New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF, WE-Sag Harbor) today praised Governor Andrew Cuomo for the inclusion of $200,000 in the 2017 Executive Budget. Dubbed one of the "Last Great Places in the western hemisphere” by the Nature Conservancy, the Peconic Estuary is situated between the North and South Forks of Long Island. The watershed begins at Brookhaven National Lab with the headwaters of the Peconic River, spans the several bays from Flanders to Gardiners, and ends in Block Island Sound between Plum Island and Montauk Point. More than 125,000 land acres and 158,000 surface water acres are included in the Peconic Estuary.

As a County Legislator in 1991, Thiele sponsored legislation which nominated the Peconic Estuary for inclusion in the National Estuary Program and has led the fight for our bays ever since. In 1993, the Peconic Estuary became the 20th estuary in the nation to receive the designation as an “Estuary of National Significance” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Currently there are 28 estuaries in the program.

As part of the National Estuary Program (NEP), the Peconic Estuary Program (PEP) is an innovative partnership of local, state, and federal governments, citizen and environmental groups, businesses and industries, and academic institutions.

Thiele stated, “With the proposed state funding for the Peconic Estuary, the total funding from federal, state and county sources for 2017 would total about $1 million. With changes to the Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund, the 5 East End Towns can use the CPF to match these funds dollar for dollar and double the level of funding. With this partnership, the Peconic Estuary Program will be poised to aggressively pursue a strategy to improve water quality, habitat and productivity in the estuary. This is a turning point for our bays. I thank the Governor for the inclusion of these funds. I am confident these funds will be included in the Budget to be approved by April 1, 2017.”