Mastic Beach Ecological Restoration

Welcome to the Southern Mastic Beach Ecological Restoration project home page! Browse this site to learn more about the project, explore project data and design plans, view educational resources, participate in surveys, and share your comments and questions with our team. We welcome your feedback on and interest in the project – subscribe to the project mailing list to receive project updates and news!

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Situated on the scenic shoreline of the Moriches and Narrow Bays, the Mastic Beach hamlet boasts abundant green space, prime waterfronts, and rich ecological diversity. The close-knit community of multi-generational families, local leaders, and dedicated workers has a rich history closely linked to the summer community development patterns in the region.

Development in Mastic Beach is primarily residential, and as such residents experienced significant damage during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The storm devastated infrastructure, public health, local economy, and native ecosystems. Ongoing flooding due to sea level rise, storm surges, high water tables and rainfall continue to threaten the Mastic Beach residential and ecological communities. While the Town addresses vulnerabilities with house raising and buy-out programs in high-risk areas, they recognize the need for further widespread restoration and resiliency building work.

In 2018, the Town of Brookhaven was awarded the National Coastal Resilience (NCR) Grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to develop 30% design plans for the restoration of coastal saltmarsh and scrub shrub habitat in the community of southern Mastic Beach in Suffolk County, New York. In 2020, the Town of Brookhaven was awarded a second NCR grant from NFWF to take the 30% design plans drafted in 2019 and finalize them into 100% and obtain all permits necessary for restoration of Southern Mastic Beach. The Southern Mastic Beach Ecological Restoration project seeks not only to protect and enhance the marsh ecosystem, but also to offer mechanisms for climate resilience and flood protection to safeguard inland residential communities.

Ramboll, in collaboration with project partner Chinook, will work closely with the Mastic Beach Community and Town of Brookhaven to devise practical and sustainable solutions to address ecological vulnerabilities and build community resiliency.

Project

Current Plan

View most current renderings of the project plan.

Goals

Events

Community Engagement Workshop I

Interactive Project Boards - review the project boards presented at the meeting and provide feedback on project objectives through the links.

Community Engagement Workshop II 

Interactive Project Boards - review the project boards presented at the meeting and provide feedback on project objectives through the links.

Resources 

Project Materials 

• Mastic Beach Restoration Project Community Feedback (PDF)
• Saltmarsh Sparrow Observations (PDF)
• Existing Conditions (PDF)
• 60% Rendered Design of Proposed Ecological Restoration (PDF)
• 30% Schematic Design of Proposed Ecological Restoration (PDF)
• Ecological Assessment Report (PDF)
• Mastic Beach Project Timeline (PDF) revised 6/1/22

Educational Quick Links 

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Diamondback Terrapin
• Audubon article on Saltmarsh Sparrow
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Saltmarsh Sparrow
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Wetlands
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Coastal Resilience Fund

Project Partners

Town of Brookhaven, NFWF, Ramboll, Chinook, Audubon New York

Contact Us

We want to hear from you. Email us or submit your comments or questions online and we’ll be sure to connect with you!