Watch Hill, A New Long Island Federal Facility,
by Caroline Bunting Klesh
Massapequa boat owners go on
Robert Moses State Park, the
Fire Island, Gilgo Beach and
Beach Marina or even as far
to Greenport up to the Long
Where do Farmingdale and
weekends? They go to Tobay,
Sore Thumb, Ocean Beach on
some go to the Westhampton;
east as Tiana Bay.
Some adventurous souls go
Island Sound to Connecticut and visit Mystic, New London,
the Shakespeare Festival at Stratford and explore the Connecticut
River.
With a little more time, some make the run to Block Island,
Martha's Vineyard, Newport, Rhode Island and on to Cape Cod.
Recently several boatmen from this area have gone up the
Hudson River, through the locks to Lake Champlain up to
Montreal, Canada.
The Observer, which is also the name of our 28 foot Trojan
boat, has made a new discovery — Watch Hill, a part of the
Fire Island National Seashore, run by the United States Department
of Interior and the Department of National Parks. Four
or five hundred yards separate the bay and the ocean.
Watch Hill is only two years old and has a fine marina for
150 boats. It is not on the navigational charts as yet and is
about five miles southeast of Patchogue. It can also be reached
by ferry boat from Patchogue. Here the natural wild life is
preserved and one has a chance to explore a scene formed by
nature, rather than by men. It is an opportunity to see a remnant
of the unspoiled seashore of the past. Wind- twisted pines and a
patchwork of seaside plant terrains spread over the rolling
swales and knolls of the inter- dune lands. Hidden hardwood
groves take visitors by surprise. Long- legged herons stiffly
stalk in grassy wetlands; wild geese and brant fly over the salt
marsh; and occasionally a startled deer dashes off through the
tangled thickets.
The National Park Service is charged with the responsibility
of balancing preservation and use and to provide for maximum
enjoyment by present and future generations.
If it were not for the conservation measures of the Federal
Government, Fire Island might eventually disappear through
natural forces; there would be no more barrier beach and the
Atlantic Ocean would pound at the South Shore of Long Island
destroying communities and property. The plant life on the
dunes must be maintained so that the wind will not dissipate the
sands, l^ feture walks are taken on boardwalks with walking on
the dunes prohibited to insure plant growth and to ward off the
winds,
Magnificent Panorama
As you leave the marina on the
bay via foot on the new boardwalk
leading to the sea, you ascend a
hill. You stop just ahead and below
lies the sea. You turn around
and you look back at the new
marina from a beautiful high hilltop.
And just to the right is
the well ordered setting for
colorful tents and campers.
As you walk down the steps
to the beach and the sea, in the
distance you see Davis Park,
It was Congressman James R.
Grover Jr., who wrote the first
bill for a Fire Island National
Seashore, although this initial
effort never got out of committee.
Congressman Otis G. Pike authored
the bill that was passed
by Congress in 1964 which was
submitted by Senator Kenneth R.
Keating and was signed by President
Lyndon B. Johnson. The bill,
Senate 1365 and HR 7107 was an
Enabling Act that gives the Secretary
of the Interior the authority
to acquire lands and waters for
the purpose of creating a National
Seashore. The Seashore
will extend from the east side of
Robert Moses State Park to Moriches
Inlet, a distance of about
26 miles. It will include about
18,700 acres excluding most of
the established communities on
Fire Island. The property maybe
acquired through direct negotiations
with private land owners or
be condemned as long as the
communities adopt approved
zoning laws. If not, the Government
is empowered to take property
by eminent domain. Many
of the private homes and land
were purchased by the government
and they in turn gave the
owners a ten year lease.
Rangers, who are naturalists
give guided lecture nature walks
at Watch Hill. There are also
lectures and movies shown in
the amphiteathre, in rustic surroundings
in the evenings.
We learned on the nature walk
suided tours that Watch Hill consists
of several areas; the bay-side,
the swale or valley, the
oceanside with marshes and forests
attracting different wild life
as well as providing environmental
conditions for different
plant life and shrubberyand trees.
Some of the shrubs are
sculptured by the action of the
wind. They look almost trimmed
with some in pyramid shapes.-
Trees are bent from the growth
of the vints.
The dui.? s are saved by the
plant life that is why there is a
very strict rule of no walking
on the dunes
Even Poison Ivy is Useful
At last we heard of a useful
function for poison ivy. It covers
the area away from the
salt spray of the ocean, preventing
the dunes from disintegrating
by the winds.
The area is covered by June-berry,
Choke Cherry, Beach
Plum. There is blue berry and
quantities of Cat Briar. Virginia
Creeper, American holly trees
and Black Gum in the forest,,
Fauna, Birds and Fish
Fox, rabbits and deer inhabit
the area. Here are also
seals in late fall and early
spring.
Watch Hill is a bird watchers
paradise. One can spot herron,
black gull, herring gulls, egrets,
blue herron, skimmers, common
tern, sandpipers, sanderlings
warblers and cat birds are
plentiful. During migrating season,
150 species may be found
with the migrating mallard ducks
in predominance.
There are blow fish, black fish,
crabs, clams on Bayside and
blue fish, stripped bass, sand
larks, eels, flounder and fluke.
Clams Are Plentiful
There is no grocery store at
Watch Hill. Clamming became
not only a sport, but a neces-
; sity. r. We soon learned to wiggles
our toes in the bay and put
our hand down. As many as 22
were dug out in 45 minutes by
our fourteen year old. We liked
them roasted on charcoal 15
minutes on one side and 15 on
the other and served with lemon.
We also made a butter sauce for
those who preferred it that way.
Blow fish were so plentiful that
they nibbled at our toes and followed
us as wc walked backwards
in a hurry to get to the
beach.
Accomodate Flotillas
If a group calls, such as a
flotilla with 30 or 40 boats, the
Rangers will attempt to put the
group together. If one person
comes early with the boat registrations
of all boats, reservations
can be made. However,
large boats are put in large slip
and small ones in small slips.
An 18 foot boat doesnt go in a
40 foot boat space. The charge is
10 cents a foot. If you had a 28
foot boat the charge for 24 hours
is $ 2.80. A $ 1 charge is made for
weekdays that are not holidays
and Sunday afternoon only.
Rangers Are In Charge
Hangers are either college
graduates or have had the
equivalent of nine months of
practical experience for every
year of college missed. The Rangers
were formerly trained at
Yosemite and are now trained for
three months at the Ranger Academy
( Horace Albright Training
Center) at Grand Canyon National
Park in Arizona.
One and One Ha.' F
M i l l i o n Dollar F a c i l i ty
According to Chief Ranger
Robert Branges stationed in the
head quarters of Fire Island
National Seashore at Patchogue
; one million and a quarter dollars
have been well spent so far
developing the facilities at Watch
Hill for boat owners and campers.
Get To Marina Early
At 9; 15 a. m. on the Fourth of
July, the marina was full with
boats anchored out in the bay
waiting for vacancies. Generally,
there are sufficient slips to house
boats, we were told.
E l e c t r i c a l Outlets This Yeo'
Electrical outlets for boats are
OBSERVER BOAT
now being installed at the Marina.
The contract calls for completion
in August.
Boardwalk Protects the Dunes
'. oaid walks
have been installed for the
convenience of visitors as well
as a Conservation measure to
keep people from walking on the
sand dunes and harming the protective
covering of vines, shrubs,
and trees.
Fire Island's Name
how did l i r e Island get its
name? There are several stories.
Some say that many years ago
islanders built huge fires here,
either to warn ships or lure them
aground for looting. Others say
whalers built fires to signal Long
Island that the blubber was ready„
A favorite story is that Fire
Island got its name due to a
myopic clerk in a tax office who
copied in error the original name
of ' Five Islands'.
One's favorite story is that the
phosphorescent material in the
sands, brought down from the
glaciers from Canada at night
appears to glow- hence Fire
Island.
MARINA TO BEACH
Page 6
TO...,
BEACH
NATURE TRAft
Farmingdale OBSERVER, Thursday, July 11, 1968
