Sag Harbor
Stewardship Site
Background + Goals
As regional leaders in marine restoration, Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program has been restoring eelgrass meadows at our Sag Harbor Shoal site since 2016. In 2023, a community-driven fundraising campaign was initiated to establish the Back to the Bays Sag Harbor Stewardship Site. Quickly followed by an integral partnership with Kidd Squid Brewing Co., which helped raise the funds support to meet our restoration targets.
With support from Sag Harbor Village and Southampton Town, and help from our volunteer network of Sag Harbor Stewards, CCE staff have been able to increase our impact in Sag Harbor waters to include annual expansion of our oyster reefs and eelgrass meadows, hard clam and bay scallop seedings, shoreline restoration projects, and educational community outreach events.
Read below to learn more about our work in this community and to learn how you can support these projects.
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Featured Blog
Sag Harbor Shoal Eelgrass Meadow Restoration
Current Work Underway
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Oyster Reef
Oysters, considered a “keystone species,” filter water and form reefs that buffer storm surges, and create a complex 3D structure that offers critical habitat for many important species.
The shoreline off of John Steinbeck Waterfront Park was selected for the pilot planting of a new spat-on-shell oyster reef. In August 2024, approximately 50,000 oyster spat on 13 cubic ft. (360L) of recycled shell were deployed by community volunteers + Back to the Bays staff at the new reef site. In 2025, an additional 80,000 oysters (ave. 6mm) set on 15 cubic ft. of shell (420 L) were added to bolster the reef.
These reefs, not intended for harvested, will continue to grow, improving water quality, restoring habitat, and enhancing the wild oyster population.
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Eelgrass Meadows
Eelgrass plants prevent erosion, mitigate climate change by storing carbon, produce oxygen, and provide essential habitat for many economically important fish and shellfish.
The Sag Harbor Shoal eelgrass meadow site was initiated in 2016, but lacked consistent funding to enable annual plantings. In 2024, this project’s fundraising campaign allowed for 1,750 eelgrass shoots (woven into 175 burlap discs) to be planted that November by our diver team.
Planting success is evaluated via video monitoring of the site, which is marked using pvc driven stakes indicating the planting year, as well as GPS. Expansion from the planting zones is measured and new open areas are targeted for future plantings.
Multiple species have already been observed utilizing our restored eelgrass meadow including adult bay scallops, flounder, and juvenile black sea bass!
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Seahorse Hotels
Eelgrass is the preferred habitat of our native seahorse species, the Northern Lined Seahorse (Hippocampus erectus). Seahorses evolved prehensile tails to cling to eelgrass and other stable structures, allowing them to remain in their territory with their pair-bonded mate.
Not all sites are suitable for restoring eelgrass, so to help address seahorse habitat needs, we are working to deploy “seahorse hotels” to create stable, long-term habitat sites for seahorses to return to annually.
In summer 2025 we began scouting installation sites at the edges of the Sag Harbor Shoals restored eelgrass meadow, and community stewards gathered to help build new Seahorse Hotels!
Fundraising Campaign
We are incredibly grateful for all the community support and dedicated crowds of Stewards that have come out to our Sag Harbor events!
We are seeking the financial support required to continue integrating this site into our long-term restoration network. A fundraising drive is currently in effect to make this happen. If we meet our target we will be able to expand our eelgrass restoration efforts, build upon our spat-on-shell oyster reef, and conduct further shellfish population enhancement seedings that bolster local bay scallop and hard clam populations, all in the waters off of Sag Harbor for years to come.
Long-term funding of projects like these enables the continued development and implementation of scientific monitoring protocols, which will provide a deeper understanding of the success of our restoration and insight into potential areas for adjustment.
Become a Sag Harbor Steward, Sponsor this site, or Donate Today
Recent Studies + Reports
Ecosystem Structure Comparisons Between Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Restoration Sites and Natural Meadows to Determine Recovery Status
In 2023, Stony Brook University Marine Conservation and Policy graduate student, Madilyn Sausville was accepted into our Back to the Bays Internship Program. During that time, she conducted her thesis on a comparison of two CCE Marine eelgrass restoration sites vs. natural meadows based on sediment parameters. The Sag Harbor restoration site was chosen as one for comparison to the nearby natural eelgrass meadow. Her study found significant differences between the restoration site in Sag Harbor and the natural meadow, concluding that the restoration site is still in transition and not yet at full capacity as the natural meadow nearby. This is to be expected, as the standard for eelgrass becoming fully restored and comparable to natural meadows in terms of ecosystem services is 10 years. Another restoration site, known as Gull Island, which was planted over 10 years ago, was found to not be significantly different than the natural reference meadow.
We thank Maddie for contributing her time to this project, which illuminates the need for long-term funding that will allow this time of sustained monitoring to continue.
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Back to the Bays Sag Harbor Stewardship Site 2024 Annual Report
Thanks to 2024 funding from the Sag Harbor community and partners, we were able to introduce a new oyster reef off of John Steinbeck Waterfront Park, expand our Sag Harbor Shoals eelgrass meadow, and conduct numerous educational Stewardship Sessions and lectures that engage Sag Harbor citizens of all ages.
Read our full report to learn more.
Thank you to our Sag Harbor Stewardship Site Supporters + Partners
Kidd Squid’s
“Brew for the Bays”
In the News
Blog Archive
Funded by and in partnership with the South Shore Estuary Reserve Program, CCE Marine has been able to continue restoring “Blue Carbon” habitats, like eelgrass and marsh grass. Learn about how Blue Carbon habitats help mitigate climate change.