UDALLS COVE PRESERVATION COMMITTEE

Objective of the Proposed Restoration Project

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The proposed restoration area is coming to be dominated by invasive Norway maple trees, though a few large native oak trees remain towards the bottom of the slope near the pond and other species of trees are scattered around the area.  The objective of the Old Oak Pond Ecological Restoration Project is to restore sustainably, to the extent possible, the indigenous natural flora and fauna of the ecosystem.  The project will include removal of the Norway maples and other invasives, and replanting with appropriate native tree and shrub species; this will significantly enhance biodiversity, making the restoration site more biologically productive. 

 

According to the Cornell Cooperative Extension Service and Sea Grant organization:

 

“Norway maples have very shallow roots and produce a great deal of shade which makes it difficult for grass and other plants to grow in the understory below.  Additionally, they are prolific seed producers and are now invading forests and forest edges. … [F]orest diversity is starting to decline because the excess shade they create inhibits the regeneration of … native seedlings. The shallow root system makes growing difficult for other native shrubs and wildflowers in the understory. … Other species of flora and fauna, such as insects and birds, may indirectly be affected due to the change in resource diversity and availability. Norway maple is also susceptible to certain types of fungi, such as Verticillium wilt and anthracnose and may also serve as a host for aphids.”   https://nyis.info/invasive_species/norway-maple/

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PROJECT DESIGN:

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The project design must describe in detail how the restoration work should be implemented, and must include these elements:

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• Site Assessment and Data Collection, including a tree survey, wetlands delineation, and other information needed to inform the design (e.g., assessment of the soils, hydrogeological data, drainage patterns, etc.).

• Design Plans, including an Invasives Removal Plan, a Planting Plan, a Soil Management and Erosion Control Plan, and a Sustainability Plan.

• A report identifying the Ecosystem Benefits of the proposed restoration project.

• Metrics for evaluating the success of the restoration project in the years after implementation. 

• Proposed Sequence of Construction and estimated Project Implementation Schedule.

• Design Reports for review at the 30%, 60% and 90% completion stages.  The 100% Design Report will be finalized at the conclusion of the permitting process, so as to incorporate any changes or adjustments required by permitting agencies.

• Opinion of Probable Construction Cost.

• Design Schedule.

 

Public Outreach:  UCPC will engage with local residents, and local civic organizations and environmental groups, regarding the proposed restoration project.  The design contractor must be prepared to participate in a number of those meetings, likely between submission of the 60% and 90% Design Reports, so that the 90% Design Report can be informed by and respond as appropriate to concerns of and suggestions from the public.

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Consultation:  UCPC and the design contractor will be consulting with NYCDPR and other stakeholders on the review of the design itself.  The project will require construction and forestry permits from NYCDPR, and possibly also the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). 

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PROJECT STATUS

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UCPC will regularly update this section with the current project status.

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November 2023:  UCPC receives a $40,000 grant from the Con Edison company to assist in paying for the design work, for which we are most grateful.

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11/30/2023: UCPC issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified environmental consulting firms to carry out a detailed, professional design for the restoration project. 

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January 2024:  In November 2023 UCPC contacted nine environmental consulting firms with the capability of designing the restoration project and inquired whether they were interested in receiving the RFP. Seven firms responded affirmatively, and they received the design RFP on November 30, 2023. Five of these firms responded that they were reviewing the RFP; subsequently two of those firms advised they would not be submitting a proposal. The three remaining firms attended site tours conducted by UCPC on December 15, 2023.  We hope to receive proposals from these three firms by the January 31, 2024 deadline.

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February 2024: Proposals for the design work were timely received from three well qualified firms.  Proposals are being reviewed by four UCPC Board members, and by NYC Parks Department Natural Resources Group, and by Save the Sound (www.savethesound.org).  Reviews are expected to be completed by late February, followed by selection of preferred firm and negotiation of contract.

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February 26, 2024:  UCPC selected GEI Consultants (https://www.geiconsultants.com/) to perform the design work.  Contract discussions have been initiated. The design work is expected to cost $60,000. 

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March 31, 2024: UCPC and GEI finalized the contract for the design work.  Under the contract schedule, the 90% design is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.  (The 100% design will be completed once the permitting agencies have reviewed it and specified any further adjustments; we expect this to take place in 2025.)

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April 15, 2024: Members of GEI Team visit site to conduct Tree Survey, required by NYCDPR.  GEI & UCPC also delineate southern boundary of restoration site.

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ANTICIPATED FUTURE TIMELINE:

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• We expect the design will be largely complete by the end of 2024.  UCPC will be collaborating closely with NYCDPR and other partners and community stakeholders to review the design.

• During 2025, also working with partners, we will seek additional, larger grants to pay for the implementation of the project; and also during 2025 we expect to apply for the necessary permits for that implementation work. 

• If we are successful in securing grant funding and permits – possibly by late 2025 -- we will proceed with our partners to issue a Request for Proposals from qualified environmental contractors to perform the actual implementation work. If all goes well and according to plan, we look forward to that work taking place in the 2026-2027 time frame. Once the implementation work is completed, additional maintenance will likely be necessary in subsequent years to prevent or minimize re-invasion of the restoration area by Norway maples and other invasive species.

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Ecological Importance of the Old Oak Pond Site, and Relationship to Other Ecological Restoration Projects in the Little Neck Bay Area

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The proposed restoration site has added ecological importance because Old Oak Pond, immediately west of the site, is a freshwater pond with a direct year-round surface water connection to Little Neck Bay, itself part of Long Island Sound.  In 1988 Long Island Sound was identified as an Estuary of National Significance (see: https://www.epa.gov/nep/overview-national-estuary-program). The Long Island Sound Study organization manages this National Estuary Program public/private partnership; among its priority objectives are promoting thriving habitats and abundant wildlife; achieving clean water and healthy watersheds; and addressing invasive species (see: https://longislandsoundstudy.net/).

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The Old Oak Pond Ecological Restoration Project is intended to complement other significant ecological improvement and restoration projects that have been carried out in Little Neck Bay (including Udalls Cove) and its watershed over the past 25 years or are currently in the planning stages.  These include:

 

• Three large wetlands restoration projects carried out adjacent to Alley Creek to the northeast, southeast and southwest of the Long Island Railroad (LIRR).  One of these was carried out by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the other two were carried out by New York City.

• Restoration by NYC of Aurora Pond, a freshwater pond in the center of Udalls Cove Park, and an associated erosion and sedimentation control project.

• Installation by New York City of a 5-million gallon combined sewer overflow retention tank west of Alley Creek, between Northern Boulevard and the LIRR.

• The “Big Rock Project” on the northwestern shore of Udalls Cove. a living shoreline and coastal resilience project envisioned and sponsored by the Douglas Manor Environmental Association (DMEA), with construction expected to begin in 2024.

• Installation by NYC of oyster castles and other coastal resilience work on the southwestern shore of Little Neck Bay.

• Ecological restoration and reforestation work carried out by NYC in recent years in the section of Alley Pond Park located south of Northern Boulevard and east of Alley Creek.

• Removal by UCPC of over a million pounds of concrete rubble dumped decades earlier in the South Ravine section of Udalls Cove Park, and associated erosion control and reforestation work.

• An ecological restoration project in the Virginia Point section of Udalls Cove Park carried out by UCPC in 2009; and another larger Virginia Point restoration project to be carried out by NYC, now in the planning and permitting stage.

• Installation of four osprey nesting platforms around Little Neck Bay and Udalls Cove, with an additional four nests built by ospreys on trees and utility poles (seven of these eight nesting sites were occupied during the 2023 nesting season). The first two platforms were installed by UCPC in 1997 and 2004, respectively; both have been occupied ever since with chicks from both fledging nearly every year.  The other nests in the Little Neck Bay area are likely occupied by descendants of the pairs nesting on these original two platforms. 

• Green infrastructure projects by NYC, including a completed stormwater discharge project near the mouth of Gabler’s Creek in the Virginia Point section of Udalls Cove Park and other projects in the Alley Creek watershed now in the planning stages.

 

The proposed Old Oak Pond Ecological Restoration Project is intended to further ecological improvements and habitat restoration in the area.  Incremental work undertaken through several smaller projects can, cumulatively, make a significant difference for the ecosystem and for people's quality of life.  Funding entities and permitting agencies often wish to understand how a smaller project such as the proposed Old Oak Pond Ecological Restoration Project fits into a larger context of additional restoration work in an area such as the Little Neck Bay watershed.

As an indication of ecosystem improvements in the Little Neck Bay watershed and surrounding areas, and in the bay itself, wildlife documented within the past several years include bald eagle, coyote, fox, whitetail deer, muskrat, snapping turtle, dolphin, and many others.  UCPC anticipates that replanting with native species in the proposed Old Oak Pond Ecological Restoration site may attract more native pollinators and other invertebrates, and in turn more songbirds, thus contributing to further enhancement of wildlife in the area.

 

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VIDEO TOUR OF OLD OAK POND ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION SITE: