V-164 



study the problem but also served as a catalyzing agency to 

 perserve this irreplaceable estuary. 



LONG ISLAND WETLANDS PROTECTIVE PLANS 



The wetlands of Long Island have long been a cause for concern 

 to those worried about the rapid loss of our estuaries. There 

 is a lengthy history of political controversy over fillings 

 and alleged dredging violations. 



It has been estimated that 12.5 percent of these irreplaceable 

 lands was lost between 1954 and 1959, and that at present 30 

 percent of Long Island's remaining wetlands is in immediate 

 danger, while another 39 percent will be endangered in the 

 foreseeable future. In addition, of 29 cases of dredging by the 

 Corps of Engineers, undertaken between 1964 and 1966 over the 

 objections of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 21 were in the 

 Long Island area (V-3-14). 



This has spurred legislative action on both State and Federal 

 level to protect the rapidly disappearing estuarine resources of 

 Long Island. In 1966 Congressman Herbert Tenzer (D. - N.Y.) of 

 the 5th District introduced legislation to create a National 

 Wetlands Area in south Long Island. Broadened to include other 

 estuarine areas. House bill H.R. 15770 barely failed to pass in 

 the 89th Congress and was finally enacted as Public Law 90-454, 

 the National Estuary Protection Act, in 1968 by the 90th Congress. 



