David Johnson, award winning environmental crusader, has formed The Coastal Steward.

The Coastal Steward’s focus is environmental restoration. Johnson is very excited about two upcoming initiatives, the Sponsor-A-Beach and Adopt-A-Beach programs.  According to Johnson, “The Coastal Steward program is needed, and it's time has come.”

Anyone can get involved in the Adopt-A-Beach or the Sponsor-A-Beach programs. Individuals, businesses, civic organizations and government agencies can all sponsor or adopt a beach. Beach cleanups generally cover up to a half a mile of beach by fifty feet and and are scheduled depending on breeding seasons, weather, tides and other factors.

Johnson has a long record of implementing successful environmental initiatives. He has organized the Port Jefferson Harbor Annual Beach Cleanup since 1989 and is responsible for removing over 230 tons of debris from the harbor and Long Island beaches including the Long Island Sound. (make Long Island in blue). He has also initiated and directed a shellfish restoration project in 2000 and is responsible for releasing over 230,000 adult shellfish into four sanctuaries which he convinced the Town of Brookhaven to establish.

So far this season has been very good. Both the beach cleanups and the shellfish restoration project have been very successful. I’m putting the final touches on a Power Point Presentation (PPP) and business plan that we will be presenting to potential sponsors. The PPP and business plan are designed to take the Coastal Steward to the next level with a staff of full and part time employees and equipped with the necessary equipment to run the Adopt-A-Beach Program for the entire marine coast of New York State. If anyone knows of potential sponsors that may be interested in supporting us, please forward their contact information. Just think of all the great things we can accomplish with that kind of support.

We have had six beach cleanups that removed 19.6 tons of debris from six miles of Long Island beaches with the help of 338 volunteers. Our next beach cleanup is scheduled for September 18th at Port Jefferson Harbor and Long Island Sound. This beach cleanup is usually the largest one we do for the year. We are still looking for a sponsor for this beach cleanup. The Shellfish Restoration Project (SRP) is in high gear with 15,200 adult oysters released into Port Jefferson Harbor and another 30-40,000 more to be released soon. We also received 70,000 more oyster seed from the Town of Brookhaven and we purchased an additional 110,000 more oyster seed. The volunteer turn out for the SRP has been great, we are averaging about a dozen volunteers each day which makes the work go fast, usually we are there for only 4-5 hours. We are trying a new method of attaching the shellfish bags to the sides of the racks that allows us to double the number of oysters per rack. Next year will prove interesting with 180,000 oysters. That’s a lot of work, to keep the gear clean and the densities reasonable.

There are always opportunities to help out, so if anyone wants to get involved, please contact me at coastalsteward@optonline.net.