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06/20/2018 12:00 AMJust one and a half miles from Long Island's coast and roughly nine miles from Connecticut sits Plum Island. The 840-acre island is home to an array of ecological wonders, a high-security federal facility, some spectacular conspiracy theories, and - for the past decade - a hot legal battle.
Plum Island is perhaps best known as home to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, a federal facility considered one of the nation's most important labs for studying and combating infectious animal diseases like foot-and-mouth disease. The island has also been home to structures of military and historic significance.
Considering the high security nature of the federal facility, the island has been a breeding ground for conspiracy theories linking the land to rumors of government animal experimentation, the Montauk Monster, and even the outbreak of Lyme disease – a rumor that sparked so much chatter the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the current overseer of island activities, even posted on its website that the lab has not and will not perform research on Lyme disease.
While the conspiracy theories surrounding the facility might make for amusing conversation, the lab itself is just one small part of the island. The rest of the land, largely untouched by humans, is now center stage as conservationists and elected officials battle to save Plum Island from development.
In 2008, Congress voted to close the facility and move it to a new facility in Kansas by 2023. Then president Barack Obama signed legislation putting Plum Island on the market through the General Services Administration (GSA). But it's not just the facility up for grabs – the whole island is up for sale to the highest bidder, a move that shocked many and ignited the battle for Plum Island.
An Ecological Gem
On John Turner's first visit to Plum Island nearly 15 years ago to do botanical work, he was struck by the beauty of the island. When he later read of the government's plan to sell the island, he was shocked and dismayed.
He wasn't alone. Numerous preservation activists felt the same way, and the Preserve Plum Island Coalition was born. The coalition's mission to "secure the permanent protection of the significant natural and cultural resources of Plum Island," seeks to dedicate the nearly 80 percent of the island's undeveloped land as a National Wildlife Refuge and advocates for the adaptive reuse of the federal facility.
Turner, who now serves as a spokesperson for the coalition, says numerous scientists, ecologists, and botanists have been out to the island documenting the flora and fauna. The Audubon Society has recorded over 200 bird species breeding or foraging on Plum Island including osprey, black swallows, as well as piping plovers and roseate terns – both of which are classified as federally endangered species. Coalition Coordinator Chris Cryder describes the island as a birder's paradise.
"Twenty-five percent of all of the country's birds pass through or use Plum Island in some way, and right next door at Great Gull Island, is the most important spot in the world for common terns...and for endangered roseate terns," he says. "Those birds then use Plum Island to raise their fledglings and teach them how to hunt and take care of themselves."
Plum Island is also home to numerous sea birds, snapping and painted turtles, large concentrations of striped bass, bluefish, summer flounder, and common dolphins among others. Censuses cite the island as being extensively used by hundreds of harbor and grey seals during winter months, making it one of the most frequented regional sites for seals.
The New York Natural Heritage program has also identified several natural communities on the island including the maritime dune community.
"What they have documented is more than 20 rare plant species, some of which are only found in New York State on Plum Island," Turner says.
Historians and maritime enthusiasts have a dog in this fight too. Plum Island had a historical role in the Revolutionary War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. Fort Terry, established during the Spanish-American War, is now crumbling but Cryder says military historians don't want to lose the remaining structures to private developers, and both the Town of Southold and the East End Lighthouses organization have interests in preserving and restoring Plum Gut Lighthouse.
The Legal Battle for Plum Island
When news broke that the federal facility would close and the island would go up for sale, interested parties came forward with hopes of developing the property. Most notably, Turner says current President Donald Trump expressed interest in turning the island into a golf course. Fearful of losing the pristine habitat of the island, the coalition has stuck with trying to preserve the island as a Natural Wildlife Preserve or equivalent conservation entity.
"We would like to see the animal disease center portion of the island adaptively reused so we don't lose the 400 jobs that are still there today...and then conserve 80 percent of the island with public access," says Turner. "The federal government is trying to sell this gem out from under our feet."
As the island is federal property, Cryder says the process to determine a future use should have been fairly simple. In normal circumstances, when a federal property is to be abandoned, the government will reach out to sister agencies, then the state, then the municipality, and then to non-governmental organizations to gauge interest in the property. The 2008 legislation allowed the government to jump right to a commercial sale.
"If this were to go through...it could somewhat set a precedent for this happening for governmental properties all over the country," says Cryder. "This is something in which by bypassing the normal route of handling government surplus property, you are taking this away from the local people and local control. And you are losing not only an environmental gem, but also a historic and cultural gem."
Crdyer says the coalition believes the 2008 legislation has a much broader interpretation than is currently being exercised by the GSA.
"We believe the law actually has the breathing room to allow the government to sell that portion of the island that the animal disease center is on and conserve the 80 percent of the island that now has become home to some of our regions most imperiled species," he says.
The coalition currently has two bills, one recently passed by the House and one before the Senate, that seek to repeal the 2008 legislation. The coalition also sued the federal government under the Endangered Species Act to encourage a conservation sale. While the government sought and was denied a dismissal of the lawsuit, Attorney Roger Reynolds of Connecticut Fund for the Environment says the judge will likely consider the case at the end of this calendar year.
Cryder notes bipartisan support from the local level up through congress and the senate to save Plum Island from development. He is hopeful a bill will pass, but says the coalition is working with the state of New York to come up with a back-up plan if the federal strategy is unsuccessful.
The fight for Plum Island has gone on for more than a decade but Crdyer says the message stays the same - "Everyone wants to see Plum Island conserved."