Dispatch: Bay Watcher Guards Oyster Haven

For as long as Patricia Aitken can remember, the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor estuary has been her pearl.

While a map will show the harbor as the body of water that pours in from the Long Island Sound and curls through historic North Shore towns, restaurants see a fertile breeding ground for their prized appetizers: 90 percent of the state’s fresh oysters come from these parts.   

Aitken, 54, is the face behind some of the Sound’s healthiest water. For the past six years, she’s served as the executive director of Friends of the Bay; a group created to preserve, improve and protect the watershed’s ecological integrity.

“I have a strong affinity for the area,” said Aitken, who grew up in Oyster Bay. “It’s one that can easily be degraded because of development pressures and overuse. I want to protect it and keep it the beautiful pristine area that it is."

Long Island waterways are under the same threat as many in the county, especially since the waters are heavily trafficked. Waste from boats as well as runoff from the beaches can wreak havoc on waters, breeding bacteria or contributing to higher nitrogen levels which suffocate much aquatic life, including prized shellfish.

Friends of the Bay has been Oyster Bay’s watchdog for 25 years, and water cleanliness drives the group’s success.

Every year from April through October, Aitken and her team of volunteers test water samples from 19 sites throughout the estuary for things like coliform bacteria, salinity, nitrogen and dissolved oxygen. It’s all part of a Water Quality Monitoring Program, which in 2009 received a Region 2 Environmental Quality Award from the Environmental Protection Agency.

But a populated suburban area such as the North Shore of Long Island poses its threats to the water. For example, in Locust Valley a very high water table often spilled over into the Mill Neck Creek, bringing pollution with it.

“Residents’ cesspools and septics overflowed, and needed frequent pumping. Nassau County, the Town of Oyster Bay and the Village of Bayville came to an agreement and secured funding to construct a sewer system that was offered to all the residents to hook up to,” she said. “This is resulting in improved water quality, better sanitary conditions, and the neighborhood now has newly repaved streets, curbs and sidewalks.”

To combat boat waste, Aitken teamed with Larry Weiss, a past commander of the Oyster Bay Power Squadron, to position waste pump-out stations for vessels traveling on the Sound.

“The last thing we want boats doing is putting their waste in the water,” Weiss said. “We don’t want anyone tempted to do it.”

According to Weiss, Aitken’s passion for a clean bay inspires the community to care about the waters.

“When we’re around her personally, we catch it, and it easily becomes a community effort.”

For example, Friends recently held a beach cleanup on Sept. 17 in which more than 250 volunteers showed up.

“She’s just been phenomenal,” said Mitch Kramer, owner of Tow Boat US North Shore.  “I’m sure she’s under a lot of pressure, but she’s always kept a steady course for what’s best for the harbor and the environment.”

Perhaps Aitken’s most progressive effort is her newly completed Watershed Action Plan. It’s a prioritized list of items that Friends will focus on to steadily improve all aspects of the estuary.

That included a new kayak trail her team recently established in the harbor.

“One of the great things about the trail is that it will bring people here, encourage tourism, which is a sustainable use of the watershed,” she said. 

Aitken is also getting excited for Oyster Festival, an annual fling the Town throws every October – it will be held the 15th and 16th of October. That's because Aitken’s passion for preserving oysters almost matches her appetite for them.

“They are great fresh on the half shell, little bit of Tabasco and lemon juice. Good eating,” she said.