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August 28, 2013

Plum Island rezoned for preservation

Contributed Photo The wetlands on Plum Island

If the federal government ever sells its Plum Island land in Long Island Sound, the new owners will have to keep it as a 600-acre habitat reserve.

The 840-acre island home to a federal research facility is unzoned federal property. The government is wrapping up operations there and wanted to sell the land to a developer. The Connecticut Fund for the Environment and its Save the Sound program have pushed for a conservation area to protect the rare species on the land and in the water.

The town of Southold, N.Y., with municipal lines including Plum Island, on Tuesday created a large conservation district on the island that would take effect if the property is sold. The town’s zoning does allow for research and education uses on a small portion of the island where the federal government already had development.

"While the town is doing all it can, it is the federal government that must take action to permanently protect Plum Island," said Leah Schmalz, director of legislative and legal affairs for Save the Sound, in a statement. "The General Services Administration has the power to recommend that the island be kept under public ownership and conserved permanently."

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