Terrapin Watch
About Terrapin Watch
Terrapin Watch is a community science project that engages Long Islanders in an effort to monitor and record the distribution of diamondback terrapins in our region. Participants are simply asked to report any diamondback terrapin sightings through our data collection system. Reports can be submitted through the data form below or on a mobile device through the free Survey 1-2-3 app.
Please contact Arielle Santos at [email protected] or 631-581-6908 with any questions regarding the survey.
Accessing the Survey 1-2-3 Mobile Field App
- First, you must download the free Survey 123 mobile app on your mobile device
- Scan the QR code on the left using your phone’s camera. If you are currently on your mobile device, click here to download the Terrapin Watch survey and proceed with steps 4 & 5
- After scanning the QR code, click the top banner notification to open ArcGIS
- Choose “Open in the Survey 123 field app”, and “Open this page in Survey 123”
- Choose “Continue without signing in”
Please Note: Clickable data points (shown in red) do not reflect confirmed sightings of wildlife. Each red dot indicates a survey submission.
Related Information
Open Space Protection
Plum Island, an 843-acre, federally-owned island off the tip of Long Island’s North Fork, has been proposed for sale by the federal government. In addition to historical importance, Plum Island has great ecological and environmental significance. It contains the largest seal haul-out site in southern New England and provides habitat to 216 migratory, overwintering, and breeding birds (one-fourth the North American total of avifauna).
Water Reuse Copy
Long Island is facing a water crisis, with regard to both the fresh drinking water aquifers that sustain our daily lives and the salty coastal waters that enrich them. This crisis is reflected by what has been a steady, many decades-long deterioration in water quality, from excess nitrogen fueled by human sewage, to toxic plumes and spills, all while we “mine” our water supply by taking out more water than is being replenished.
West Brook
The only dam on West Brook, a major tributary of the Connetquot River, failed in 2019 and allowed the artificial pond behind it to drain. For the first time in over 100 years, the brook could once again flow naturally from its headwaters in Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park down to the tidal reaches of the Great South Bay. It is now one of a only a few free-flowing streams on Long Island. It has great ecological potential as a place where migratory fish can return and other native riverine species can once again find a home.