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GIS Partnership Summary

Tidal Wetland Restoration
South Shore Estuary Reserve
Long Island, New York

Partnership Purpose and Goal

On behalf of the South Shore Estuary Reserve Council, New York's Department of State (DOS), Division of Coastal Resources, is working in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (F&WS), Coastal Ecosystems Program, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) to develop a comprehensive wetland restoration plan for Long Island's south shore estuary. The estuary is a large coastal embayment complex encompassing over 25,000 acres of estuarine and pallustrine wetlands. Historical impacts to the estuary's tidal wetlands have been substantial, with most surviving wetlands having been ditched under mosquito control programs, with a tremendous loss in living resource values. The objective of conducting the comprehensive restoration plan is twofold: 1) identify a long term restoration goal for tidal wetlands and wetland-dependent fish and wildlife resources, by quantifying the total amount of potential wetland restoration acreage; and 2) identify and characterize specific site restoration requirements. Both objectives are being achieved using GIS spatial analysis, based on newly developed digital data sets. Analysis has provided a qualitative and quantitative assessment of wetland restoration needs over large areas, helping to identify prior conditions and establish more meaningful priorities.

Participants and Resource Contributions

Time Frame

Date Partnership Began: November 1996
Completion Date: On-going

Deliverables

List of priority Wetland Restoration projects in the South Shore Estuary of Long Island, including recommendations regarding acreage and type of restoration work to be carried out at each site. Digital data sets are planned to be available through the Clearinghouse.

Brief Summary of Partnership

To identify wetlands appropriate for restoration/enhancement it is necessary to locate historic and current wetland occurrence and extent, as well as current ownership. In order to determine where wetlands were historically, a number of geographic data sources are being used. DOS digitized National Oceanographic Survey maps from the 1880's - 1920's. These "vintage" coverages used in conjunction with raster 1930's topographic maps (T - sheets); and 1940's aerial photography, yielded an accurate picture of prior wetland conditions and dynamics in the Estuary. State tidal wetland regulatory maps from 1974 digitized by DOS identified dredged spoil areas and wetlands formerly connected to tidal influence. National Wetland Inventory (NWI) maps from 1978 & 1995 were obtained from F&WS in digital format. These sources, when compared with current conditions, represented by recent (1994) orthophoto series, facilitate assessment of wetland loss, degradation and even gains. Suffolk County digital parcel maps and town tax assessor's data were used by DOS to determine publicly owned lands and lands owned by private conservation organizations (i.e. The Nature Conservancy, etc.) corresponding to the identified areas of loss and/or degradation. In concert with DOS mapping efforts, USFWS created GIS coverages and an Access database of species and habitat use information and compiled an inventory of current restoration efforts in the south shore region for incorporation into a wetland restoration decision-making tool.

The current phase of the partnership consists of a systematic effort to search out candidate areas for wetland restoration or enhancement and is being undertaken in a series of meetings with F&WS and ACE. The resulting analysis will produce a total estimate of appropriate wetland restoration acreage in the South Shore Estuary.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be utilizing the comprehensive wetland restoration plan to define and prioritize its wetland restoration activities in this region. The USFWS, with its other partners in the Long Island Wetland Restoration Initiative, will use the restoration protocol developed to guide its Long Island regional restoration efforts. New York State agencies, including DOS, will be using the program to assist in evaluation of municipal grant applications for funding wetland restoration activities.

Additional Information Available On-line
None

Contact Information

Jeffrey L. Herter
Coastal Development Specialist I
NYS DOS Division of Coastal Resources
8th Floor, 41 State Street
Albany, NY 12231-0001

Phone: (518) 486-7942
Fax: (518) 473-2464
E-mail: jherter@dos.state.ny.us

Information last updated: January 24, 2000