PLUM ISLANDPlum Island One Step Closer to Permanent Preservation

Plum Island is one step closer to permanent preservation, thanks to reporting language in the recently approved federal omnibus funding package. The explanatory statement expresses “support for the permanent conservation of Plum Island for the protection in perpetuity of its natural and cultural resources” and calls for a joint briefing to Congressional committees by the agencies involved.

Save the Sound notes that the Department of the Interior, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the General Services Administration are directed by the reporting language to “provide a briefing to the Committees regarding the closure and disposal process for the island’s permanent conservation, the possibility of interim ecological management, and options for permanent ownership of Plum Island, including management of and partnerships with State, Federal, and Tribal entities, potential costs for managing the island, the status and schedule of cleanup and monitoring, and the procedures for a subsequent owner to invoke DHS’s responsibility to ensure that DHS’s certification that its remedial actions on Plum Island protect human health and the environment remains valid.”

The Preserve Plum Island Coalition (PPIC) said it thanks Senators Chuck Schumer, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Murphy, and Kirsten Gillibrand for their enduring commitment to the preservation of Plum Island and for shepherding this language through the budget process.

An ecological gem, Plum Island is home to federally threatened and New York State-endangered piping plovers; approximately 228 other bird species have been sighted there. In addition, it is the largest seal haul-out site in New York, playing host to up to several hundred harbor and gray seals each winter. Over 111 species of conservation concern have been documented on this island of ecological abundance.

Turbulent Plum Gut, located between the tip of the North Fork at Orient Point and Plum Island, has been designated a “significant coastal fish and wildlife habitat” by New York State. In addition, the island is home to nationally significant artifacts and historic buildings, including the National Register of Historic Places Plum Island Lighthouse (1869) and the National Register of Historic Places Fort Terry (1897) army barracks and weapons batteries. Critically important animal disease vaccines were developed at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, protecting economies around the globe. The island also is highly valued by the Montaukett Indian Nation as part of its cultural heritage.

Plum Island is currently owned by the United States government and has been home to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center for nearly 70 years. The Department of Homeland Security is in the process of excessing the island, opening it up for transfer to another entity. The 121 organizational members in the Preserve Plum Island Coalition have been working for more than a decade to ensure its permanent conservation.

In 2022, the focus of PPIC has been a campaign to have Plum Island declared a National Monument by President Biden via the 1906 Antiquities Act. More than 1,600 supporters have sent their letters to the White House, including Senators Schumer, Blumenthal, Murphy, and Gillibrand; the full Long Island delegation to the New York State legislature; the 18-member Suffolk County legislature; and every local public official on Long Island’s East End.