Project Links

Fire Island National Seashore » Fire Island National Seashore Breach Management Plan/EIS » Document List » Document Contents

Technical Synthesis and Summary Reports for Physical and Ecological Resources at Fire Island National Seashore


In October 2012, a breach was formed in the National Park Service (NPS) Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness as a result of storm effects from Hurricane Sandy. The NPS has prepared an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate alternatives for managing the breach. Because the breach had existed for less than three years at the initiation of the EIS project, much of the research relating to the breach was or is still underway. To support the development of the EIS, existing and ongoing research pertaining to the pre-breach and post-breach conditions in Great South Bay and surrounding areas was collected, compiled, and synthesized into this technical synthesis report. This report is a compilation of the best available information and describes the current state of the science for the physical and natural resource issues specific to Great South Bay and surrounding areas, as identified by NPS.

This technical synthesis report presents a synthesis and summary of published and unpublished studies, and information gained from discussions with subject matter experts. The report is divided into two main resource areas: (1) a physical resources section, and (2) a marine and estuarine resources section. The physical resources section summarizes information regarding hydrodynamic processes, water quality properties, waves, sediment transport, breach geomorphology, and long-term issues such as climate change and sea level rise. The marine and estuarine resources section provides a summary of information on water quality and phytoplankton, wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), benthic communities, hard clams, finfish and decapods, and ecosystem structure and processes. The resource areas covered under each chapter were identified as the resource areas most likely to experience and elicit responses to potential breach-related conditions. The information contained in this synthesis report will provide the scientific foundation for the EIS.

 
Document Content:
Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published.
Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.