Objective:
To establish a new 1 acre meadow off Shelter Island just south of Cornelius Point in the area known as “Bunker City".

Background:

The recent completion of a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, GIS-based Planting Suitability Index Model for the Peconic Estuary has lead to the identification of several planting sites that had not previously been targeted for planting. In general, the model has called for planting in cooler deeper water than has previously been attempted. Given water quality and temperature issues, most of the sites identified are east of Shelter Island and no proposed sites fall within creeks or harbors. One of the highest ranked and largest sites identified in the model occurs along the eastern shore of Shelter Island just south Cornelius Point in the area known locally as “bunker city”. This area had historically supported eelgrass and still retains a small amount of grass in the shallow water near the boulders exposed at low tide. Test plantings using various methods indicate that it is possible to establish transplants using adult shoots nondestructively collected from nearby meadows.