About Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor
(from Watershed Action Plan prepared for Friends of the Bay by Fuss & O'Neill 2011)
The Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Complex is the cleanest estuary in western Long Island Sound and is a vital ecological, economic, and recreational resource. The approximately 6,000-acre estuary, spanning approximately 40 linear miles of shoreline, is the site of one of the most economically important shellfisheries in the State, contains a National Wildlife Refuge, State-designated Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitats, and has been identified by New York State as an Outstanding Natural Coastal Area. Moreover, the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor Complex is connected to Long Island Sound, an Estuary of National Significance. Oyster Bay is among the 30-plus areas highlighted by the Long Island Sound Study Stewardship Initiative, in New York and Connecticut, for the ecological and/or recreational values that they support.