Georgica Pond Preserve

Located on the corner of Montauk Highway and Wainscott Stone Road in East Hampton, a former commercial property is being transformed into a viable wetlands area for a healthier Georgica Pond.

The property was acquired by the Trust in August 2020 — thanks to the generosity of Katharine Rayner who donated the funds to support not only the purchase of the lands but also its remediation and restoration.

Although the site is zoned for residential use it has been used as a restaurant for over 50 years, now that the land is protected, it can be part of a solution to help improve the pond’s water quality.

First steps included removing the buildings on site and creating a restoration plan, which includes new plantings of native grasses and wetland vegetation. In the Fall of 2021, native plantings and a walking path were installed.

The Trust looks forward to working with both the Town of East Hampton and the Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation in ongoing efforts to reduce the storm water run-off into the pond from both Route 27/Montauk Highway and Wainscott Stone Road.

Nitrogen and phosphorus are major contributors to the harmful algal blooms that have stressed many of our local ponds and bays, including Georgica Pond. The protection and restoration of this property will be an important step toward improving the health of the pond.

Located where Talmage Creek flows into Georgica Pond, the property sits within the 4,000-acre Georgica Pond Watershed.* The protection of this land will revert a developed property back to nature (today, approximately 59% of the land within the watershed is developed*). The area is home to a wide-range of birds, reptiles, finfish and shellfish, and native plants and trees — including osprey, snapping turtles and blue crabs.

Its restoration will aid in improving the health of the pond and surrounding natural habitat by removing the building, septic system and leaching fields that have contributed to the degradation of the pond’s water quality. There will also be an opportunity to work with the Town of East Hampton and the Friends of Georgica Pond Foundation to address the flow of stormwater discharge into the pond.

For more information about the Trust’s acquisition of the property read the September 2020 press release here.

*source: Friends of the Georgica Pond Foundation website

Learn more about this project in the video below.