Public Meeting to Review Fire Island National Seashore?s Environmental Assessment for a West End Entrance Station

Patchogue, NY? The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that a public meeting has been scheduled for January 24, 2006, to discuss environmental issues associated with Fire Island National Seashore?s plans to construct a new entrance station. The meeting will be conducted from 7:00 ? 9:00 p.m. at the Town of Islip Auditorium, located at 401 Main Street in Islip, New York. According to Fire Island National Seashore?s park superintendent, Mike Reynolds, a 45-day period of public review of the Environmental Assessment that coincides with the project is open through January 31, 2006. The project entails the construction of a small visitor contact facility and keypad entry gate system at the westernmost entrance to the national seashore and the Fire Island Lighthouse, just east of Robert Moses State Park. Vehicular access beyond this point is regulated. The primary purpose of this project is to provide an initial point of information and contact for visitors and residents of the western Fire Island communities, and administration of the vehicle checkpoint station. A secondary purpose of the project is to provide an area to help educate the general public about Fire Island National Seashore. Improvements at this site will also provide a safe drop-off location for pedestrian access to the Fire Island Lighthouse, beach and western communities. The West End Entrance Station will include an accessible winterized restroom, and some of the only public toilet facilities available in this area of the beach in the summer. As part of the National Park Service?s procedures to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, the draft Environmental Assessment for this project is being made available for public review at park headquarters in Patchogue, at the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, South Country Library in Bellport, Patchogue-Medford Library, Sayville Library, West Islip Library, and Bay Shore-Brightwaters Public Library. The draft documents are also available on Fire Island National Seashore?s website at:
www.nps.gov/fiis/EA_WestEndEntranceStation_12-2005.pdf (large 4,184 KB file)
Comments on the project should be addressed to Superintendent Reynolds at Fire Island National Seashore Headquarters, 120 Laurel Street, Patchogue, NY 11772.
For more information about Fire Island National Seashore, visit the park?s web site at www.nps.gov/fiis.