From BBPA

Barrier Beach Preservation Association (BBPA)

The Barrier Beach Preservation Association (BBPA) is a not-for-profit, non-political organization open to all residents of West Hampton Dunes, created in 1983 to preserve and protect the beaches, bays, and wetlands for the benefit of all citizens. Here you will find the latest updates on our activities, including photos. Additionally we've provided links to local resources for your convenience. Please send us any photos or other information you'd like to share.

Contents 1 Events for the 2012 Season 1.1 Horseshoe Crab Counting Starts May 3rd, Volunteers Needed 1.2 WHD Constabulary Party, June 1st 1.3 Oyster Farming, June 9th 1.4 BBPA Meeting and Cocktail Party, June 16th 1.5 Oyster Tasting and Wine Pairing, July 14th 1.6 Star Gazing Night, August 18th 1.7 BBPA 5K Race, Saturday, September 8th, 2012 1.8 BBPA Fall Meeting and Biannual Election, September 29th 1.9 The Westhampton Beach Oyster Festival, October 6th 1.10 Children's Art Program on the Beach 2 General Information 2.1 Dues and Membership 2.2 Stay in Contact 2.3 US Fish & WildLife Wood Pole Replacement Program 2.4 906 Property Update 2.5 Tip for Residents 2.6 Ospreys are Back and Rebuilding their Nests 2.7 BBPA puts you a click away from local updated information 2.8 Web Site Contributors Wanted 2.9 Archive of Old News

[edit] Events for the 2012 Season

Greetings, we're getting ready for another great summer season on the barrier beach. Once again we have a series of great events for you and your family to enjoy. Come hear what we have planned at our annual spring meeting on Saturday June 16th!

[edit] Horseshoe Crab Counting Starts May 3rd, Volunteers Needed

For the last several years, volunteers of the BBPA have participated in monitoring the Horseshoe Crab spawning at Pikes Beach. The surveys take place during the new moon and full moon each month from May through early July. Both important and interesting, the surveys are easy to do and intellectually rewarding. This is a wonderful community service and learning experience for high school students. Volunteer for a night or two!

For more information http://nyhorseshoecrab.org/

[edit] WHD Constabulary Party, June 1st

While this isn't a BBPA event, we wanted to let you know that the West Hampton Dunes Police Constabulary Association's annual summer kick-off party is Friday June 1st at John Scott's. This is a great opportunity to support our Constables. For more information go to the Constabulary's Web site, http://www.whdpca.org/events

[edit] Oyster Farming, June 9th

Wanted: Oyster Farmers!

The BBPA will provide the shellfish, cages and training to enable you to grow oysters in the bay behind our houses. A single adult oyster can filter 50 gallons of water which helps protect our bay. The oysters raised last year will be distributed to returning farmers. Meet at 850 Dune Road, at 10 am.

[edit] BBPA Meeting and Cocktail Party, June 16th

Save the date!

Our annual spring meeting will be held on June 16th, 5 pm at the BBPA House, 906 Dune Road. We'll provide an update on a number of activities, including the 906 property The meeting will be followed by a cocktail party at 6 pm. The BBPA cocktail party is a great place to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. We hope to see you all there!

• Spring meeting, 5 pm.
• Cocktail Party, 6 pm.

[edit] Oyster Tasting and Wine Pairing, July 14th

We will have an oyster tasting and wine pairing, featuring our locally grown oysters on Saturday, July 14th, at 6 pm. It will be held on the beach. Details will be sent out via email, so make sure you are on our contact list: mailing-list@barrierbeach.org

[edit] Star Gazing Night, August 18th

Our fourth annual night of astronomy will be held on Pike's Beach at 7:30 pm. By popular demand, Dr. Emily Rice of the American Museum of Natural History will be back to provide a guided tour of the stars and answer your questions about the cosmos. While you could go the Hayden Planetarium to hear Dr. Rice speak, nothing beats a night under the actual stars on the beach!

Bring your beach chairs, blanket and binoculars!

[edit] BBPA 5K Race, Saturday, September 8th, 2012

The course will be from 906 Dune Road to the end of the village and back.

The event starts at 8:30 am. with warm up exercises and light refreshments. Participants take off at 9 am.

We are looking forward to having everyone in West Hampton Dunes participate by running, being a volunteer, a sponsor or spectator. Let's get together for a great morning!

• Registration Fee $25 before August 15th
  • $30 After August 15th and the day of the race,
• T-Shirts guaranteed with advanced registration,
  • Late registration and on the day of the race, T-Shirts available only while supplies last.
• The Event takes place rain or shine!
• For further information, email: 5k-info@barrierbeach.org

** Download the Registration Form **

Send check and registration form to:

BBPA
PO Box 1448
Westhampton Beach, NY 11978

[edit] BBPA Fall Meeting and Biannual Election, September 29th

Our annual fall meeting will be held Saturday, September 29th. The meeting will include the biannual election for the BBPA Board of Directors for 2013-2014. Anyone wishing to run should submit a short biography telling the community why they would like to be on the Board. Biographies are due by August 1st. This is a hard deadline as our By Laws call for us to circulate the ballot and bios for members to review 21 days prior to their vote. New faces are welcome! In order to vote or hold a Board position, you must be a member in good standing.

[edit] The Westhampton Beach Oyster Festival, October 6th

The BBPA has joined with the Kiwanis Club of Greater Westhampton Beach to organize the first Westhampton Beach Oyster Festival on October 6th, the Saturday of the 3-day Columbus Day weekend. Our goal is to create a festival that will raise money for our children’s charities, and raise awareness of simple things we all can do to protect and preserve our local waters, which are an important part of our tradition, our community, and life on the east end. Our vision for the festival is a fun family event for our community and visitors. Food, music, art, poetry & cooking contests, sea creature touch tanks, and all things that embrace a fall weekend here in Westhampton Beach. The event will be held at our marina, a nice stroll down Library Street from Main Street.

We are in the initial planning stages of the Oyster Festival and would like to ask for your help. Volunteers are needed for the day of the event manning carnival games, the petting zoo, helping with kids face painting.

This summer the BBPA will be organizing an art project with our local children and artists to create marine street puppets to lead a parade through town to the festival. Interested in helping? contact: Gina@barrierbeach.org

Sponsors are needed as well. We need to raise $10,000 to put the festival on; pay for permits, tents, music etc. Any help you can provide to this worthy cause would be great!

We are raising money and awareness for two important causes in our community; preservation and restoration of the south shore estuaries and local children's charities.

Some of the children’s charities that will benefit from the festival:

• Kamp Kiwanis is aimed at providing fun, physical exercise and adventure.
• Maureen’s Haven protects and empowers the east end homeless by providing shelter and compassionate services, information and support to enrich their lives towards self-sufficiency.
• Camp Good Grief helps children who have experienced the death of a loved one. Through a combination of therapeutic and fun activities, children express their feelings and learn new ways to cope with grief.

General Information Saturday October 6th, 2012: 10 AM to 4 PM, At the Westhampton Beach Marina on the corner of Library Street and Stephens Street. Rain Date is Sunday.

“Like” the festival on facebook and stay up to date at: The Westhampton Beach Oyster Festival.

[edit] Children's Art Program on the Beach

This summer we will once again have our children's art program on the beach. These events get great reviews from kids and parents. Details will be announced later in the summer via email.

Here are pictures from our last year's wildlife art classes with Jaclyn Hornstein

			Jaclyn Hornstein

[edit] General Information

[edit] Dues and Membership

BBPA membership is open to all residents of West Hampton Dunes. Annual dues are $100 per household, due June 1st. Donations to any specific program beyond your yearly dues are needed and welcome! Dues and contributions are tax deductible as the BBPA is a 501 (c) (3) Not-for-Profit Organization. We ask both charter and regular members to donate to the BBPA as this enables the BBPA to do more in the community. Please remember to write your W.H.D. address on your checks.

[edit] Stay in Contact

Please provide us with your up-to-date email and postal addresses so we can keep you apprised of our activities. You can notify us of any changes by sending email to mailing-list@barrierbeach.org. Rest assured, the BBPA will keep your information private and will never sell or share your information with anyone.

Get involved! Your ideas and your efforts are needed for all current and future projects. You can contact us by sending email to board@barrierbeach.org. We'd like to hear from both members and non-members on what we can do to serve you better. Please tell us what events you'd like to see.

[edit] US Fish & WildLife Wood Pole Replacement Program

The last few years the BBPA has purchased wood poles for USF&W to replace the metal poles they use for staking off piping plover habitat. The old metal poles were deemed dangerous by the board, rusting out and causing injury to swimmers and beach walkers. We have now almost completed the entire beach ridding us of a real hazard and a bad look for our pretty beach.

[edit] 906 Property Update

The BBPA Board would like to make some improvements to the front of our property at 906 Dune Road, which includes solving the storm water flooding and run-off problem which can hamper the Constabulary and others during storms. We've been waiting for several years for Suffolk County to complete the proposed project to widen the road near the entrance to Cupsogue. However, given the county's budget issues, it is unlikely anything will happen there anytime soon.

Last fall the BBPA Board proposed giving the property that the Constabulary building sits on and the surrounding parking area to the village in exchange for the funds to make improvements including landscaping. We will be discussing this at the Spring meeting on June 16th and will keep you informed.

[edit] Tip for Residents

We've started collecting helpful information for residents. These tips are to help you:

• Maintain and protect your property
• Get more enjoyment out of life on the barrier beach
• Preserve the environment

Visit our Tips page to find out

• How to kill weeds for much less money without using harsh chemicals
• How snow fencing helps build up the sand dune
• How you can plant wet lands grass on the bay-side to prevent erosion of the bay-side shore line
• How proper maintenance of your septic system can save you from costly repairs while protecting the bay.

[edit] Ospreys are Back and Rebuilding their Nests

After Hurricane Irene in August of 2011 the Osprey nest's at Widgeon way, Pike's and across from Dune Deck were all blown completely away. The Osprey couples return each year to the same nest to raise their new family. This year they arrived about 2 weeks early and began the massive job of building from scratch. The master builder's across from Dune Deck had a nest that was over 3 feet high, that had been built over many seasons. The hurricane not only took the nest, but, left the pole and platform listing over. After a fix from the Westhampton Beach highway crew in early February the platform was back in business and a good size nest is taking shape. The young couple at Pike's has gotten a bit better this year and is getting their nest together, although on a platform that is a a bit of a disadvantage, leaning severly. The Widgeon Way couple are also older and seasoned builders. The mother is seen working on it in this picture. Learn more about Ospreys here:[1]

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[edit] BBPA puts you a click away from local updated information

Throughout this website we make an effort to provide links to local information you need to enhance your weekend fun. Touch any blue word and get up to the minute events and information! Take the time to 'click around the site'.

• Local movie times Recreation
• Local waters chart [2]
• Cupsogue surfing report Surfline
• Local fishing information Fishing
• Star and moon events Astronomy
• What is it? Learn about our bay creatures Bay Creatures
• What kind of bird is that? photos and info Birds
• What grows out here naturally and where can I buy it? Barrier Beach Gardening
• Learn about our ocean, why is it salty? The Ocean
• BBPA Reports: meeting notes, treasurer's reports About The BBPA

[edit] Web Site Contributors Wanted

We're constantly striving to make this web site a valuable tool to learn about the natural beauty of the barrier beach and to share information with your neighbors. We'd appreciate any pictures, stories, historical materials, or anything related to the barrier beach that you'd like to share.

Please feel free to write to us with your ideas on how to make this site better.

Email: website@barrierbeach.org

[edit] Archive of Old News

If you are looking for an archived news item, they can be found here