A year after Representative Nick LaLota introduced a bill that just might save Plum Island from becoming a luxury housing development — or billionaire Bond villain-style lair — the measure appears to be moving ahead. And a very local example of how its preservation could be achieved can be seen at Camp Hero State Park in Montauk.
The Plum Island National Monument Act bill had an airing last month in the House of Representatives when the federal landholdings subcommittee of the Committee on Natural Resources heard convincing arguments from preservationists.
As things stand now, Plum Island remains vulnerable to a sale under the terms of a 2008 act of Congress moving the island’s animal-disease laboratory to a new facility being constructed in Kansas. A subsequent congressional act blocked the sale but the island’s fate remains in limbo. Mr. LaLota’s bill would allow Congress to make the island a national monument “for the purpose of ecological conservation, historical preservation, and the discovery and celebration of our shared cultural heritage.”
While it is just about unanimous that a private sale would be a tragic loss, several federal agencies have, worryingly, raised concerns. As the Times Review newspapers first reported, Mike Reynolds of the National Park Service told the subcommittee that an extensive cleanup on the island would have to be completed before it could be open to the public. Among these are decontaminating the shuttered laboratories, soil testing, dealing with buried waste, and removing machinery and storage facilities that contain oil and other environmental toxins.
All this would cost money, Mr. Reynolds said. “Budgetary challenges” is how he phrased it. Congress would have to authorize rehabilitating or demolishing buildings, a costly ferry system, and upgrading island infrastructure to be safe and accessible for parks employees and the public. “These costs would far exceed the department’s available resources,” Mr. Reynolds warned. Nonetheless, he said the Parks Department hoped to continue working on some form of preservation. Sounding doubtful that Plum Island could quickly become a national park, Mr. Reynolds said his department would be happy to support locally led conservation.
Plum Island is a remarkable place, full of fascinating history and natural value, its own world just a mile and a half northeast of Orient Point. Its roughly 840 upland acres have been federal property since 1899, when it was bought for use as a coastal artillery post. The U.S. Department of Agriculture took over in 1954. It is a critical stopover for migratory birds and hosts tremendous biodiversity, with more than 200 bird species, 200 species of moths, 9 mammals, and 5 reptiles. Several buildings there are on the National Register of Historic Places, and other facilities are eligible. Love them or hate them, seals like the island a lot; it is among New York State’s largest haul-out sites.
Though the punch list of work needed to open Plum Island to the public is daunting, a terrific example of how it could be done is only a handful of miles away at Camp Hero State Park. It is roughly the same size as Plum Island, and itself required costly remediation, including removing and stabilizing buildings, as well as extensive searches for unexploded military shells. Was Camp Hero worth it? Unequivocally, yes. Camp Hero is an important part of the state parks system and contains pristine maritime forests, freshwater wetlands, and stunning ocean views as well as remnants of the historic military installation.
Plum Island needs saving. Camp Hero State Park suggests that it could be done.