Editing Sag Harbor, New York (section)

==Nature and protected areas==
[[Nature preserve]]s have been established in the area and Sag Harbor has rich [[fauna]] for its region. [[Endangered species]], such as the [[Tiger Salamander|eastern tiger salamander]], inhabit [[wetlands]] surrounding the village. The "Long Pond Greenbelt", which straddles Sag Harbor's southern boundary, is a well-known chain of ponds formed by a [[Holocene glacial retreat|retreating glacier]]. Other natural sites around the village include [[Van Scoy Burial Ground|Barcelona Neck]] Preserve, Millers Ground Preserve, Sag Harbor Woods Preserve, and the recently acquired Cilli Farm, which lies in the center of the village.

[[Mammal]]s found in these areas include [[white-tailed deer]], [[red fox]], eastern coyote, long-tailed weasel, [[mink]], [[muskrat]], [[woodchuck]], and several [[bat]] species. [[Bottlenose dolphin]]s and [[harbour porpoise]]s are seen in the bay. There may be [[North American river otter|river otter]]s, which are close to local extinction in Long Island, but an estimated eight animals are thought to have recently migrated from Connecticut. A large array of [[amphibian]] and [[reptile|reptilian]] species also live in the area, including the [[marbled salamander]], [[tiger salamander]], [[spotted salamander]], [[box turtle]], [[spotted turtle]], [[gray tree frog]], [[eastern newt]], [[black racer snake]], [[hognose snake]] and [[rough green snake]], to name a few. [[Kazimierz Wierzyński]], an exiled Polish poet and a writer, who lived in Sag Harbor for almost twenty years with his wife Halina, devoted large parts of his collection of essays ''My Private America'' to the animals he saw there, especially the birds, and an American "attraction to nature."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wierzyński |first1=Kazimierz |title=Moja prywatna Ameryka |date=1966 |publisher=Polska Fundacja Kulturalna |location=London |page=125 |edition=first}}</ref>

===Cilli Farm===

The Cilli Farm was a dairy farm owned and operated by Vitali and Antonina Cilli and their family in the early 1900s. The village acquired the farm to operate it as a refuge for wildlife in the area. It serves as an [[ecological island]], giving large animals such as [[white-tailed deer]] a home base. Although it is protected, it is threatened by dumping and [[litter]]ing. The large farm acreage includes various habitats, such as including [[marsh]]es, [[grassland]]s, [[birch]] forests, [[Cedrus|cedar]] groves, [[sand flat]]s, and [[coastal]] [[Drainage basin|watershed]]s, providing key habitat for wildlife and supporting great [[Biodiversity|botanic diversity]].

The wet lands and bay shellfish have suffered episodes of Brown Tide, an algal hyperproduction. The Brown Tide has adversely affected the populations of bay scallops and mussels in the surrounding bays.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bricelj|first=Monica|author2=Kuenstner  |volume=35|pages=491–509|chapter-url=http://www.agu.org/books/ce/v035/CE035p0491/CE035p0491.pdf|access-date=February 22, 2014|doi=10.1029/CE035p0491|year=1989|isbn=978-3-540-51961-4|chapter=Effects of the "brown tide" on the feeding physiology and growth of bay scallops and mussels|title=Novel Phytoplankton Blooms: Causes and Impacts of Recurrent Brown Tides and Other Unusual Blooms|series=Coastal and Estuarine Studies}}</ref> When the brown tide is active, the scallops and mussels populations decline.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sprung|first=Matthew|title=Algal Tides Threaten Local Waters|url=http://visit.easthamptonstar.com/Government/2012815/Algal-Tides-Threaten-Local-Waters|publisher=Hamptons Visitor Guide|access-date=February 24, 2014}}</ref>

=== The Sag Harbor Oyster Club ===
The Sag Harbor Oyster Club was formalized into a [[501(c)(3) organization|501-3c]] in 2020 with the mission of clean water advocacy up and down the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]]. Fully-funded by Simon Harrison Real Estate from its inception, the effort follows on from the Conscience Point Shellfish Hatchery, an "[[oyster]] garden" under the Sag Harbor village docks funded and maintained by real estate broker and clean water advocate, Simon Harrison. The oyster farming endeavor was intended to put the shellfish to work cleaning the harbor's water.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kotz|first=Steven J.|date=December 17, 2015|title=Raising Oysters To Improve Water Quality|url=https://sagharborexpress.com/46620-2__trashed/|access-date=November 11, 2021|website=The Sag Harbor Express|language=en-US}}</ref>

In January 2016, after learning that oysters were being raised so close to the outlet pipe of the Sag Harbor sewage water treatment plant on the village waterfront, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ordered the Sag Harbor Harbormaster to shutter the operation. New York State prohibits cultivation of shellfish in uncertified waters – where harvesting of oysters for human consumption is banned. A further danger is oysters ingesting (and filtering) polluted water, as they too become tainted. Harrison stressed his oysters were not offered for human consumption.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kotz|first=Steven J.|date=February 10, 2016|title=Oyster Operation Catches Eye of DEC Enforcement|url=https://sagharborexpress.com/oyster-operation-catches-eye-of-dec-enforcement__trashed/|access-date=November 11, 2021|website=The Sag Harbor Express|language=en-US}}</ref>