In the 1970’s, Diamond Crystal Salt company transformed 25,000 acres of intertidal lagoons in Southern Long Island into a booming industrial salt operation, becoming the island’s major employer.

A decade later, the company went bankrupt and closed the site’s operations, setting off decades of under employment to come. While a shrimp and fish farming company briefly operated on the property in the mid-1980’s, the site has largely sat neglected until now. In spite of extensive human interventions across the site’s intertidal lagoon system, as well as years of abandonment, nature has slowly begun to reclaim the site. Mangrove forests are coming back; bonefish and grouper nurseries are growing; and flocks of American flamingo are establishing habitats. Our efforts strive to advance what nature is already doing on its own using our manpower as a source of good.