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Environment

Exploring a ‘New Land Ethic’

“What is a new land ethic?” Stephan Van Dam, the president of ChangeHampton, asked rhetorically. The idea, he said, is “to disrupt our relationship with the natural world and overcome and change our attitude towards nature — the idea that we need to dominate nature. We need to disrupt that.” 

Oct 31, 2024
Ditch Plain Dune Restoration Is in the Pipeline

The size of a dune that East Hampton Town is considering building at Ditch Plain may ultimately be dictated by a Federal Emergency Management Agency calculation that would make it nearly 20 feet high.

Oct 17, 2024
Drainage Work in Montauk May Help Flooding but Harm Pond

Work began late last month on a New York State Department of Transportation drainage project on Route 27 at Fort Pond that could ease flooding but add contaminants to the struggling water body. In fact, Concerned Citizens of Montauk says that if the project continues, and the group expects it will, the D.O.T. will be breaking state and federal law by sending unfiltered stormwater directly into the pond. 

Oct 17, 2024
Considering 'a New Land Ethic'

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. will moderate a ChangeHampton discussion Sunday on “between property owners and landscape designers, contractors and entrepreneurs” who are using “restorative landscaping, rewilding, and pursuing nature-based solutions to counteract the climate and biodiversity crises.” 

Oct 17, 2024
A Plan for Grasslands at Town Hall

ChangeHampton, a community organization that promotes biodiverse and sustainable landscaping practices, was in front of the East Hampton Town Board last week presenting updated plans for a grassland pollinator meadow at Town Hall and Justice Court.

Oct 10, 2024
Small Relief to Ease Pain of Beech Leaf Disease

Playing out in the background of the rather apocalyptic and very visible destruction of the East End’s native pitch pines has been an equally devastating disease killing beech trees. With that in mind, East Hampton Town is working on ways to help residents remove dangerous trees, without running afoul of clearing restrictions.

Jul 25, 2024
Pine Beetle Scourge Fans Fears of Fire

The end-times landscaping job wrought by the southern pine beetle along Montauk Highway in Amagansett could seem pretty compared to how it would look after a fire. “It’s a giant tinderbox out there,” said Chris Beckert, who is in his fourth year as chief of the Amagansett Fire Department.

Jun 20, 2024
A Wild Night Out With the Horseshoe Crabs

It’s mating season for the horseshoe crab, and last week, a group monitoring the crab for the Cornell Cooperative Extension dropped in on an all-night orgy repeated along bay beaches for 400 million to 500 million years.

May 30, 2024
Seeking Solutions at Ditch Plain

With a sense of urgency, the East Hampton Town Board discussed the hiring of a surveyor to assess current beach profile conditions at Ditch Plain in Montauk and to determine the necessary volume and source of sand, its placement, and the cost to restore it to a healthy level.  

Jan 25, 2024
Storms Bring New Urgency to Montauk Beach Project

“Now is the hard moment,” East Hampton Town’s planning director told the town board during an assessment of a ravaged coastline after three storms in the past month, as mobilization for the downtown Montauk portion of the long-awaited Fire Island to Montauk Point beach renourishment project was getting underway.

Jan 18, 2024
Major Montauk Beach Renourishment Project to Begin Soon

Mobilization for the Montauk portion of the 83-mile-long Fire Island to Montauk Point beach renourishment project is to begin Thursday, with temporary road closures to allow mobilization of very large equipment including bulldozers and 35-foot lengths of piping. Beach infill is to begin next month, when an offshore dredge will pump 80,000 cubic yards of sand a day onto the downtown beach.

Jan 11, 2024
It Felt Like a Hurricane Hit Montauk

Near-hurricane-level winds, tides, and rain blasted the East End on Monday, leaving downtown Montauk with far more damage than any other place in Suffolk County.

Dec 21, 2023