‘Crab Meadow Watershed Hydrology Study' Final Draft Released By Town

FORT SALONGA, NY — The final draft of the Crab Meadow Watershed Hydrology Study and Stewardship Plan has been released, the Town of Huntington announced Tuesday. The public will have a chance to review the draft before the town board votes on it at a date yet to be determined.

The plan is a community-driven stewardship plan with the intent to highlight best practices in the future management of the Town of Huntington's largest watershed.

The Crab Meadow Watershed Hydrology Study and Stewardship Plan can be viewed here.

“Accepting this stewardship plan will help guide the Town and future administrations on implementing policies that are in the best interests of our local environment, including one of Northport’s most fragile wetland habitats,” Supervisor Ed Smyth stated.

The Crab Meadow Watershed comprises about six square miles of downward sloping land that leads to a 400-acre tidal marsh designated as the Jerome A. Ambro Memorial Wetland. This estuary receives run-off from upland areas as far south as the Northport Veterans Administration property in Northport, according to the Town of Huntington.

Best Management Practices are designed to take a collective look at actions that affect the environmental health of the wetland.

The current, final draft of Crab Meadow Watershed Hydrology Study and Stewardship Plan addresses input submitted during the public comment period announced in 2018. The final draft document contains highlighting indicating edits and modifications made to the previous draft published in 2018.

A new section, ‘Section 1.4 – SCDHS Groundwater and Surface Water Sampling and Analysis,’ was added to the text of the document, and the appendix labeling has been revised with the data associated with ‘Section 1.4’ added as a separate appendix – ‘Appendix B,' according to the town.