We stand at an interesting crossroads for water quality on Long Island. While public awareness of the many issues our waters are facing is at an all time high, actual implementation of water quality improvement plans have not nearly kept pace with additional pollution loads. Peconic Baykeeper is dedicated solely to the protection and improvement of our water resources on Long Island. Water is our only mission. We are the specialists, and we need your help to make sure water quality stays on the top of our politician's environmental agendas, and does not become another “cause de jour". By donating to Peconic Baykeeper, you are helping to continue the fight for clean water, today and into the future. Cheers to swimmable, drinkable, and fishable waters!

In addition to participation as stakeholders in the environmental decision making and review process, Peconic Baykeeper chooses to lead by action -oriented example! Our Blue Water Task Force bacterial monitoring program regularly tests waterways used by the public for pathogenic bacteria, our North Sea Beach colony septic improvement project has taken a community approach to have the greatest impact on reducing nitrogen loading in our waterways, and our Pilot Oyster Aquaculture Project has created environmentally sustainable jobs in Great Peconic Bay. Today's children are the future of our waterways and we are actively involved in various outreach events and the "Day in the Life of..." programs that foster student-led citizen science in our waterways and reach thousands of students every year.

With combined backgrounds in Environmental Economics and Policy, Marine Science Biology, and Education both in and outside of the classroom, our full-time staff is well-suited to meet the challenges of protecting our waterways from many angles. It is a diverse set of challenges that threaten and impair our waterways and it takes an equally diverse skill set to protect them! As a Waterkeeper Organization, we are hands-on with our waterways including maintaining an active presence on our waterways with our official Baykeeper vessel. This ability allows us to respond to marine pollution events in real-time, enhancing the likelihood that polluters are held accountable for their actions.

Organizational progress indicators include the following: 1. Grow our membership base annually to expand program capabilities 2. Facilitate the installation of more nitrogen reducing septic systems by serving as a resource base for information 3. Restore more stream access to diadramous fish through our active involvement in monitoring programs and as a partner in the Diadramous Fish Work Group 4. Expand bacterial monitoring beaches annually so raise awareness for threatened water bodies not currently tested by Suffolk County 5. Connect with a growing number of students annually through educational outreach events both in and outside of the classroom

Peconic Baykeeper is committed to protecting and restoring the waters of the Peconic Estuary and South Shore Bays. Since our founding in 1998, we have campaigned for the end of mosquito ditching by Suffolk County, an activity that threatens the stability and ecology of our vital marshes. We have become experts and advocates for the implementation of nitrogen-reducing advanced septic systems, installing a unit at our headquarters in addition to leading a community-wide improvement project in Southampton. We have also pushed for local municipalities to adopt a net nitrogen-reduction