The Living with the Bay Program’s Project Team has begun the first steps toward coastal marsh restoration – one of several projects within the multi-project program. The team is collecting data and surveying plant life in the marsh where the Mill River joins Long Island Sound. The Project Team is preparing baseline drawings and has scheduled meeting with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss permitting. In addition, the The Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery seeks to restore, protect, and enhance marshlands to reduce tidal storm surge speed and enhance habitat for native species. 

Design work continues on other projects: dredging Smith Pond in Rockville Centre to increase the pond’s capacity for stormwater that otherwise would flood the Mill River; protecting East Rockaway High School with bulkhead improvements and backflow preventers along the river; and constructing the Mill River Greenway, a series of paths and bioswales along the riverbank to increase safety, ecological appreciation, and opportunities for walking and biking. Learn more>>