his clients promised not to rent the space or include any kitchen equipment in it. The lawyer said the renovation was "an intelligent use of the property," which is about two acres and contains a tennis court, pool, and poolhouse in addition to the main house and garage.

The Steins were also given a variance for a 29.8-foot side yard setback, where the requirement is 30 feet.

Postponed

The board postponed two requests for lack of information - Ian Bruce Eichner's to replace a brick patio at his Ocean Avenue residence with a covered porch, and the Bayberry Close Corporation's to expand a cooperative cottage near Main Beach, which already has seen two expansions.

In connection with the latter, Frank Manelsky, a neighbor, said the coop has experienced "more maids, more service vehicles, and general saturation," with seven applications approved since 1978. The board's "good will has been abused," he said.

In other village news, the Planning Board will hold a work session next Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Village Hall.

The flounders are biting, not only in Lake Montauk and at Shinnecock, but in deeper water off Block Island.

Fishermen aboard the Blue Fin IV charter boat from Montauk reeled aboard two very large flounder on Tuesday, one weighing nearly five pounds. The Blue Fin and other Montauk boats are now running split cod and flounder trips.

Kathy Vegessi of Montauk's Lazy Bones party boat reported good flounder fishing in Lake Montauk, the flatties responding to the traditional chummed corn, and biting on clams and mussels. She reckoned the strong showing could have to do with the clammers working the lake, stirring the bottom and perking the flounders' olfactory sensors.

Altenkirch Precision Outfitters in Hampton Bays reports continuing flounder action in the Shinnecock Canal and new action at the South Race and at Buoy 9 off Pine Neck Point, as well as cod up to 15 pounds southeast of Shinnecock.

A Mystery Still

Montauk's Viking Fleet of party boats will not be running its regular Friday cod trip because of the annual Coast Guard inspections. Saturday and Sunday trips are scheduled to go as usual, however, at 5 a.m. from the Viking Dock.

There were several responses to last week's mystery fish photo, but none hit the mark. The identity of the orange fish shaped like a small monk (alias goosefish) remains a mystery. It's clearly not an orange roughy, the guess of Tom Hashagen of Shelter Island.

Nor is it a red fish. That's what Joseph O'Connor of Montauk thought it was. Kaitlin Daniels of Sag Harbor thought an angler fish. Right shape, wrong color. Daniel Padovano of Concordia College in Bronxville suggested the fish was either a sculpin (alias sea robin) or a wolf fish. Alas, it's neither.

AMAGANSETT

P.J. Const. to Seymour Fineman, Woodedge Circle, $585,000.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

Reh to M&M L.L.C., Sagg Road, $399,000.

Thompson to Richard Brennan, Snake Hollow Road, $250,000.

Brennan to Threesome Trust, Ambleside Lane, $725,000.

Gruber to the Hayground School, Mitchells Lane, $358,000.

Green River L.P. to David T'Hoen, Casey Lane, $152,000.

Drucker to Gary and Carol Scott, Old Farm Lane, $305,000.

Peluso to Elisabeth Quimby, Chase Court, $635,000.

EAST HAMPTON

Oxnam to Laurie Malman, Georgica Close Road, $590,000.

Fine to David Saatchi, Conklin Terrace, $288,000.

Hyman to Richard Anderman, Hedge Row Lane, $650,000.

Marcus to Richard and Stephanie Chestnov, Georgica Road, $2,700,000.

MONTAUK

Ziegfeld Villas Corp. to MYC New York Resort L.L.C., Star Island Road, $281,000.

Plaza Uniondale Properties Corp. to MYC New York Marina L.L.C., Star Island Road, $316,500.

Montauk YC Corp. to MYC New York Resort L.L.C., Star Island Road, $1,116,000.

Lake Front Land Corp. to MYC New York Marina L.L.C., Star Island Road, $2,080,000.

Montauk YC Corp. to MYC New York Resort L.L.C., Star Island Road, $2,436,000.

Zihlmann to Gilbert McGill, South Edgemere Street, $190,000.

Sousa to James and Danielle Bontempi, Duryea Avenue, $160,000.

Steck to Helen Dent, North Greenwich Street, $240,000.

NORTH HAVEN

DeCristofaro to Andrew Lack, Fresh Pond Road, $355,000.

NORTHWEST

E.R. Yankee Homes Inc. to Yvette Arsenec-Weir, High Ridge Road, $485,000.

Simmons Jr. to Sarah Oakes and Patricia Simko, Sally's Path, $170,000.

NOYAC

Ceresa to James Ross, Fairway Court, $505,000.

SAG HARBOR

Harvey to Marshall Garypie 3d, Noyac Road, $153,000.

Froebel Jr. to Bradley Lewart, Noyac Path, $365,000.

Klein to Elizabeth Kramer, Glover Street, $340,000.

SPRINGS

Surbeck to Alan Craven, Old Stone Highway, $165,000.

WAINSCOTT

McLaughlin to Fiona Dorst, Sayre's Path, $660,000.

WATER MILL

Squires estate to Emily Squires and Joseph DiMenna, Head of the Pond Road, $550,000.

Linder to Charles Tutt, Mecox Road, $225,000.

Leonard Ackerman, an East Hampton attorney and in vestor in local properties, won the bidding Tuesday for the Bridgehampton National Bank building on Main Street in that hamlet, topping the offers at $1.65 million for the brick landmark on behalf, he said, of a client or clients he did not name.

The 18,000-square-foot, two-story building has housed the Bridgehampton National Bank since the early 1900s. The bank is in the process of shifting its headquarters to a large new building of Georgian design just east of Bridgehampton Commons on the Montauk Highway.

Several others had entered bids but when the going edged toward $1 million only two bidders were left, Mr. Ackerman and Robert Morrow.

When Kevin Murphy wanted to replace his fixed dock on Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton with a floating one three years ago, the East Hampton Town Trustees, who own most of the land below the high water mark except in Montauk, said okay. The Town Zoning Board of Appeals, however, which reviews all applications for construction or changes in terrain that affect natural resources, said no.

An expensive lawsuit followed, with the court finding in favor of the Trustees because they owned the property involved.

The Trustees point to the Murphy dock case as a reason why they should be given sole authority over properties they own, even in the realm of zoning. Trustees say that needless confusion and lawsuits would cease if the Z.B.A. were left out of the picture.

The Z.B.A.

Zoning boards of appeal were established by the state to provide a check on the way municipal zoning laws affect individual applicants. In East Hampton, the panel also reviews those applications for natural resources permits about which questions arise, such as applications for bulkheads.

Ever since a court ruling that said the Town Board could not enact laws affecting Trustee property without their concurrence, the Trustees have argued that the board must follow their dictates.

Critics of the Trustees' proposal to end Z.B.A. review where Trustee property is involved fear that the Trustees, having gained de facto legislative power, would also become their own appeals board.

Legal Background

The Trustees own most of the land below the high water mark as well as many underwater lands by royal patent granted before the American Revolution, on behalf of "the commonalty." To what extent, therefore, the panel must comply with the laws of the State of New York is arguable.

In order to be able to consider whether projects on their property should be permitted, the Trustees want to replace the town natural resources permit process with their own permit system. They have dubbed it TWERP, for Trustee waterfront environmental review permit.

Some observers of local government have questioned the Trustees' ability to handle such review. They argue that, as landowners, Trustees should be subject to the same checks and balances provided by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

TWERP Hearing

James McCaffrey, however, a longtime Trustee, countercharges that the Z.B.A. is not subject to review when it makes its decisions, except through the courts.

John Courtney, the Trustees' attorney, supports the Trustees' extension of authority, noting that they have the right to regulate certain activities, such as shellfishing, on the common land already.

The Trustees held a public hearing on the permit process in December. At it, Carolyn Zenk, an attorney for the environmental Group for the South Fork, opposed the system, saying it could actually diminish the Trustees' authority. She said the regulatory authority they were seeking would be subject to interpretation and lawsuits, while their proprietary authority was absolute.

But the Trustees argue that while they now have an uncontested proprietary right to deny any project on their property, it is not balanced by the right to approve projects.

Several Hats

Mr. Courtney agrees that the Trustees would, with their own permit system, wear several hats. In addition to being able to tell the Town Board what regulations to enact and to acting as a review board, they also could make decisions simply as property owners. Mr. Courtney added that the Trustees would use town zoning and environmental laws and the State Environmental Quality Review Act as guides.

Among those who are studying the Trustees' request for regulatory authority through their own permit system is Richard Whalen, a deputy town attorney.

"My review has two purposes. One is to make sure the Trustees have the full panoply of powers over land use, that is, zoning. The second part is to eliminate any gap that may exist when a project is only partially on their land," Mr. Whalen said.

Legal Review

He said he was not advocating for or against the Trustees' proposal, but thought that if it did go through it should cover the land adjacent to the shorelines in addition to bottomlands.

"This would cover the loopholes. My job is to write it [the Trustees' permit law] so that if it is adopted, it will function," Mr. Whalen said on April 1.

He said his work probably would be the subject of discussion at the May 6 Town Board work session. Eliminating the Z.B.A.'s jurisdiction over Trustee lands would involve changes in the Town Code, following a public hearing.

So far, opinion among Town Board members follows political party lines. Town Supervisor Cathy Lester, a Democrat, said she wouldn't go for it.

Opposition

"The main reason is that right now we have an extra little bit of environmental protection by having both boards review applications. This process has worked very well in the past, and I don't see any reason to change it. As time goes on, there'll be more and more pressure on elected bodies to allow certain actions to take place that might not be put on an appointed board."

Ms. Lester was referring to the fact that the full nine-member Trustee panel is elected together every two years. Z.B.A. members are appointed by the Town Board for five-year terms, with one seat up for appointment every year.

Ms. Lester, who once was a Trustee herself, wondered whether the Trustees had thought the plan all the way through. She said the records were not entirely clear on which lands Trustees own, and boundaries were not clearly described. She added the opinion that giving the panel regulatory authority could result in an applicant's making a legal challenge to Trustee ownership and winning.

"That could end up diminishing their authority, when it turns out they don't actually own the property they're trying to regulate," she said. She noted that historically the Trustees had sold off great tracts of common land, such as the beach on Napeague.

Past History

Peter Hammerle, the only other Democrat on the Town Board, said he would await the public hearing before deciding how to vote.

"No one has shown what's broken," he said, adding, "I have a lot of questions."

Republican Town Councilman Len Bernard said he supported the idea and agreed with most of the people who spoke at the Trustees' hearing on it in December. "I feel the Trustees are in a good position to review and approve applications for their properties," he said.

Knobel's Effort

Councilwoman Nancy McCaffrey, who also is a Republican and whose husband is a Trustee, said, "It's not really expanding their jurisdiction; it's more like regaining what they had, from what I've been told."

"In areas of public domain the owners should determine how regulations are implemented," said Councilman Thomas Knobel. He began talking about expanding the Trustees' jurisdiction while serving on their board in 1993 and helping to draft the proposed permit procedure as well as the Trustees' policy statement, which they called a "manifesto."

"To those who say the system is not broken, there are glitches," he said, citing the example of how the Town Board and Planning Department last year applied to the county to have Three Mile Harbor dredged without asking the owners of its bottomland, the Trustees, for advice.

Enforcement Issues

Mr. McCaffrey sees the thrust of the Trustees' manifesto, described in part one of this article, and the proposed permit system as ending confusion. Enforcement suffers because of confusion over jurisdiction, he said.

Although harbormasters routinely enforce town shellfishing regulations, which the Trustees take the lead in creating, there are other cases where enforcement has faltered, he said.

In February, he reported, the Trustees discovered a bulkhead had been constructed on Georgica Pond out of wood treated with C.C.A., chromated copper arsenate, which the Trustees ban on nontidal waters, and without a Trustee permit.

Soak Hides, Too

Sent to investigate, James Cavanagh, the deputy natural resources director, left the scene when his authority was challenged by an agent of W. Clifford Klenk, who leases the property. The incident spawned a meeting among town officials and an agreement that the town attorney, Robert Savage, should codify the understanding that town officials would enforce Trustee regulations.

Another enforcement question was raised over the state-authorized cleanup of gasoline-contaminated groundwater near Three Mile Harbor. Millions of gallons of water are to flow into the Trustee-managed harbor via Soak Hides Dreen, but the dreen itself was not in their domain. The result is another proposed change in the Town Code, giving the Trustees jurisdiction over "tributaries" and their wetlands, as well as bottomlands and adjacent property.

Mr. McCaffrey reasoned that by reclaiming tributaries and their wetlands which had not already fallen into private hands, the Trustees could better protect the common resources that are left.

"All this," said Mr. Knobel, "is about respect for the abilities and proprietary protections offered by the Trustees."

Wolf Fish

Bronxville

April 14, 1997

To The Editor:

The fish pictured on page 16 (April 10 Star) may be a sculpin or a wolf fish. The shape of the head and body suggest a bottom feeder of some type.

Offhand, I'd say with some good-sized lemons, olive oil, salt, pepper, Old Bay, garlic, and white wine sauteed in a few pans . . . to be served with asparagus and potatoes (Long Island, of course).

DANIEL S. PADOVANO

Concordia College

Class Of 1967

Clifton Park, N.Y.

April 8, 1997

To The Editor:

I have lost touch with my fellow classmates from the East Hampton High School class of 1967. Do you have any news of any upcoming 30th reunion for our class? If there are any contact people, please pass on whatever you can. My address is 6 Keystone Terrace, Clifton Park, N.Y., 12065. Thanks for your help.

Sincerely,

ED JOHNSON

It's A Farce!

Springs

April 14, 1997

To The Editor:

On Saturday morning, a man with a badge accosted me at the recycling center on Springs-Fireplace Road just as I was about to pour my one bag of garbage into the trailer truck. He stated that he had to look and see what I had in there. He then pawed through my garbage and made judgments as to whether or not I could deposit my garbage in the main container. I will admit that I have not been composting my scant scraps, and there were a few junk mail catalogues and torn-up personal papers (some of which are confidential, by the way). The dump cop was polite as he explained some of the finer points of recycling to me.

However, I feel that having an East Hampton Town employee going through a citizen's garbage is horrible! Not only do I feel that it probably violates our constitutional guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures, it's just plain disgusting. It's a farce. It's a joke! It's an outrage! It's also an infringement on privacy.

RICHARD TUTTLE

Gardner (Rusty) Leaver, the proprietor of Montauk's Deep Hollow Ranch, is off the hook for now on a criminal charge related to the sale of a horse he did not own.

In East Hampton Town Justice Court last Thursday, Mr. Leaver was ordered to repay the Dix Hills woman who purchased the part Arabian, part quarter horse from Mr. Leaver in December only to find she couldn't take possession of it.

Though the woman, Allison Sorrelli, got her $3,085 back, and Mr. Leaver avoided a felony charge of third-degree grand larceny, neither side claimed to be completely satisfied.

"A Nightmare"

The rancher was granted a six-month adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, meaning the charge will be dropped if he is not involved in any other problems.

"The whole thing has just been a nightmare for me and my family," said Mr. Leaver on Tuesday. He stressed that he had attempted to compensate Ms. Sorrelli before she brought the matter to police, and said it could have been resolved as a civil matter.

"I've been in the horse business in Montauk for 30 years and I've never been in small-claims court over anything," he said.

"Duped"

For Mrs. Sorrelli, the resolution still leaves her without the horse she thought she had rightfully purchased.

"I just wanted the horse," she said Tuesday. She has arranged a lease deal with the horse's rightful owner, Anthony Longhitano, allowing her to ride the horse at a stable in Manorville at no cost.

"This hurt me," added Ms. Sorrelli. "This was his fault, bottom line," she said of Mr. Leaver. "He's trying to play it up as a misunderstanding. Yeah, maybe it was a misunderstanding to him, but I was the one who was hurt."

Restitution Offered

Mr. Leaver maintains the horse was left at Deep Hollow, along with another one belonging to Mr. Longhitano, for two years "without so much as a word or a visit" from the owner. Having paid the medical, feeding, and boarding costs for the horses, he said, he believed them to be his.

The rancher said that when the ownership question finally emerged, following the sale, he attempted to make restitution. He said he offered her all her money back or her choice of any of the ranch's remaining 50 horses.

"I offered to pay her verbally and by certified mail," Mr. Leaver said, adding that a certified letter came back unopened. "She didn't want satisfaction. She wanted to publicly embarrass me."

Mrs. Sorrelli said Mr. Leaver's certified letter came only after she had taken the matter to police. "He was crossing his 'T's' and trying to make himself out as mister innocent," she said.

In 1970 John McConnell, a Sag Harbor resident, and the anthropologist Margaret Mead suggested that a day be set aside each year to advocate for the earth and all of its inhabitants.

They wanted the day to be in March to coincide with the spring equinox. Others, including Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, pushed for an "Earth Day" in April.

April won out. This weekend marks the 27th annual celebration of Earth Day, and a number of events and celebrations will be held around town to observe it.

Naturefest

Southampton College, the Group for the South Fork, and the college's student environmental group, PEACE (Protecting Every Aspect Concerning the Environment) have invited "parents, children, earthlings, granola lovers, tree huggers" to participate in a free event called Naturefest, from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

There will be tellers of children's stories, a jazz quartet, and a professional drum troupe. A raffle will feature prizes donated by the Agri-Balance Organics Consulting Company of Sag Harbor. Wildlife rehabilitators will describe their activities, and there will be presentations on organic farming, alternative energy, and recycling as well.

Off-campus activities will include walks on Tuckahoe Hill and a boat ride on Shinnecock Bay aboard the Paumanok.

In Montauk

The Concerned Citizens of Montauk will celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, from noon to 2:30 p.m. at Third House.

This year's theme, "Celebrating Our Montauk Woodlands," will be dramatized by Montauk School students in a presentation called "Today's Tree, Tomorrow's World." The students will also present a "living diorama" depicting Native Americans in costume and traditional settings.

The Montauk-based group Trilogy, whose members are Bill Akin, Mathew Katz, and Teri Cox, will perform as well.

Student art and poetry will be displayed in the Teddy Roosevelt room at Third House - the perfect setting, said Lisa Grenci, president of C.C.O.M., "since he was the country's first statesman to address the need to preserve our forests." Concerned Citizens has worked to preserve Hither Woods, Camp Hero, Shadmoor, and Montauk County Park itself.

Caldicott Speaks

Dr. Helen Caldicott of East Hampton, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, an author, and the founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility, will celebrate the day Sunday at Southhaven County Park in Brookhaven.

The Earth Day observance there, which is free, will begin at 11 a.m. and continue to 5 p.m., rain or shine. Dr. Caldicott will speak during the ceremonies on "reclaiming health," both for the planet and its population.

The park can be reached from the north service road of the Sunrise Highway (Route 27), between Exits 57 and 58.

Lovers of the earth and all its inhabitants also should know that the Nature Conservancy needs a few good coastal stewards and invites volunteers to join the effort to protect the local population of endangered piping plovers beginning on Sunday.

The conservancy says that the work can be arduous but is always rewarding. Volunteers have been asked to call the conservancy at its East Hampton offices today to learn about where to meet on Sunday. Another such work day is scheduled for April 26.