Havens Beach is a charming 20-acre waterfront park owned by the Village of Sag Harbor. Its shallow water and gradually sloped, sandy bottom make it a popular bathing beach for families with children. In addition to the bathing beach, the park contains a small children's playground, lifeguard and rest room station, parking lot, barbecue and picnic area, and storage area for small sailboats. The eastern half of the park was a receiving area for dredge spoil which has partially revegetated with early successional herbaceous plants and includes a small stand of planted Japanese black pines. A drainage ditch separates the dredge spoil site from the bathing beach and picnic amenities to the west. Several controversial proposals were made for various parts of this park over the past 1 1/2 years, resulting in numerous calls to Group for the South Fork's office. One of the proposals, to construct a "shallow marsh retention system" on the eastern section of the park, is to be commended. The drainage ditch has been suspected of being a conduit for stormwater runoff and septic waste emanating from Route 114 and nearby residential homes. This was confirmed by a recent water analyses by the Suffolk County Health Department, which found high levels of coliform bacteria and a gasoline additive in samples from the drainage ditch.The proposed marsh system has been designed to use native marsh plants to filter out pathogens and toxins flowing through the drainage ditch before these waters reach the surface waters of the bathing beach area. It is interesting to note that this project will result in the reclamation of an area that was a marsh prior to dredge spoil being deposited there. GSF has developed a conceptual plan to expand on this wetland restoration by designating the eastern 10 acres of Havens Beach as a "nature preserve." The goals of GSF's nature preserve proposal are as follows: Work to improve the quality of the water entering Sag Harbor from the Havens Beach drainage ditch. Restore native plant communities associated with natural bayfront areas, such as: coastal shrubs (bayberry, beach plum, wild cherry) grassland and wildflower meadows (lupine, asters, goldenrod, bluestem) freshwater wetland trees (tupelo, red maple, gray birch), shrubs (highbush blueberry, winterberry, sweet pepperbush), herbs (various sedges and rushes) upland forest (oak - hickory, eastern red cedar). Attract a variety of wildlife to the site by providing appropriate habitat for roosting, nesting, denning and feeding (e.g. nesting boxes for bluebird, tree swallow, kestrel, osprey platform, nectar sources for butterflies, retention pond for turtles and fish, shallow marsh areas for various frog species and trees adjacent to the pond suitable for roosting herons and egrets). Design a short nature trail through part of the restored area to highlight the various plant communities and wildlife habitats. This would provide an educational experience for children and families and would complement the existing recreational facilities in the park. This nature preserve proposal, if implemented, would be the first of its kind in the village. Since it is only proposed for the eastern 10 acres of the park, it will complement the "active" recreational uses on the western half. At the present time, village officials are in support of the shallow marsh retention system and are moving ahead with securing NYSDEC permits for the work. What You Can Do: If you support the idea of expanding on the shallow marsh system and establishing a nature preserve on the eastern half of Havens Beach, please write a letter stating so and send it to: Mayor Pierce Hance Sag Harbor Village Hall P.O. Box 660 Sag Harbor, NY 11963-0015 Be sure to commend the Mayor for moving ahead with the shallow marsh system. Please send a copy of you letter to Mike Bottini at Group for the South Fork, P.O. Box 569, Bridgehampton, NY 11932.