Long Island, NY – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Congressman Tim Bishop today urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to designate the Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay watershed as a critical conservation area. Such a designation would open additional federal investment to help protect and improve the quality of our drinking water and estuaries by assisting the agricultural community in adopting more water-friendly practices. Lawmakers pushed for the designation through a newly created federal watershed program under the 2014 Farm Bill which passed earlier this year. Senator Gillibrand and Congressman Bishop pointed out that steering critical funding towards Long Island would address water quality issues and enhance soil fertility, allowing Long Island farmers, who faced devastation from Superstorm Sandy, to access tools to help adapt to severe weather patterns.
“Safeguarding Long Island’s water quality is vital to preserve and protect economic vitality of the Sound and help Long Island farmers for generations,” saidSenator Gillibrand. “Designating Long Island as a critical conservation area will provide the needed federal resources to improve the health of the Sound.”
“Protecting the quality of Long Island’s water is an urgent priority,” said Congressman Bishop. “I commend Long Island’s farm community for its leadership in adopting more environmentally-friendly farming methods to conserve water and ensure that it is suitable for drinking and basic needs. I am pleased to work with Senator Gillibrand in sending this message to the Secretary of Agriculture with the hope that USDA will designate the Long Island Sound watershed as a critical conservation area with federal funding to meet our water quality goals.”
“I commend Senator Gillibrand and Congressman Bishop for their efforts to seek more investment to protect the most important resource Suffolk County has: our water,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “Our federal representatives know that water quality is worth the fight. It affects our quality of life, our economy, our land values, our tourism industry and our recreational use of Suffolk County’s waterways. I join our federal representatives in their efforts and will continue to make water quality the top priority of my administration.”
“LIFB applauds the efforts of Sen. Gillibrand and Congressman Bishop to make LI a priority watershed that deserves critical attention by the federal government,” said Joe Gergela of the Long Island Farm Bureau. “Long Island farmers are and have been implementing best management practices for years. The new conservation partnership program will allow us to do even better. Long Islanders, including farm families, believe fresh food and clean water are not mutually exclusive goals of our fellow citizens.”
The new partnership program, known as the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), promotes coordination between Natural Resources and Conservation (NRSC) and its partners to provide federal assistance to farmers and landowners. Regions must apply in order to be eligible partners in the program and access federal funding.
Lawmakers highlighted that the water quality issues in Long Island Sound and the Peconic Bay watershed are of state and national significance. Examples of the kind of agricultural conservation practices that would address water quality issues include the purchase of agricultural conservation easements, nutrient management, cover crops, conservation tillage, alternative pest management methods and bio-controls, the use of controlled-released fertilizers, well water testing, riparian buffers and filter strips. This initiative would also incorporate soil health practices that are a national priority for NRCS and are valuable to Long Island farmers. Conservation practices to enhance soil fertility would also aid in adaptation to severe weather patterns, which are an increasing threat as evidenced by Superstorm Sandy last year.
In their letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsak, Senator Gillibrand and Congressman Bishop wrote, “We are writing to you today in support of the Long Island Sound and the Peconic Bay watershed being considered as a critical conservation area for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)… We urge you to target some of these funds towards high nitrogen levels in ground and surface water on Long Island to improve water quality in the Sound… The Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay watershed is a strong candidate for this program due to the environmental urgency of water quality issues, as well as the capacity of Suffolk County, Long Island Farm Bureau and their partners.”
Full text of the letter is below.
Dear Secretary Vilsack,
We are writing to you today in support of the Long Island Sound and the Peconic Bay watershed being considered as a critical conservation area for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). This program was created in the most recent farm bill to address environmental problems in a specific region or watershed to aid groups of farmers in adopting conservation practices. RCPP is authorized to receive almost $1.3 billion over the next 5 years, under your leadership at the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). We urge you to target some of these funds towards high nitrogen levels in ground and surface water on Long Island to improve water quality in the Sound.
The Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay watershed is a strong candidate for this program due to the environmental urgency of water quality issues, as well as the capacity of Suffolk County, Long Island Farm Bureau and their partners: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, the Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District, Peconic Land Trust and American Farmland Trust to provide assistance to farmers adopting practices to conserve their soils and to protect water quality. The water quality issues in Long Island Sound and the Peconic Bay watershed are of state and national significance. Examples of the kind of agricultural conservation practices that would address water quality issues include the purchase of agricultural conservation easements, nutrient management, cover crops, conservation tillage, alternative pest management methods and bio-controls, the use of controlled-released fertilizers, well water testing, riparian buffers and filter strips. Additionally, this initiative would incorporate soil health practices that are a national priority for NRCS and are valuable to Long Island farmers. Conservation practices to enhance soil fertility would also aid in adaptation to severe weather patterns, which are an increasing threat as evidenced by Superstorm Sandy last year.
Suffolk County farmers have demonstrated a willingness and an enthusiasm to adapt environmentally-friendly practices in order to promote environmental stewardship and continued economic success. Cornell Cooperative Extension has worked with dozens of sweet corn and potato growers to reduce their fertilizer usage in the Suffolk County-funded Agricultural Stewardship program. The Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District has signed up over 300 Suffolk County farmers in the Agriculture Environment Management Plan, establishing their eligibility for many excellent NRCS conservation efforts. Suffolk grape growers have voluntarily established nationally prominent winegrowing certification programs, such as the Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing. Additionally, over 13,000 acres of Suffolk County farmland have been permanently preserved through County, Town, and land trust preservation efforts. Long Island farmers have demonstrated a willingness to go further in their personal conservation efforts. But they require the cost-sharing and funding opportunities afforded other valuable watersheds across the nation in order to implement these frequently expensive new methods and technologies.
Long Island once provided the world with shellfish, including oysters, hard clams, and scallops. While Suffolk County is experiencing a resurgence in shellfish aquaculture, our farmers understand that additional efforts should and will be made in order to protect our sole source aquifer and restore our watersheds and bays. We ask the NRCS to assist us in this monumental, but very achievable, effort.
We look forward to working together on this initiative for the Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay watershed to ensure the best environmental outcomes through fostering existing local leadership and environmental stewardship within the agricultural community.
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