After a lengthy search, the Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation has a new executive director.
Kim Quarty, who spent 17 years at the Peconic Land Trust, serving as its director of conservation planning, is the foundation’s new director. She will succeed Sara Davison, its longtime executive director.
The foundation, which was formed in response to the pond’s degraded water quality, including the appearance of toxic blooms of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, announced last year that former Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. would succeed Ms. Davison. However, Mr. Thiele, who retired from government at the end of 2024, stepped aside, citing health issues.
“My family is originally from East Hampton,” Ms. Quarty told The Star on Tuesday. “I grew up kayaking and canoeing on the pond. I’ve been very passionate about the East Hampton area, and was very happy to have this opportunity to work with the Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation to protect this very special place.”
The Peconic Land Trust “has worked very closely with Friends of Georgica Pond, and we’ve been partnering with them on water quality issues,” Ms. Quarty said. “I’ve done a lot of land preservation work.”
In 2020, the Peconic Land Trust acquired 1.4 acres on the pond, at the corner of Montauk Highway and Wainscott Stone Road, where a restaurant, a pre-existing, nonconforming use in the residentially zoned district, had operated for more than 50 years. The structure was demolished and the land returned to its natural state.
In 2022, Ms. Quarty helped manage the Peconic Land Trust and East Hampton Town’s acquisition of 2.7 acres of undeveloped land with frontage on Jones Creek, a tributary to the pond, in East Hampton Village.
The foundation has successfully addressed the pond’s water quality through measures including use of an aquatic weed harvester to remove macroalgae and replacement of aging septic systems at many of the properties surrounding the pond. Cyanobacteria blooms have steadily decreased year over year.
As the foundation’s executive director, Ms. Quarty’s plans include “improving awareness, maybe improving some programming to educate the community members about the importance of water quality and steps for remediation and mitigation.”
