Protect the Nissequogue River

Nissequogue River, New York | Sara Cernadas Martin, Save the Sound

Speak up for a Free-Flowing Nissquogue!

The Nissequogue River is a unique natural treasure on Long Island, offering important habitat for birds, fish, and wildlife. The failure of a dam in 2024 freed a two-mile stretch of the Nissequogue, allowing the river to restore itself and come back to life, benefiting both people and nature.

Now, a proposal to build a new dam at this site threatens this progress. As this proposal moves beyond the county review process, the State agencies responsible for permitting have an important opportunity to more fully evaluate its impacts and consider a long-term vision for a healthy, free-flowing Nissequogue River.

And we're asking your help to remind them of their responsibility.

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Dear {contact_data~salutation},

I am writing to express serious concern about Suffolk County’s proposal to construct a new dam across the Nissequogue River at the site of the failed Stump Pond Dam. The County’s determination that the proposed dam would have no significant environmental impacts and therefore does not require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), is deeply concerning. This decision seems to disregard substantial public input, scientific testimony, and comments from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and raises serious questions about the rigor and comprehensive nature of the review process.

The conclusion that building a dam has no potential for significant adverse environmental impact defies decades of scientific evidence about the impacts of dams on rivers and eliminates public participation from the decision making process. It ignores the Nissequogue River’s official status as an “Area of Significant Coastal Wildlife Habitat” and a “Scenic and Recreational River,” and potential for upstream flooding, degradation of native brook trout habitat, and reduced water quality. The County’s discussion of recreation has largely focused on the perceived value of a warm-water impoundment, without fully accounting for the value of cold-water fishing habitat and the opportunity to create accessible recreational options that preserve the existing riverine marsh while offering inclusive and educational ways for people to experience and enjoy the river.

At a time when the State of New York is emerging as a leader in thoughtful planning—including dam removal for restored river health, improved water quality, and increased climate resilience—building a new dam in Blydenburgh Park would be a step backward. Since the dam’s failure, the free-flowing river and surrounding area are demonstrating improved ecological function and undergoing a robust natural restoration, while flooding of upstream properties has noticeably decreased. Building a new dam would erase those important gains and lock Suffolk County into an outdated and costly approach to flood management that is increasingly ill-suited for a future of more frequent and intense storms.

With important questions still outstanding following Suffolk County’s review of the proposed new dam, I respectfully ask that you carefully and independently consider the harms this project poses to the Nissequogue River, its ecology, and community resiliency during your permit review process. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

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