Huntington Harbor Eelgrass and Bay Scallop Restoration Project

Field Notes and Observations

~2004~

July, August, November 2004 Preliminary observations of bottom types as well as test plantings were conducted in 2004. Test plantings were conducted at Winkle Point outside of the "sluece" pond. Donor plants were from several sites in the Peconics and Long Island Sound. Quadrats were used to define the plots and shoots were planted at a density of 100 per 0.25 m².
2August2004- The "sluece" at Winkle Point.
2August2004- The Huntington Harbormaster assisting us with initial site reconnaissance.
11November2004- The first set of test plantings took place outside of the "sluece".

~2005~

September 2005 Initial observations of potential restoration sites took place, including areas off of Caumsett State Park and Winkle Pt. in Northport Bay. The rocky shoreline of Caumsett is similar to other Long Island Sound restoration areas where we have conducted rock-anchored plantings. The sandy sediment off Winkle Pt. appeared suitable for planting.
30September2005- The rocky shoreline of the Caumsett beach site.
30September2005- Caumsett beach, with large rocks over fine sand, ideal for rock-anchored plantings.
23September2005- Sandy bottom at Winkle Pt.

 

December 2005 Test plantings at both potential restoration sites took place in December. Test plantings off of Caumsett State Park consisted of rock-anchored plantings, while those at Winkle Pt. were free-planted. For both test plantings, shoots from two different donor beds (Shinnicock Bay and Orient Point) were used.The plantings at Caumsett consisted of 2 transects perpendicular to the shore, each with shoots from a different donor site. Those from Shinnecock were labeled A 1-5, and those from Orient were labeled B 1-5, with 1 being the most shallow and 5 the deepest (ranged from -0.5 m to -2.0 m).
1December2005- An underwater station at Caumsett where rock-anchored plantings were tested.
1December2005- Caumsett beach; the crew prepares for planting.
12December2005- Chris examines the days plantings at Winkle Pt.off Beach Lane.

~2006~

April 2006 The first recon dive to examine last winter's rock plantings at Caumsett Point occured. Both the Sninnecock and Orient rock plantings seemed to be taking well, especially those in the mid-range at stations #3 and #4 in both transects (-1 m to -1.5 m).
20April2006- Chris suiting up, getting ready for the chilly water.
20April2006- Newly planted rock plantings.
20April2006- Though small in stature, this planting from December using Shinnecock shoots appeared healthy.

 

May 2006 Test plantings continued at Winkle Point on May 3 2006, in both the "sluece" pond and off of Winkle Point. Methods included free-planting both adult shoots and seedlings, all of which were grown over the winter in our greenhouse. Adult shoots were from Orient Pt. and Shinnecock Bay. Seedlings from a broadcast seeding that took place in the pond last winter were also observed, and were fairly numerous. We revisited the site after 2 weeks (May 17) to check on the plantings, and all seemed to be healthy.
3May2006- Seedlings from last winter's seeding were observed; mud snails were prevelent.
3May2006- Free-plantings in a deeper section of the pond.
17May2006- Upon inspection 2 weeks later, plantings were doing very well.

 

July 2006 We revisited our Caumsett Point plantings on July 24, 2006. Again, those plantings in the mid-range depth appeared healthiest, while the most shallow plantings were no longer present (as predicted due to tidal extremes). The difference in stature between plants from donor beds (Orient Pt and Shinnecock inlet) was still visible.
24July2006- Steve suits up before finding our transects.
24July2006- Plantings around station B3 were numerous and healthy.
24July2006- This planting at station B4 seemed to have expanded.

 

September 2006

All work at Winkle Point has ceased. Temperatures in the pond reached the mid 90's(°F), which is intolerable for eelgrass growth. Plantings off the point were also unsuccessful for unknown reasons. Scouting for new locations within the Huntington Harbor complex has begun.

Caumsett Point plantings were observed again on September 19, 2006. Though large amounts of sand had moved into the mid-range of the A transect, we did find surviving grass around the B3 and B4 stations. Photos were poor due to bad visibility, so they have not been included.

 

December 2006 Eelgrass plantings at Caumsett Point took place on December 20, 2006. Three thousand shoots were planted using our rock-anchored method between the 3rd and 4th transect depths.
20Dec2006- A newly planted rock-anchored planting.
20Dec2006- The planting field.
20Dec2006- Another view of the planting field.


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