About Us
The Protection Committee
The Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee was formed in 2010 to improve the health of Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor by coordinating the efforts of eleven (11) municipalities in the watershed and engaging the public.
Each participating municipality designates one person (an elected official, staff member, or resident) to serve as a voting member of the Committee. Friends of the Bay’s Executive Director is a non-voting member. The Protection Committee holds meetings four to six times per year, which are open to the public, and we encourage additional representatives from the municipalities to participate.
Our Vision
Healthy waters with no limits
Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor will become a model of suburban watershed protection throughout the nation. Its waters will be the healthiest in all of Long Island Sound with no limits on swimming and shellfishing (except for necessary safety closures around sewage treatment plants). All of the waters will meet the dissolved oxygen, pathogen, nutrient, toxin, habitat, and other standards to support all the natural, recreational, and commercial uses.
Our Mission
Improve the health of Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor by coordinating municipal efforts.
The Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Protection Committee’s mission is to establish a sustainable, cooperative partnership among the municipalities in the watershed, with input from the public and other stakeholders, to efficiently protect and improve water quality through an integrated watershed-wide approach.
This will be accomplished by:
Utilizing and implementing the findings of existing studies
Sharing information, technology, and ideas
Developing and implementing best management practices
Adopting model ordinances
Actively pursuing grants, partnerships, and other sources of support for the watershed
Conducting and/or supporting water quality and habitat monitoring
Enhancing awareness, conducting educational outreach and practicing stewardship
Consulting with and engaging other governmental agencies, environmental advocates, educational organizations, interest groups, businesses, and citizens.
Our Values
Cooperation
Work together on similar problems for the common good regardless of political affiliation
Efficiency
By working together we achieve more for less
Strategic
Effectively use limited resources to address priorities
Utilize Existing Resources
Utilize the wealth of existing studies, best management practices, and existing ordinances whenever possible
Action
Where information exists, take action to implement solutions
Support New Research
Support the most cost effective means to obtain answers when existing information does not exist
Long-Term Approach
Take a long term view of the harbor and watershed; recognizing that the most significant improvements may take years to implement
Follow-up
Understand that remedial actions need to be monitored to determine their effectiveness and may need to be re-assessed in order to ensure that they achieve what they set out to do